A Fine Day - on 8th January, 2019

It had seemed like we had been having day after day of exceedingly dull, and rather windy weather for ages when, suddenly, a fine day had been forecast. It was an opportunity not to be missed and, for the first time in weeks, I decided it was time to take a day out birdwatching, rather than a quick visit somewhere. My biggest dilemma, however, was in deciding where to go. Three potential objectives were in prospect:- the Jack Snipe that was being seen from time to time from Crake Hide at Rutland Water; the somewhat nearer Waxwings that were being seen in Loughborough; the female Merlin that was regularly being seen near Ellistown - which is even closer to home.

Late the previous evening, a message was posted that the Waxwings had been seen departing high. The decision was made - I'd try and find the Merlin, then head over to Rutland Water to try and find the Jack Snipe, having my picnic lunch on arrival at Rutland Water. The scene was set - and then torn down again - a Reed Bunting appeared in our garden! A Reed Bunting is not a rare bird, but it is extremely uncommon in our small suburban garden. Without consulting my records, I can't recall one visiting in 2018. I had to try and get some photos!

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus) (male) - our garden, Ashby de la Zouch

While I was busy with the Reed Bunting, a message came through that the Waxwings were again in Loughborough. I was already running very late on my original plan, so switched objectives into a visit to Loughborough on my way to Rutland Water. However, I didn't get away from home until 10h30.

I arrived at the spot in Loughborough to find half a dozen other birders/photographers there watching the two Waxwings in a nearby tree and waiting for them to come down to a much nearer berry-laden tree where they had been feeding. I was told that the birds were being very uncooperative as they were landing in the far side of the tree to feed, making photography very difficult. Going round to the far side of the tree wasn't an option for photography as it would have been shooting straight into a low, but very bright, sun.

I limited myself to half an hour here, on the basis that, although the Waxwing is an exciting occasional visitor, I'd had far fewer sightings of Jack Snipe in my life! I did, however, get a few shots of these birds - although far from satisfying from a photographic point of view. Because of deep shadows, I've had to do a fair amount of manipulation of the shots taken when they were in the feed tree. I was, however, pleased to get the first image, below, with the berry (almost) in the bill and showing the shape of the bird's tongue - even though the light is terrible.

Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) - Loughborough

I left the scene a few minutes after mid-day, when the birds flew up high into a distant tree, and set off towards Rutland Water, rejoining my usual route there at around the half-way point.

Running late on my original plan, I decided to have my picnic at my favoured spot on this route, which overlooks my Little Owl Site No.34. I was excited, on arrival, to see an owl in the entrance to the original nest cavity. This is the first time I've seen this cavity used by an owl since May, 2017!

Little Owl (Athene noctua) - my LO Site No.34

I didn't spend long over my lunch, and soon headed off to Rutland Water, where I went directly to Crake Hide. A few hundred metres from the hide, I met a lady coming in the opposite direction who told me that the Jack Snipe had been showing superbly until about 20 minutes ago, but had then disappeared into the reeds!

I arrived at Crake Hide, where three gentlemen were present who had each arrived before the lady had left, but after the Jack Snipe had departed. There was virtually nothing visible from the hide, until a drake Teal arrived with an entourage of approximately 15 females (I didn't count them, but I did wonder what the drake's secret was!).

Teal (Anas crecca) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

I probably spent around a couple of hours in Crake Hide. During this time there were distant glimpses of Great Egret in flight, and partial views of Marsh Harrier flying behind the trees However, it was clouding over and the light was going off the area in front of the hide, so it was time to look in other areas.

A visit to Shoveler hide revealed a Little Egret approximately 100 metres away.

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

I sat watching an altercation between two Great Egrets over 400 metres away, which ended up with them chasing across in front of me, still at a great distance.

Great Egret (Ardea alba) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

I see that the scientific name for this species is variously stated as Ardea alba or Casmerodius albus - or even Egretta alba! Ardea alba seems to be the most used, however.

Shortly after this interaction, a Great Egret flew back from the direction that the two birds had departed to. This time it was significantly nearer. Because of relatively low light conditions, my settings were not suitable for flight shots, but I did manage to salvage a few.

Great Egret (Ardea alba) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

It was, perhaps, to my advantage that the sun was no longer shining, as I managed to avoid 'burn out' on the white plumage of the egrets on all the shots I took. The disadvantage, of course, was lower shutter speeds. 

Having landed behind the Little Egret, the Great Egret approached the Little Egret, allowing a size comparison shot.

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) + Great Egret (Ardea alba) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

Both birds then waded to an area a little nearer to my position (I measured them at approximately 80 metres distant on Google Earth). 

This next image is not one of my best from the session, but I hope it illustrates why I think of Great Egret as the 'Giraffe' of the bird kingdom.

Great Egret (Ardea alba) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

I then had a veritable feast of watching these two birds in action, and the Great Egret was doing particularly well in catching fish! There now follows a rather indulgent collection of images!

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) + Great Egret (Ardea alba) - Rutland Water, Egleton Reserve

Eventually the light became hopeless, and I was already going to be home for dinner much later than I'd told Lindsay I'd be back, so I set off back to the car park, where I phoned to update Lindsay and apologise - "no problem" she said (she's wonderful like that!).

It was fully dark for my run home of about an hour and a half, and nothing of interest was caught in my headlights.

The day hadn't worked out exactly as hoped for, but it had been a fine day - in fact, it had been a VERY fine day!


Unless something crops up in the interim, I suspect that my next post might feature a few garden birds, and maybe some other wildlife too.

Thank you for dropping by - and as it's my first post of 2019, my best wishes to you all for a sparklingly wonderful year!