An Afternoon at Rutland Water - 24th November, 2023

Largely due to the situation at home, I have not been able to get to Rutland Water as much as I would have liked to this year. However, on this day, the weather was forecast to be sunny, if a little chilly, and the situation at home was relatively stable.

I managed to get away late morning and took my usual cross-country 'owling route' with no expectations of seeing an owl, and this turned out to be the case. It's makes me sad to reflect on past travels on this route when, occasionally, the out and back journey would result in Little Owl sightings just reaching double figures, over the 17 Little Owl nest sites that I passed. Virtually every one of these sites has decayed to the point that they are no longer habitable. 

By one of my old sites, however, I was lucky enough to spot two distant Red Kites, one of which came a little closer to the point that I had stopped at.

Red Kite (Milvus milvus) - Skeg Hill

I pulled into my usual picnic spot for a late lunch. This is a location where at one time, while sitting in my car, I could monitor three of those Little Owl sites.

Nothing more of interest was seen before I arrived at Rutland Water - again, this route used to yield good sightings of farmland birds, and I have noted a worrying decline in this aspect too.

Having parked in the Visitor Centre car park at the Egleton side of Rutland Water, I checked in by Tree Sparrow Hide to sort out my camera settings, just finding a Blue Tit as a subject.

Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) - from Tree Sparrow Hide

I had made up my mind, as my daylight time was going to be limited and the best prospects were towards the far end of the trail to the north, I would make my way directly to the northern end of the reserve and work my way back.

As I ascended the ramp to Plover Hide, which overlooks Lagoon 4, I was closely observed by some sheep. Here's one of them.

Hebridean Sheep (Ovis aries) - by Plover Hide

I had Plover Hide to myself, and found plenty to entertain me although most was rather distant, and the direction of the sun was unfavourable.

Most impressive from this location was a line of a few hundred Golden Plover, interspersed with a few Lapwing. The first image, below, shows a part of the line with the lens at 400mm.The second image is a heavily cropped image of a smaller section of the same group.

Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria) - from Plover Hide

Much closer, and on the edge of an island opposite the hide, were some Wigeon which were resting, and a male came drifting by.

Wigeon (Mareca penelope) - from Plover Hide

Wigeon (Mareca penelope) (male) - from Plover Hide

Unfortunately distant, I spotted a pair of Pintail. I'd have loved to get a closer shot of the handsome male of the species.

Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) (male + female) - from Plover Hide

A Lapwing was slowly moving around on the island in front of the hide.

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) -from Plover Hide

A drake Shoveler drifted into view.

Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) (male) - from Plover Hide

I now felt that it was time to move on. Bittern Hide was next on the list. By the access track to the hide I found a few Shaggy Ink-cap fungi.

Shaggy Ink-cap (Coprinus comatus) - near Bittern Hide

There were no birds visible in front of Bittern Hide (which overlooks Lagoon 3), where I found myself alone once more, and I was on the verge of giving up when a smallish bird of prey flashed by and headed into some distant trees. By the time I found it in the viewfinder and took a few shots, it was far too distant to ID. As it had come from the direction of Shoveler Hide (which also overlooks Lagoon 3, but with a much broader outlook), I hurried there to see if anyone had spotted it and could ID it for me. I was immediately told it was a Peregrine. Here's the best that I could muster - not good enough for an ID shot, but what is visible fits Peregrine.

 

Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) - from Bittern Hide

I spent a while in Shoveler Hide, which was almost full with people, as there were birds to be seen, although nothing of great note, and most being beyond the useful range of my lens or sitting on unattractive artificial structures. Here are a few birds that I did photograph.

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) (male) - from Shoveler Hide

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - from Shoveler Hide

Gadwall (Mareca strepera) (male) - from Shoveler Hide

Keen to see more of the reserve before dusk, I called in at the empty Buzzard Hide (also overlooking Lagoon 3, but with a very narrow field of view) and found little in view except a close-by Cormorant.

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - from Buzzard Hide

I decided not to spend time here, and popped over to Smew Hide (Lagoon 2), only to find the view was directly into the bright low sun, and seeing what was out there was virtually impossible, so left again without hesitation.

At Crake Hide, which gives views onto the narrow north-west end of Lagoon 4, I found one other person in attendance. There were good views of Cormorants on the far bank opposite the hide and a Great White Egret a little further away on the far bank. 

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - from Crake Hide

Great White Egret (Ardea alba) - from Crake Hide

At one point, the egret flew and joined the Cormorants.

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) and Great White Egret (Ardea alba) - from Crake Hide

I spent some very pleasant time chatting with my companion, but when a third person arrived it was my cue to depart as there were still other hides I wished to visit before I departed.

My visit to Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon 4 was a very quick one as everything was very distant, and the light was failing fast. Nothing was photographed from here.

It was now time to start making my way back to the car park, calliing in at three hides as I did so.

I cannot remember whether it was at Osprey Hide or Grebe Hide that I photographed this Moorhen.

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) - Rutland Water, Egleton side

The last hide visited before returning to my car was Redshank Hide. The main item of interest here was a Great White Egret.

Great White Egret (Ardea alba) - from Redshank Hide

My final shots were of a gull that flew past. I am not sure what the ID of this gull was, and neither ObsIdentify nor Merlin can help with its ID. Germán, in Spain, has now advised that this is a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull, which ties in with one of the suggestions from ObsIdentify.

probable Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) (juvenile) - from Redshank Hide

Having got back to the car, I had a short errand to run in Hambleton before heading home, by a faster route, rather than the countrified one, as darkness rolled in. 

It had been a highly enjoyable afternoon out, even though nothing particularly exciting had been seen.

 

If all goes according to plan, my next post will cover the second half of November, which included four short trips out, as well as some garden observations.

In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

More May Memories - 17th to 22nd May, 2023

Being currently a bit snowed-under, metaphorically speaking, my shortage of time means that this post does not include the visit to the 'rather special location' that I suggested in my previous blog post - that will feature in a future post. Here are some of my observations from towards the end of May.

Wednesday, 17th May                    Garden ; Kelham Bridge Nature Reserve

Jackdaw has now become an almost daily visitor to the garden - usually a single bird, but sometimes two and, on one occasion, six!

Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) - garden on 17th May, 2023

That afternoon, I visited Kelham Bridge in the hope that some interesting birds might be found and mainly hoping for Kingfisher. 

From the first hide, I noticed that there was now little activity at the Sand Martin wall, but that, as usual lately, Canada Geese were close to the hide.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Kelham Bridge NR

From the second hide, there was little activity on the water, but a Gadwall did come close enough for a photo.

Gadwall (Mareca strepera) (male) - Kelham Bridge NR

On the far side of the water, in the reeds, there was quite a lot of activity by Reed Wablers. It was a bit too far away for the 100-400 lens but I did manage some images - shown very heavily cropped below.

Reed Warbler (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) - Kelham Bridge NR

While in the second hide, I spotted a fearsome-looking insect settle on a flower-head. This was Empis tessellata - one of the 'Dance flies'. The following is an extract from the excellent NatureSpot web site:- Though it feeds on nectar it is also a predator and catches other insects using its long pointed proboscis to pierce their bodies. Males of E. tessellata present a 'gift' to the female, in the form of a dead insect, before mating takes place. Females will not mate with males who do not present a gift.

Dance fly sp. (Empis tessellata) (male) - Kelham Bridge NR

Calling in at the first hide on my way back, I found that the Canada Geese had young.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Kelham Bridge NR

Thursday, 18th May                    Garden

There seems to have been an abundance of Holly Blue butterflies this year - to put this in perspective, I would not be surprised if I have seen more Holly Blues this year than I have, in total, over the past twenty years! Barely a day has gone by in the past six weeks when we have not had one of these little gems visit the garden and I am seeing them everywhere when I am out too.

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (female) - garden on 18th May, 2023

A Large Red Damselfly visited our mini-pond. It would have been more exciting if it had been a female!

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male) - garden on 18th May, 2023

I will always take the opportunity to photograph a Bullfinch if it is not on a feeder. I'm quite pleased to have got this shot.

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula) (male) - garden on 18th May, 2023

Sunday, 21st May                    Saltersford Valley Country Park

Saltersford Valley is one of my favourite local sites for dragonflies, and it was approaching the time when I should be looking for Hairy Dragonfly. I saw one here for the first time at the  beginning of June, 2020, and again, at the same time, in 2021, which the County Recorder considered a relatively remarkable record on our side of the county. However, I couldn't find one here in 2022.

I'd not been long on the boardwalk at Saltersford Valley this day when I spotted a Hairy Dragonfly below me, zooming about between the Reedmace. There was no way that I was going to get a shot unless it settled. I called up a local couple who I had first met a few weeks earlier at Watermead, and who had an interest in dragonflies. They soon joined me. We had several fleeting glimpses of this species, but none of us got any photos. It was most frustrating.

Here are some items that I did manage to photograph. 

Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) - Saltersford Valley CP

When I first spotted the below damselfly, I was quite excited and unsure of its identity. Then I noticed the red eyes and realised that it was a Red-eyed Damselfly. Although a quite common damselfly it was my first encounter with an immature male of the species.

Red-eyed Damselfly (Erythromma najas) (immature male) - Saltersford Valley CP 

Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (male) - Saltersford Valley CP

The female Blue-tailed Damselfly comes in five colour forms. This one is f. violacea which matures to f. infuscans (green phase) or the andromorph (male-like blue).

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (female f. violacea) - Saltersford Valley CP

A Comma butterfly was on sentry duty at the start of the boardwalk.

 Comma (Polygonia c-album) - Saltersford Valley CP 

Monday, 22nd May                    Saltersford Valley Country Park

I returned to Saltersford Valley the following day, once again hoping for shots of Hairy Dragonfly. Again I failed, in spite of several sightings. I am still having difficulty finding small items in the viewfinder and then achieving focus in auto focus mode. I may yet have to resort to manual focus - something that I've not done for decades. The visit was not totally wasted, however, and any outing  into nature is a worthwhile experience.

Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (male+female) - Saltersford Valley CP

Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) (teneral male) - Saltersford Valley

This hoverfly was, I believe, Myathropa florea, known as the Batman Hoverfly because of the markings on its thorax (sadly, not visible in my photo).

Batman Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) (male) - Saltersford Valley FP

Security at the entance to the walkway was still being provided by a Comma. I suspect that it was the same one.

Comma (Polygonia c-album) - Saltersford Valley CP

That brings me to the ned of this rather hurredly constructed blog post, for which I apologise.

I suspect that the visit to that rather special location, previously mentioned, will feature in my next blog post. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. If all goes to plan I'll find time to publish it in about a weeks time, but things are a bit up-in-the-air at the moment.

Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard 

A Return to Middleton Lakes - 18th April, 2023

Having made a very enjoyable first visit to the RSPB Middleton Lakes Reserve on 23rd February, I'd been looking for an opportunity to return, but had been hampered by commitments and weather - there's virtually nowhere to shelter at Middleton Lakes! This dat, however, looked promising with a good chance of sunshine, although the winds were forecast to be rather strong. 

I set off at around 10.30, arriving at around 11.15. I'd been relying on the availability of loos at Middleton Hall, next to the RSPB car park, but found that Middleton Hall was well and truly closed. I spoke to another group of people in the car park to enquire about alternatives, only to find that they were in the same boat as myself. I will say no more, other than that ad-hoc arrangements were made by all.

I set off along the long trail which leads to the lakes and soon had the pleasure of spotting a Holly Blue butterfly.

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (male) - Middleton Lakes

Some way down the track is an area with what is described as a bird kitchen where this sign is displayed, and there are logs etc. placed where people can put seed for the birds. I stopped here briefly but only photographed a Great Tit.

Great Tit (Parus major) - Middleton Lakes

By Pooh Stick Bridge, a birder coming the other way alerted me to a male Blackcap ahead. I found it almost immediately as it was continually singing loudly. Getting a photograph, however, was another matter entirely. Although it was probably less than ten metres away it was mostly obscured by intervening branches in a darlk place against a biright sky. This is the best that I could manage in the possibly five minutes before it departed.

Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) (male) - Middleton Lakes

Where people had put bird seed on the parapet of Fishers Mill Bridge, a Chaffinch was having its lunch. This one had a bad case of scaly legs - a common condition caused by  Fringilla papillomavirus. This condition can lead to lameness and loss of digits or worse.

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs) (male) - Middleton Lakes

I arrived at Fishers Mill Pool to find an even more disturbing sight - a small island covered with dead and dying birds. As far as I could tell, these were all Black-headed Gull. Avian Flu was taking a terrible toll here. A section of this island is depicted below - it was only visible through the reeds in front.

Carnage at Middleton Lakes

There was, however, the uplifting sound of a booming Bittern.

From the west side of Jubilee Wetlands, a few Canada Geese were in a meadow amongst some white flower, of which I have no idea of their identity.

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Middleton Lakes

I had a rather unsuccesful attempt to photograph a passing Cormorant.

Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) - Middleton Lakes

Shortly after this, I got into conversation with a gentleman and his wife. He had bought the same camera body as me at about the same time. I picked up some useful tips from him and immediately applied these to my camera. I was then delighted when I managed to get a difficult shot of a near and low-flying swan, into the light and against a cluttered background. The result was not the best of shots, convinced me that the new setting was an improvement.

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) (immature) - Middleton Lakes

I had been seeing a few Orange Tip butterflies but, because of the strong wind, not managed to find one that settled. My luck changed on a sheltered patch beside the path that runs between Jubilee Wetlands North and North Pool.

Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) (male) - Middleton Lakes

Turning towards The Lookout, a pair Of Great Crested Grebe were in the water to the right of the path.

Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) - Middleton Lakes

I spent a short while in The Lookout, where there were plenty of birds visible, but mainly common fare and mainly at an unphotographable distance. I did photograph a pair of Gadwall from here, however.

Gadwall (Mareca strepera) (female) - Middleton Lakes

Gadwall (Mareca strepera) (male) - Middleton Lakes

Leaving The Lookout, one of the grebes was in a better position for photography.

Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) - Middleton Lakes

Heading down the east side of Jubilee Wetlands, adjacent to the River Thame, I found that it was much more sheltered from the wind here and a few butterflies were around. There were numerous Orange-tips - nearly all male.

Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) (male) - Middleton Lakes

There were also a few Speckled Wood around.

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) - Middleton Lakes

I only saw one Peacock butterfly and this was holding a territory, having frequent skirmishes with intruding Orange-tips! 

Peacock (Aglais io) - Middleton Lakes

I then took the east-west path that runs between Jubilee Wetlands and Fishers Mill Pool. At the first blind, I sat and rested a while. Attempts to photograph gulls didn't amount to much. Here are a couple of shots.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus - Middleton Lakes

Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) - Middleton Lakes

 I tried to get some shots of a rather distant Lapwing, but couldn't do better than this (heavily cropped).

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) - Middleton Lakes

For whatever reason, I suddenly felt tempted to try the video facility on the Canon. It is a far more simple process on the Canon, than it was on the Nikon, which is why I never used it on the Nikon. I'm quite pleased with the results which were hand-held in a stiff wind - as you can hear if you have the sound up on your device.

I also took a few shots of a drake Shoveler.

Shoveler (Spatula clypeata) (male) - Middleton Lakes

Sufficiently rested, I headed eastward and stopped for a Coot.

 

Coot (Fulica atra) - Midleton Lakes

The real treat of the day came a little further along the path when a very loud song alerted me to the presence of a Sedge Warbler. I had not seen this species for several years, so was delighted when it briefly flew into the top of a bush close to me.

Sedge Warbler (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) - Middleton Lakes

Before leaving this path I got a record shot of a female Orange-tip (the one without the orange tips to the wings).

Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) (female) - Middleton Lakes

Before reaching Fishers Mill Bridge, I was again struck by the volume of sound from the gulls on Fishers Mill Pool although the booming Bittern could be heard above the racket but, sadly, not in this clip.

At Fishers Mill Bridge, I was quite surprised, and amused, to find a drake Mallard on the bridge parapet, after the bird seed that had been placed on it.

 

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (male) - Middleton Lakes

Nothing of great interest was seen on the long walk back to the car park.

It had been a most enjoyable experience, in spite of the cold wind, and I look forward to returning. I am keen to know what the dragonfly/damselfly situation is here.

My next blog post will, as usual, probably be in about a week's time. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature.

Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard