🎵 "Avocetta, Gentille Avocetta" 🎵 - 7th March, 2024

On this day, prompted by a report of a sighting of Avocet on the dam at Thornton Reservoir, which is about 12 miles (19 km) from our home, and it being forecast for dry, if a little misty, weather, that is where I decided to go after lunch.

I arrived at the main car park to find two birders present, including 'Mr Thornton Reservoir' Andy Smith. The water close to the car park contained a number of birds and I photographed a Great Crested Grebe before looking for the Avocet.

Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) - Thornton Reservoir

The Avocet was against the dam, and very distant, but was kindly pointed out to me and shown to me through a 'scope. I did take some record shots, one of which (very heavily cropped and enhanced to reduce the effect of the mist) is shown below.

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) - Thornton Reservoir

I had another objective for this visit, and that was to get some exercise. The path round the reservoir is 2.5 miles (4.0 km) in length and I was decided to take this in an anti-clockwise direction. Before setting off, I took a few shots of Black-headed Gull.

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Thornton Reservoir

From the car park, we'd observed a photographer leaning over the wall directly opposite the Avocet. I was not at all comfortable with that, but I did want a better shot, so I continued past until I got to the control block well past the bird, and took my shots from there. The one below is still heavily cropped, but better shows the bird.

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) - Thornton Reservoir

The first half of my circum-perambulation was very uneventful, with only a Mallard being photographed. They might be our most common duck, but there's no denying that the drake is a very handsome bird

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (male) - Thornton Reservoir

At the half-way mark, I found that someone had placed some seed on a post and fence. This was attracting birds from the adjacent woodland.

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) - Thornton Reservoir

Great Tit (Parus major) Thornton Reservoir

Continuing my circuit, before reaching the car park, I took a few more photos.

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) - Thornton Reservoir

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) - Thornton Reservoir

On arrival back at the car park I found a gentleman who was just finishing putting food out for the waterfowl. This had attracted a whole bunch of ducks, geese, and gulls. I didn't take much notice, wanting to check on whether the Avocet was still showing. It was and, yet again, a photographer was leaning over the wall directly adjacent to the bird.

I was about to go to my car and head home when I noticed a Mandarin was amongst the throng of birds attracted to the deployed food. How did I manage to miss it until then?!

Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) (male) - Thornton Reservoir

Thus ended my visit and this blog post which is somewhat shorter than my usual offering.

Until the next time, please take good care of yourselves and Nature. Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

 

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

Local Observations - 14th to 23rd September, 2023

Header image (while this post is current) - Snipe - Kelham Bridge on 15th September, 2023 

This post, mostly prepared before our departure to the Isles of Scilly, takes my account of my local obesrvations up to the day we departed. It will be a relatively short one when compared to my previous two posts.

Thursday, 14th September          Garden

The male Sparrowhawk was making increasingly frequent visits to the garden. The overall effect was that the number of birds visiting the garden was dropping significantly - through their avoidance of the predator, rather than actual predation. Here was one of its visits on this day

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our garden

Friday, 15th September          Kelham Bridge Nature Reserve  :  Garden

An on-line friend had seen and photographed a Grass Snake at Kelham Bridge NR. I am rather fond of snakes so decided that this day, which was quite bright and sunny after some very wet weather,  would be a good time to visit and see if I had any luck.

I arrived at the parking area and nearly gave up there and then as there were already eight cars parked there. I usually find somewhere between zero and two cars when I get there. I decided to risk it anyway, thinking the cars might belong to dog-walkers or to members of a work-party.

Just through the gate,  I stopped to photograph a Common Darter.

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (female) - Kelham Bridge NR

Half way along the path to the first hide, I met a camera-porting fellow who advised me that the second hide was rammed full with people hoping to photograph Kingfisher and Grass Snake, but that they were seeing nothing and were unlikely to because of all the noise and vibration coming from the hide. He advised me to go to the first hide where there was some action, albeit at a distance, and that there was only a lady photographer there. This proved to be sound advice.

I arrived at the hide to find it just as he'd said, and parked myself on the left-hand side, where I had a good view of the right-hand edge of the pool in front of the hide.

A Moorhen was dabbling in front of the hide.

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) - Kelham Bridge NR

 A Snipe was showing well in the same area.

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Kelham Bridge NR

Two Green Sandpipers were in front of the hide too. They were soon joined by another Snipe. I have often wondered how the 'green' aspect of the name originated, but can find no reference to this.

Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) - Kelham Bridge NR

A Snipe had a preening session which resulted in a wonderful spray of water. I tried to video this after taking these stills, but the action was not repeated.

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Kelham Bridge NR

A Heron came into view from behind the island.

Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) - Kelham Bridge NR

I now realise that I have a fascination with Snipe, as I cannot resist photographing them, so here is another shot.

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Kelham Bridge NR

I also got some better shots of Green Sandpiper, although they remained a little too distant for good results.

Green Sandpiper (Tringa ochropus) - Kelham Bridge NR

I'd been in the hide for about an hour and the person that had been in the hide when I arrived had departed about half an hour previously and gone to try her luck in the second hide. I thought that it was time that I did likewise, hoping to see some dragonflies on the trail between the two hides. In the event, I only found a few more Common Darters. 

The second hide was absolutely full, with people standing and waiting for a turn at the windows. There was a lot of conversation going on too. It seems that there was nothing on view except a couple of Mute Swans. I didn't bother trying to enter but exchanged a few pleasantries with people I knew there before departing after a couple of minutes.

Back at the first hide, I found it deserted and settled in for another session. Little happened, but I did get some more shots of Snipe, with two of them in the frame and then a record shot with four of them in frame.

Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) - Kelham Bridge NR

I took some shots of two Moorhen.

Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) - Kelham Bridge NR

For some reason, I decided to take some video. I was glad that I did as I find this clip quite amusing, as it seems to show a male attempting to mate with a female and then trying to look nonchalant having been rejected.

After a while, a group from the second hide arrived. Shortly after their arrival, Paul Burton (a thoroughly good guy that I have known for years) alerted us to a Water Rail starting to show at the end of the island. I just managed to raise my camera as it flew, and was lucky enough to get a shot.

Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus) - Kelham Bridge NR

With the second hide now starting to fill, It was time for me to go.

A relaxed late-afternoon meal in our conservatory gave me the opportunity to photograph a Dunnock which was causing us some concern as it looked a little puffed up. It was also not very alert to human presence. It was not seen again after a few days later.

Dunnock (Prunella modularis) - our garden

Magpies are daily visitors as I write this, and have been observed seeing off the male Sparrowhawk!

Magpie (Pica pica) - our garden

Wednesday, 20th September          Garden

 

The male Sparrowhawk was continuing to be a threat to our avian visitors.

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) (male) - our garden

Thursday, 21st September          Garden

Jackdaws are usually quite timid visitors to our garden, departing at high speed as soon as they detect movement from the house. I was, therefore, extremely surprised when a Jackdaw landed on the outside windowsill of my study and peared at me from less than a metre away. It stayed there for some time, walking along the windowsill and looking in.

 

Jackdaw (Corvus monedula) - our garden

Saturday, 23rd September          Garden

 

Lindsay can always ID a Robin, even if it is only showing in silhouette or facing away from us. She says it's the legs that give it away. In the second image, below, taken from my study window, I can see what she means!

 

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) - our garden

 

All things being equal, my next blog post, probably in about a week's time, will feature the first part of my account of our recent adventures on the Isles of Scilly.

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