The plan was to go down for a couple of days with a group of mates and enjoy a bit of birding at the two reserves, cycle round the entire lake, and then spend the rest of the time relaxing, maybe playing a bit of football and having a few drinks. Unfortunately not everything went to plan, we weren't there that long, there were some logisitical problems and we wasted a lot of time hanging about, but it didn't mean we had a bad time. I've just got back this evening, pretty tired, but i am pleased to say it was a great weekend.
I only managed to get to one reserve, the Lyndon one. I planned to go early saturday morning, but despite getting up at 6.30, various things happened to delay this, and after having to bike to oakham to get supplies i didnt get down til about 11!!! however i don't feel i missed much by leaving later as i had a great time.
The birding day started off as i awoke, as a Great Spotted Woodpecker exploded out of a tree calling loudly, something obviously startled it, as it sat high in some branches for ages constantly making alarm calls. I had excellent views of it, as did my friends, although i don't think paul fully appreciated it at that time of the morning and he soon stumbled back to bed. There were quite a lot of birds around the campsite, including lots of tits and finches along with some juveniles. A few swallows were flying very low to the ground which looked great in the bright morning sunshine.
As the day wore on and we made coffee and egg butties in a most leisurely fashion, a few other bird species made the list, including a singing Cuckoo, and then we had a trip to find a shop. We ended up going all the way to oakham however which took longer than expected, but it was a very pleasant ride and i added Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Kestrel and Swift to the days list, amongst others. When we got back, while having more coffee, a Hobby flew overhead, and then i decided finally to make tracks and head down to the Lyndon reserve.
I went to the visitor centre first, taking in great views of the lake and checking out the birds at the feeders. Loads of Greenfinch and Goldfinch were present, and another GS Woodpecker was there too, coming to the peanut feeders intermittently. A stunning male Yellowhammer and a few Tree Sparrows were welcome additions too. Looking over the lake there were a few common ducks and geese about, as well as a few Lapwings. As i recalled from last time there were also loads of Shelduck about.
Heading on to the actual reserve, i took the path leading to all the hides, hoping to get as many birds as possible. The paths down to the reserve were nice to walk down, with lots of wildflowers, moths and butterflies to keep me entertained. There were loads of birds singing in the trees, mainly blackcaps, and there was the ever present sound of begging great tit juveniles. A sand martin flew overhead too, the only one i saw all day...
I entered the first hide, the 'deepwater' hide, which overlooked the main part of the lake. I can imagine this can be an interesting one for the winter to watch wildfowl and gulls, but at this time of year it was difficult to see much, as not a lot was on the open water. On the far bank i was only able to see the larger species properly as it was pretty far away, so much so that i thought i saw 5 Oystercatchers flying towards me, but when they got closer it was revealed that they were actually Greylags! duh! Over towards the left of the hide, where the bunds and shallow water begun, there was bit more to see. Loads of Swifts were feeding low over the water and there were some Herring and Lesser Black Backs on the bunds, showing an array of ages and plumage.
While scanning these, i caught sight of a dark bird flying over the water, i got a better view of it and managed to confirm it as a BLACK TERN! Brilliant! This is the first time i've seen one in summer plumage - the jet black contrasted with its white rump, and its paler underwings all added together to make a very smart bird. Its behaviour was interesting too, bringing me back to the time i saw the attenborough bird last autumn, as it flapped lazily around on a set route a few feet from the surface of the water, dipping occasionally to grab some food. A great start to the walk!
I moved on towards the next hide, the walk being largely uneventful, save for a calling Reed Bunting from across one of the meadows. As i approached the hide, a couple of people were standing on a bench looking through their bins. I asked what they were looking at and they kindly pointed my eyes to the direction of a Red Kite, which was having a hard time being mobbed by some gulls. It was a magnificent sight of a bird i've only seen once before from quite a distance, so it was great to get a proper view of one. It stayed in view for a few minutes before disappearing round some trees out of view. I went into the hide after this and while scanning the small pond area a Little Egret flew directly across, providing an excellent photographic opportunity, had I only had my camera ready! Only minutes later, some commotion in the sky alerted me to the presence of one of my target species, Osprey. I had great views of the bird, coming to within about 30m as it was being mobbed by a couple of Herring Gulls. It was able to dissuade the gulls eventually, but only by elevating itself higher into the sky than they were prepared to go. It eventually came back down a little but was only really viewable through my scope, but i managed to follow it for some time, before it flew east out of view. An amazing raptor, and much bigger than i remembered (although i missed them in flight last time i saw them). There wasn't much else to see at the hide, other than a pied wagtail juvenile sunning itself on an island, and a Garden warbler flying low into a willow beside the pond, so i decided to move on once again to see the Osprey Nests.
On the way to the first Nest hide (waderscrape), i managed to get a shot of a singing willow warbler which was perched only a metre or so above me in a tree. I then entered the hide, which is very open with lots of light (and wind... and people...). This is the main 'visitor' hide where volunteers are on hand to provide information and views of the nesting ospreys. One lady kindly told me that the female was on the nest looking after 3 chicks. The bird i had seen previously had been the male, who had flown the nest before i got there. It was nice to see the osprey again at the nest, although it wasn't that exciting as she didnt move much! Another osprey moved in at one point, causing some excitement, especially as it moved in towards the nest, before flying higher up again and moving around nearby. It was decided that this was not the nesting male, but another interloper, who decided to move on, rather than risk agression from the parent birds. We all got some great views of this.
Elsewhere from the hide, there were plenty of reed buntings and Sedge Warblers in the reedbed, along with a nice pair of Gadwall. Out in the water, amongst the bunds however, there was not much to be seen. There were loads of swifts catching insects from above the water, with a few House Martins interspersed, and on the far bank, a little egret was seen feeding, but otherwise it was pretty quiet. I also missed a Kingfisher that everyone else seemed to see, right in front of the hide!!!
Finally, i moved on to the last hide, the Shallow-water Hide. I hoped to see some interesting waders here possibly, and i definately heard something while i was walking down the path to the hide, but in there i was unable to find anything of interest. However i did have a good time watching the Lapwings which were busy defending their territories from Jackdaws and other lapwings. They were agitated all the time, running about and chasing off the corvids. I managed to get some reasonably good shots of these birds, and really enjoyed watching their aerial displays. There wasn't really much else to see from here that i hadn't seen from the other hide though, so after looking at some rather cute Egyptian goose babies, i decided to leave.
It seems i left the hide a minute too soon, as when i was walking away, i came across a couple of birders looking through scopes. I asked what there was, and the male Osprey had finally returned with a fish and was feeding the mother and chicks, i managed to get an OK view of them, but without much detail, as i only used my bins, but it was good to see them together. Walking away, i noticed 2 birds singing loudly from within a hedge, thinking they must be Garden Warblers. This is a species i have struggled with as they are notoriously difficult to see and i often overlook their song as Blackcaps, but i persevered and was finally rewarded with a view of one of them. It was good to finally get a proper view while hearing their songs so clearly.
And that was that, now I was pretty thirsty and tired, and had to navigate my way all the way back, the only problem with this reserve i think, is that it is a linear path so you simply retrace your steps back (albeit on a more direct route!). Though it wasn't unpleasant so never mind!
I had planned to go to the other reserve, but we didnt really get to. When we actually got there, we found we had to pay to get in. I had no problem with this, but as my other friends were not as interested, we decided against it. I will have to go another day and have a proper look around. As a great bonus to the weekend however, a Red Kite flew overhead as we were packing away our campsite, pretty low down showing its size and beauty, as well as its graceful flight. An excellent end to the weekend.
I managed 63 species in total for the weekend (though i was aiming for 100! this may have been nearly managed if i had gone to the other reserves!), which was great, and i cannot wait to go back again and hopefully achieve what i wanted again!!!
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