Rutland Water, 2nd May

Had an incredible day's birding yesterday at Rutland water. Without doubt one of the best I've had, due to the amount seen as well as the excellent weather and the beautiful bike ride round the reservoir. 

I'd been planning to go for a while as it really is a great place for birding, and i've always wanted to go at this time of year to take advantage of the spring wader passage that occurs there. Michelle had a day off so we got on the (wrong) train and headed to Oakham, via Leicester (for an hour- due to wrong train, but allowing for slap-up cooked brekky). We finally got there at around 1pm, 2 hours later than hoped, but once I got birding I was happy.

We explored the Egleton reserve mainly, as i had only been here once for birdfair, and although i had seen a fair bit during the fair, I really wanted to delve deeper in. The first thing that struck me was the amount of birds in the trees. It seemed to be completely alive with bird song and before we'd even got to any hides we'd heard numerous Whitethroats, Blackcaps and other warblers, as well as 3 Lesser Whitethroats. 2 Oystercatchers near the visitor centre provided some early excitement and there were some shelducks on the lagoon out the back too. 

In the 1st hide we were amazed at the sheer numbers of sand martins, swarming above the artificial nesting sites, as well as the general busyness of the reserve, with huge numbers of all sorts of birds to look at everywhere. Once again, warblers were very much evident, with Blackcaps and chiffchaffs very showy in the woods between the first set of hides, and I managed my first Garden Warbler of the year too. Inside the next hide there were several of these wonderful birds and Michelle also got her first proper look at a very bold Sedge Warbler, singing in the open a few metres from the hide. 

The part I was most looking forward to though was the Wader-magnet that is Lagoon 4. In the 1st hide we were a little too far away to see much, though lots of Common Tern and Shelduck were present, as well as several Lapwing and a couple of Teal. Some birders were pointing out waders but without a scope it was difficult and I only managed to see a Redshank and a distant Ringed Plover. I noticed a bird flying in on the far left bank so we decided to go round to the next hide to see what it was. When we entered the bird in question flew right in front of us, a wonderful Curlew, the first i've had in ages. The highlight was a couple of avocet though, both sleeping on the closest island to us, and a UK tick for me, having only seen them previously in Spain 4 years ago. They were very inactive, although one put its head up to call loudly several times when we were there. Other waders were a very neat looking Ruff, the Redshank and the Ringed plover all of which showed very well. 

When we left the hide, 3 Little Egrets flew over, and while we sat on a bench for a while, some Linnets were seen feeding on docks alongside the path. We visited lagoon 3 briefly, just one hide, but here we added Reed Warbler and Cetti's Warbler to the list, amongst others. Once we'd finished there it was time to leave the reserve as time was getting on and we still had the reservoir to bike round.

We saw loads more as we cycled round the water, adding more birds to the list including 2 Kestrels, a Buzzard and Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers. I'd heard that Yellow Wagtails had been seen near the Dam so we stopped for lunch at the southern end and were treated to a flock of about 30 of these wonderful bright birds feeding on the banks of the lake, amongst the sheep, as well as a pair of Little Ringed Plover on the margins of the lake. 

I'd hoped to go the the Lyndon reserve too but we hadn't enough time, but by the time we'd biked round the rest of the lake and stopped for a well earned pint, after seeing a Yellowhammer, we'd racked up 70 species and I said that only one thing would top the day off and that would be an Osprey. We left the pub in Manton with species number 71, a singing Mistle Thrush, to see us off. Biking back up to the reserve at Egleton, we stopped off at a roadside bridge as i'd remembered it was a good viewpoint for one of the Osprey nests, and there right on cue was one of these wonderful raptors, perched above the nest. We watched it for a few minutes, along with myriad swallows feeding on the surface of the lake, before riding back to oakham, to catch the right train home.

Like I said, it was definitely one of the best days birding i've had, with a lot of birds I wouldn't normally see frequently back home. I feel it is an excellent area for birds, even outside the reserves, with ample habitat for a broad range of species. Looking at the nature reserves themselves, it can be seen that a huge amount of effort goes into the management of these sites to not only cater for an abundant and diverse bird population, but also for the enjoyment of visitors, as the whole site is very aesthetically pleasing and well designed.

72 species in one afternoon. Can't say fairer than that :)