The Camargue - September 8-13th

Mas d'Agon, Fangassier and Les Baux - 8/9

What a relief to be back in the sunshine and civility of France once more !! An early start on my first morning and as I pulled into the drive at Mas d'Agon what should be startled in the headlights but a Nightingale. Next up as the sun slowly peeked above the horizon were a flock of gulls heading off to feed and alongside them a single juvenile White winged Tern. Minutes later a juvenile Little Bittern took a short flight through the reeds only to disappear, what a start ! This was only my 3rd ever sighting of this species. Then I noted a couple of birders out in the reedbeds looking at something in the trees and following their gaze I spotted a juvenile Osprey preening in the tree. Incredible, only the 2nd Osprey I've seen in the Camargue and all before the sun had really begun to shine ! Then, to put the icing on the cake I spotted a flock of 31 Glossy Ibis heading north which disappeared out of sight around La Chassagne. Although I was reluctant to leave I decided to travel down to Fangassier/ Amphise in the hope of more waders. Alongside Vaccares in the small lagoon by Capelliere were a good selection of typical waders including 3 Curlew, 2 Common Sands, 2 Green Sands, 3 Wood Sands and 8 Black - winged Stilts. Actually on the main water of Vaccares were around 30 Black - necked Grebes which is unusual for this time of year. A further drive down to Fangassier was quiet and as I reached the enforces du vignolles it was obvious the water level was very low. On the beach were a good number of juvenile Kentish and Ringed Plovers and around 20 Dunlins but little else. I started to make my way back to the hotel when along the straight road I noticed a raptor in the trees. It had dark wings and a light grey body ! Shit, a Black - winged Kite. It soon flew off but what a sighting, the 1st for me in the WP ! A fantastic end to a brilliant 1st morning !

Rutland Water and Eyebrook - 5/9

Early start for me at RW and a juvenile Marsh Harrier quartering lagoon 2 was a nice start. The same lagoon held a couple of Green Sands and a Ruff. Moving on to Lapwing hide I spotted 8 Greenshank, a dozen Little Egrets and another couple of Ruff. The rest of the reserve was quiet so I travelled down to Eyebrook. At the inflow I found a superb pair of juvenile islandica Black - tailed Godwits and 3 juvenile Ringed Plovers. Taking a walk along the eastern shore it was clear that many of the waders had left although I did find a further 5 Greenshanks chiefly feeding along the west shore. A juvenile Osprey soon appeared and gave a wonderful display of aerobatics and fishing prowess. Further along the path I stumbled into a large tit flock and associated with it were at least 10 Goldcrests. What superb little birds they are ! Finally, on the way back to the lodge I noticed amongst the hundreds of wagtails a single juvenile Grey Wagtail feeding in the bay. This is the first I've seen for many a year and only the 3rd for Leicestershire ! Result !

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.