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Wednesday 11 October 2017

TWO TRIPS TO RUTLAND WATER.


I decided to have two trips to Rutland, one to the Egletone Reserve and one to Lyndon, neither were that productive bird wise but I had a good walk about and saw several people I had met on previous visits.

On my first visit to the Egleton Reserve, I made my way through the hides and eventually arrived in Sandpiper Hide, here I met a gent who said "we have a Kingfisher keeps landing in the reeds to the front of the hide", so it was keep your eyes peeled and see what happens. After about five minutes I saw the bird flying around at the end of the bay and it eventually landed some  80 metres away from the hide, somewhat different to my last post where I had to change the focus distance onto the shortest for the lens, they were almost in the lens hood. 

I then visited Shoveler Hide but nothing much was showing so I headed for Buzzard Hide where a Bittern had been reported, here I met up with a husband and wife both firing of shots at a great rate of knots, the husband said Kingfishers to the front of us, which I soon spotted but these were in excess of one hundred metres away. 

I then had a quick visit to Crake Hide where another gent said "Kingfisher in the reeds," which sure enough it was, but buried much too deep in to get an image. I then returned quickly to Shoveler hide as I thought the Kingfishers would be closer than I had seen them from Buzzard hide, and sure enough they were { still about 60 metres away} and the couple from Buzzard Hide and the gent from Sandpiper Hide were already in place.

I have returned several times to the Leicestershire Reserve to try for more close up Kingfisher images but the birds appear to have moved on and not been seen for a couple of weeks unfortunately.

I then on the 6th of October had a visit to the Lyndon Centre, my first return since the Ospreys headed South. I had a very pleasant, but very quiet with only me on site walk about and visited all the hides but similar to Egleton, still short on Winter visitors.

After both visits out I had my tea at Eyebrook Reservoir but nothing of consequence was seen either times.

I drove through the Little Owl sites on both outings and again saw no birds unfortunately.  




EGLETON RESERVE.





Great White Egret. Grebe Hide. Lagoon 2.

Unfortunately a long shot, hopefully in time we will find the birds closer to a hide. 



Little Egret, Sandpiper Hide. Lagoon 4.



Kingfisher, Sandpiper Hide. Lagoon 4.

First seen by a gent already in the hide when I arrived but then he had lost it. I managed to find it some 80 metres plus away sat in some reeds.
Sorry for the image quality. 




It then moved onto an old tyre where it sat for a good time and was still in place when I left the hide.



Kingfisher, Buzzard Hide.

This bird upon checking was 120 metres from the hide and the lens was more tending to focus on the box the bird sat on.



This being the second bird from Buzzard hide. 



Kingfisher Female, Shoveler Hide.

This is one of the birds I had seen from Buzzard Hide, the second bird had departed, probably sitting to the front of Buzzard. 






Green Sandpiper, Shoveler Hide.

Just I was about to leave when this beauty turned up.









LYNDON CENTRE.
6th October.

I arrived for about 14.30 hrs and had a walk around all the reserve, I spent some time in Waderscrape Hide and it seemed lonely without the Ospreys to amuse us. Lets hope they have all arrived safely in Africa.




Kestrel, to the rear of the Centre.

This bird was hovering over the grass area to the rear of the centre. 
 






Heron, by Tufted Hide.

This bird flew in and landed on this branch and put the fear of god into the poor Egret.






Cormorant, Tufted Hide.

This bird sat on these dead roots about fifty metres from the hide, Rutland is a wonderful place to visit but most of your images are over a reasonable distance. 



Ruff, Shallow Water Hide.

This bird was with me most of the time I was in the hide but never came very close. 








Cormorant on Osprey Nest, Shallow Water Hide.

As you can see the Ospreys have placed plenty of nest material ready for next season. Before they return the nest will have been rebuilt by the permanent site staff.  



Lapwing, Shallow Water Hide.

Still not arriving in large numbers, more have arrived at Eyebrook Reservoir.

 



Cock Pheasant, on the fence opposite Deep Water Hide.

As I walked back to the car park, I saw this bird fly in and couldn't resist a shot.




He then decided to have a call.






UPDATE ON OUR BARN OWLS.

We still have the young male with us keeping himself very comfortable in the large box. Hope fully he will move on sometime soon, lets hope its before the next mating season. Trying to get confirmation as to whether this is still an active nest site, the law for schedule 1 birds states " A nest site is still active until the last bird leaves or dies." Will keep you up to date.  




Thank you for your visit, I hope you have enjoyed the images as much as I did in the getting of  them .

19 comments:

  1. Marvelous, outstanding series of feathered friends. The Great White Egret is such an elegant bird. Great catch on the Kingfisher! It made itself quite at home. The Sandpiper is a little beauty and the Kestrel, amazing in flight. The Heron looks like our Great Blues. I adore the other birds too. A great collection and one I truly enjoyed looking through. Thank you so much and enjoy the rest of your week.

    p.s. adored the portrait of the pheasant :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Denise,
      So many of my own favourites that I cannot resist getting an image from, the Heron is always a bird I find it difficult to resist. The GWE is also a must, they are as you say so elegant and wonderful to catch in flight, lets hope I can manage this. The Kingfisher images will keep appearing, it was for me a real close bird. Thank you for the visit and comment. All the best, John

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    2. Just popped by to take another look. Thanks again and all the best to you too John :) Denise

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    3. Hi Denise and thank you for another visit, I am just about to post another blog. All the best, John

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  2. A great post you have John, the first is beautiful, one of those Egret I never seen. Beautiful Kingfisher as well.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Bob,
      Thank you for the visit, I was at Rutland this afternoon and they had five G.W.Egrets on site, I saw two but they were much to far away even for me to attempt an image. The Kingfisher is always a delight. You look after yourself, all the best,
      John

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  3. Lovely post, John!
    Boy are you having difficulties getting closer to the Kingfisher!!
    But your efforts were worthwhile considering your banner! ;-)
    Great photos of the kestrel female in flight, congrats and lovely portrait of the pheasant, so proud on the fence!
    Enjoy your weekend, I wish you the great indian summer we're having here!

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  4. Hi Noushka, the Kingfisher is a bird I am starting to see more often, I saw two again Thursday but again at a silly distance, but must not complain after my close encounter previously.
    The Kestrel was a really lucky shot, as I was walking from the car park towards the reserve and just had a quick look at the bird feeders to see what if anything was about and just above I had the kestrel hovering.
    We have had a wonderful day weather wise today but we have a warning of the tail end of a Hurricane to contend with hopefully farther to the West on Monday.
    You have a good week, all the best, John

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  5. Magnífico reportaje, me ha gustado mucho, en especial las fotos del cernícalo en vuelo. Enhorabuena John, un abrazo desde España.

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  6. Hola German,

    Estoy contento de que hayas disfrutado del Kestrel, disfruto consequir fotos de vuelo de cuaiquierave. Administie elgunos de uno garza para la proxima publicacion.
    Esperoque estes manteniendo tu buen clima,
    Todo lo mejor de Inglaterra. John

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  7. Hi John,
    The pictures of the white heron are very beautiful to see.
    Also the kingfisher did you know how to photograph and how :-)
    The pictures of the green sandpiper are also so beautiful.
    Beautiful that you could grab the little praying tower falcon :-)
    Blue heron and cormorant are also beautifully immortalized.
    The pheasant on the fence is really fantastsich :-))))))

    Sincerely, Helma

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  8. Hi Helma

    The Great White is such a stylish bird, reports of five on the reserve at the moment. Kingfishers are at last a bird I can say I have some reasonable images from.
    The Green Sandpiper was such a lucky shot, I was just going to leave the hide when it arrived.
    The Pheasant on the fence I could not resist, he had such a superior look.

    All the best, John

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  9. Wonderful header image of Kingfisher and so many varied shots of his whereabouts. Specially like the Egret, Sandpiper and Kestrel. Thanks for Lapwing too! Really nice blog. M

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    Replies
    1. Hi Margaret
      The header was not taken at Rutland water but one of my earlier lucky visits. Thought you would like the Lapwing, hopefully will start to get them closer soon.
      Thanks for the cup of tea and biscuits earlier.
      All the best to you both, John

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  10. Hi friend!!! This is a wonderful place.. many and vaired birds and greats sceneries..Very nice shots..

    Greetings

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    Replies
    1. Hi Ana
      and thank you, Rutland is a wonderful reserve but we are still short of our Winter visitors but they will arrive soon enough. Really enjoyed your last post, stunning flamingos.
      All the best, John

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  11. Your photography is fascinating and brilliant, John! Warm greetings from Montreal, Canada. My grandparents on my father's side are from Kent, England.

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  12. Hi Linda, and pleased you have enjoyed your visit. Return warm greeting from Leicestershire, I have no family connection with Canada I'm afraid. Thanks and all the best, John

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  13. Hi John: Your header shot is simply stunning. I am reading more and more reports of Great Egret in the UK and not a few of Cattle Egret also. I suspect that these two species may be the next herons to colonize the British Isles following the success of Little Egret. Miriam joins me in sending our best wishes.

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About Me;


Titus White:
Hi I am Richard Peglers friend Titus White, and those who follow Richards posts will understand the name and reason for it. I have been birding with Richard for 3 years and a volunteer at Rutland Water on the Osprey Project for 2 years. My early images were taken on a Nikon D80 with a 70 - 200mm lens. I updated the lens to a 70 - 300mm VR lens but still was not happy with the results. Eventually when Nikon announced the D7100 I decided to change so upgraded the camera and also invested in a Sigma 50 - 500mm lens.
I first met Richard through Arthur Costello as I was having the occasional visit from Little Owls on our land. We eventually found the Little Owls through another contact about 100 metres away. Photo's will follow on future posts.
I have recently upgraded my camera to full frame, this is a challenge I am at the moment enjoying trying to get the best out of the beast.
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