Rutland Water and Exton Park - 2/9

An early start at RW on lagoon 1 and the wet meadows led to an unexpected group of 4 Green Sandpipers close to Snipe hide. These migrants should be on their way to Africa by now ! Next, from Harrier hide I found 4 Snipe feeding on the muddy shoreline along with many gulls, Lapwing, etc. As I was returning to the car park another Kingfisher flew across in front of me heading towards the new lagoons. Given that I hadn't seen one for over a year I had now seen one on consecutive days - what a bizarre hobby birding is !!!! The South Arm III produced more of the same as yesterday including an impressive juvenile Osprey fishing out by the island. I now headed to Exton Park for a long walk and turned up a juvenile Spotted Flycatcher, an adult Hobby feeding over the cornfields, a pair of Jays and another Treecreeper, plus several families of Yellow Wagtails. Given the number of Treecreepers seen this month this species must have done very well this year !

Rutland Water and Eyebrook - 1/9

An early start at RW was initially disappointing with only a single juvenile Ruff on lagoon 4 along with good numbers of BH Gulls and Lapwings. This was due to a higher water level than had been seen previously. Moving on to lagoon 2 things started to pick up. Here the water level was clearly wader friendly as the presence of a juvenile islandica BTG, several juvenile Ruff, a Green Sandpiper and a pair of Greenshank testified. Minutes later a Kingfisher flew across in front of Smew hide perching briefly on one of the tern rafts on the lagoon. This is the 1st Kingfisher I have seen at RW for over a year !! Next came Lapwing hide and here were many Ruff, 3 Greenshank, several Little Egrets and a fishing Osprey. Then in the bay to the right of the hide I noticed a wader feeding. Initially I thought it may be a Wilsons phalarope but it proved to be an adult Spotted Redshank, another bird I had not seen at RW for some time - March 2009 to be precise ! From RW I next visited Eyebrook and at the inflow I was pleased to discover the 2 Curlew Sandpipers seen earlier in the week alongside 2 Greenshanks, 2 Ruff and an adult Curlew. Soon an Osprey appeared and attempted to catch some breakfast before disappearing. A walk along the north shore produced good numbers of Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, a showy Great spotted Woodpecker and a single Treecreeper. After lunch I returned to RW where the only significant sighting was an adult Yellow - legged Gull in the North Arm. All in all a very good day !

Rutland Water and Ketton - 31/8/11

Today I started back at Green Bank and the resident waders were still around - 5 Greenshanks, 5 juvenile Ruff, a Green Sand and 3 Curlew were all feeding around the shoreline of South Arm III. A single Barnacle Goose was spotted alongside the large flocks of Greylag and Canada Geese and at least 6 Little Egrets were distributed between the North and South Arms. A single adult Yellow Wagtail was perched on the fence in the field behind Green Bank. The North Arm held just a single adult Ringed Plover. An unforeseen stop at Ketton quarry in the afternoon did pay dividends though. First, an adult Hobby flew over the quarry, heading south. This was the 1st Hobby I have seen since April/May. Then an immature Marsh Harrier flew over the scrub and forest to the south soon followed by a Buzzard soaring over the same trees. Finally, a pair of Sparrowhawks were located in a plantation close to the start of the footpath. Not bad for a ten minute spell !

Rutland Water – 11/8/11

A start at Green Bank again today and no real change in the wader population with 6 Greenshank, a single Redshank and 4 Green Sandpipers present. A pair of Ringed Plovers was scoped on the island but no sign of the alleged Little Stints seen by someone ! The North Arm was quiet with just a pair of Ruff feeding on the northern shore. I took a rare trip to the woods at the end of Hambleton peninsula and was rewarded with views of a feeding Nuthatch and a family of Treecreepers. Wonderful !

Rutland Water – 10/8/11

A red letter day today. I began at Green Bank where most of the waders from Monday were still present – 5 Greenshanks, juvenile Ruff, at least 4 Green Sandpipers and a single Common Sandpiper. On a whim I decided to try the field behind the hedge. What a good decision ! As I scanned the new fence I spotted a 1^st winter male Stonechat perched up on one of the fenceposts and caught a brief glimpse of another bird behind it. This mystery bird soon revealed itself as a juvenile Whinchat, a species I had been searching for at Rutland Water/ Eyebrook for 2 years !! Magic. Associating with the 2 chats were a pair of juvenile Whitethroats ! I managed a number of digiscoped pictures of the Whinchat as it showed superbly and, indeed, was still around 4 hours later. The rain started as I walked back to the car but I didn’t notice it ! The North Arm was something of an anticlimax after that although 3 Curlews, at least 6 Little Grebes and a pair of Ruff added some interest. A return to South Arm III in the afternoon meant that I located 3 Dunlin on the island but nothing else of interest.

Eyebrook – 9/8/11

At the inflow a nice, adult Yellow- legged Gull was a good start but waders were scarce with just a group of 4 Dunlin feeding on the mud. The island held the usual flock of cormorants and a single Ringed Plover. As I walked along the northern side of the reservoir an adult Osprey put in a brief appearance and 2 Green Sandpipers were scoped on the opposite shore. Good numbers of hirundines hawked over the water and a single Common Sandpiper was soon joined by 2 others as it relocated further along the bank. I returned in the afternoon but apart from a female Marsh Harrier and a single Greenshank little had changed.

Rutland Water – 8/8/11

A noticeable influx of migrant waders since last week. First, in the bay adjacent to Lapwing hide, an adult breeding plumage Turnstone along with a couple of Greenshank, 3 Dunlins and 5 Green Sandpipers. Then along the shoreline at Green Bank another 5 Greenshank, a juvenile Ruff and, as I was scoping, another newly arrived wader, a juvenile Sanderling ! Over in North Arm a pair of juvenile Buzzards were calling to each other and an adult Arctic Tern loafed on the spit in Tim’s bay. Apart from these not a lot of action – a couple of Greenshank and single Redshanks and Ringed Plover. However, a notable flock of passerines in the trees in Tim’s bay included chiffchaffs, willow warblers, tits (incl Coal Tit) and goldcrests.

Frampton Marsh RSPB – 5/8/11

Another amazing Frampton day although the primary target of Spotted Crake remained hidden. First bird seen in the scope on the western scrape was the Pectoral Sandpiper, which was the 1^st seen anywhere since autumn 2009! The lagoons also held 3 Wood Sandpipers, 20 Black- tailed Godwits, several Ringed Plovers, 3 Green Sandpipers, 8 Greenshank and 4 Ruff. The saltmarsh held 3 Brent Geese which appear to have taken a liking to the habitat after spending all winter here. A walk along the Haven resulted in a host of other waders feeding on the sandflats including at least 10 Grey Plovers, 50 Ringed Plovers, 500 Oystercatchers, 100 Dunlin, 3 Turnstones, 80 Redshank, 3 Whimbrel and 10 Bar- tailed Godwits. On the return journey I disturbed a covey of at least 10 Grey Partridges most of which were juveniles and a juvenile Marsh Harrier flew over. Back at the footpath’s junction with the reserve a Peregrine shot past spooking a flock of 20 Little Egrets. Finally the reserve was heaving under the weight of Yellow Wagtails – I must have counted more than 100 the bulk of which were juveniles.

Rutland Water – 3/8/11

Before the rains came I managed to find a single adult Arctic Tern on the fishponds dam plus 7 Greenshank, 5 Green Sandpipers and a Ringed Plover in the North Arm. In South Arm III a juvenile Osprey was watched fishing and at the reservoir dam at least 8 juvenile Yellow Wagtails were a nice surprise.

Eyebrook and Rutland Water - 2/8/11

An amazing first 30 minutes after arrival at Eyebrook saw a Red Kite put up a flock of 100+ Lapwing at the inflow and a Peregrine come out of nowhere straight through the distracted flock. Unfortunately it managed to miss everything. Waders were scarce with only a single Green Sandpiper and a single Ringed Plover at the inflow. Later, I had amazing views of at least 3 Ospreys fishing at the south end of the reservoir, including one bird flying off with a trout in its talons. In addition, I found a single Greenshank, a pair of Buzzards and Bullfinch, Marsh Tit and Goldcrests in the woods. Back at Rutland Water pickings were sparse with a pair of Green Sandpipers, single Common Sandpiper and at least 6 Little Egrets.

Rutland Water – 20/7/11

Today we twitched the Spotted Sandpiper and managed to arrive just after it had disappeared !! Some compensation was achieved, however, with excellent views of the Manton Bay pair of Ospreys together with their 3 young. We also found a record ( for me ) 14 Green Sandpipers spread out between Manton, South Arm III and North Arm. The reserve also held 5 Common Sandpipers, 4 Ringed Plovers, 2 Greenshank, and single Redshank and Dunlin.

Kingfisher Bridge – 19/7/11

The first bird of note was a Barn Owl hunting over the rough pasture surrounding the lagoon. Waders were disappointingly few with only 4 Green Sandpipers and a single adult Oystercatcher with an attendant chick. After some time a female Marsh Harrier flew in and settled down in the far reedbed, possibly on a nest. Apart from these a Green Woodpecker flew in front of the hide and a Kestrel perched for a time on a fence.

Rutland Water - 4/7/11

Not much to report today although a juvenile Osprey fishing in South Arm III was notable as it attracted a huge number of gulls intent on driving it away. A couple of Redshanks and an Oystercatcher were feeding along the North Arm shore and at least 4 Little Egrets were spotted in other locations. A possible Spoonbill was seen distantly from the Barnsdale car park along the southern shore of the Hambleton peninsula. Otherwise the usual warblers and finches were present.

17th - Today we visited Les Alpilles, specifically Les Baux and the Vallon de la Leque. We arrived at the south face of Les Baux around 9am and immediately spotted 2 or 3 Crag Martins wheeling around the rock face. A flock of Jackdaws were also present. After 30 minutes we spotted our first target, a splendid male Blue Rock Thrush flew from the bushes at the base of the rock face and hopped around for a few minutes before disappearing. A number of Sardinian, Dartford and Cetti's Warblers were seen in the bushes along the narrow pathway. We drove to another site  close by and walked along a path though the trees. Here we managed to spot Firecrest, Goldcrest, Blue and Great Tits, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and finally a pair of Crested Tits that gave brief views deep in the forest. We drove to the Vallon de la Leque and walked up the gravel track where we spotted Sardinian Warbler, Firecrest, Goldcrest, Serin and had excellent prolonged views of at least 3 Crested Tits. We also managed close views of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff here. As we descended we saw a single adult Raven fly over the gorge and land on top of the rock face.

16th Oct - We began at the Baisse de 500 francs just after 8am and noted a good number of waders feeding on the lagoon including 2 Grey Plovers, 70 Little Stints, 30 Avocets, 60 Ringed Plovers, 300+ Dunlin, 15 Redshank and 5 Green Sandpipers. Overhead we spotted 20+ Sandwich Terns and a single juvenile Gull-billed Tern. We also saw 3 Kingfishers along the banks of one of the lagoons. Next stop was at the Phare de Gacholle where we walked to the lighthouse from the car park. Along the path we had good views of a pair of Crested Larks, a pair of Stonechats, a single Dartford Warbler, several Black Redstarts, Sardinian Warblers, Fan-tailed Warblers, and both single Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler flitting through the trees around the lighthouse itself. After an excellent lunch we visited the Marais de Grenouillet where a good number of wildfowl were feeding on the flooded marsh. We spotted 7 Greylag Geese, 30 Shelduck, 25 Gadwall, 70 Teal and 55 Shoveler amongst a large number of Mallard. In the distance I spotted a juvenile White Stork which was probably one of those hatched from the nest adjacent to La Capeliere. Scott spotted a fly-over Sparrowhawk and there were several Marsh Harriers and Common Buzzards in the area. We travelled the short distance to the small lagoon opposite La Capeliere and here located a pair of Curlews, 3 Spotted Redshanks, a single Snipe and a pair of Little Grebes. On Vaccares we found many Great Crested Grebes and 5 Black- necked Grebes plus a dozen flying Common Terns. A brief trip to Mas d'Agon was rather disappointing although a single Penduline Tit was heard. We then drove to Consecaniere in the hope of spotting an elusive Terek Sandpiper but only managed more Dunlin, Little Stints and Ringed Plovers plus a migrating Greenshank. The drive along the track back to Mejanes produced large numbers of flyover Meadow Pipits and Corn Buntings but not a single Reed Bunting! Our final stop was at Mas Lauricet but as we approached in the car I spotted a Water Rail walking along a roadside stream. Unfortunately it disappeared very quickly as we disembarked! We parked by the open woodland near the farm and all appeared quiet until I spotted a Green Woodpecker in the trees and Scott managed a great sighting of a juvenile Roller as it flew into the same stand of trees. This was a very late bird! On the journey back to the hotel we spotted a pair of Northern Wheatears which was another pleasant surprise!