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Wednesday 3 October 2018


A VISIT IN BAD WEATHER TO EYEBROOK AND THEN GOOD WEATHER AT RUTLAND WATER.


Having changed my afternoon visit out from the Thursday to Friday the 21st of September due to the weather forecast, I still however whilst at Eyebrook had very cloudy skies, occasional heavy rain and very high winds, so not really the best birding weather.

The best images I managed were of a Buzzard that had decided to sit it out on the ground so as to get out of the wind, so unfortunately that was the sum of my efforts.

I saw a considerable number of  House Martins that had just stopped on the way South for a quick feed and were away after a short time. I tried for some images but what with the high wind and dull conditions none were of use.

My next trip out was to Rutland Water at the Egleton Reserve on Thursday the 27th of September when the weather was considerably better.





EYEBROOK RESERVOIR.





Buzzard, near to the inflow.

This bird sat on the ground to get out of the high wind, even so you can see the feathers on its back being blown about.




If I stand up like this I look so much taller and I can run away.





A split second after taking this image it flew away and was gone in a second as the wind took it.







RUTLAND WATER.

27th September.



I arrived at the Egleton Centre for 13.00 hrs and after a quick chat with David in the office to see what was about before I got underway to visit the hides.

Being a much better afternoon weather wise it was a case of a short sleeve shirt and enjoy the 24 deg weather.








Great White Egret, Buzzard Hide, Lagoon 3.

On arriving in the hide I could see two GWE standing on an island some 196 metres away, and as I was about to get an image this bird started to fly towards me so it was a quick change in settings and the result is above. At this time the bird was about 60 metres away. 






 
 Remaining Great White Egret, Buzzard Hide, Lagoon 3.

G W E still on island with Cormorants and Tufted Ducks in the foreground.





Grey Heron, Buzzard Hide, Lagoon 3.

I find it very difficult not to take images of Heron, unfortunately I was getting the flight image of the GWE when this bird arrived.

  
 
 




Little Egret, Crake Hide, South Arm, Main Reservoir.

Another bird I enjoy taking images of. This one sat on the far side of the inlet from the main reservoir on the rip rap stone.





How times have changed, this is another Little Egret slightly closer to the hide, when I went around the area with the bins I counted fifteen of the birds. I am sure in time it will be the same with the Great Whites. 



Green Sandpiper, Crake Hide,  South Arm.

Squelching around in the mud, this bird had eventually flown across from the far side of the inlet making it possible to get some better images.
 



Such a beautiful little wader nearly up to its knees in the mud.




After having been in Crake Hide for about fifteen minutes a Marsh Harrier appeared down on the point of the inlet and the Main Reservoir, it flew about and then disappeared  over the trees only to return a minutes or so later.

It then slowly worked its way along the far bank but kept disappearing over the trees, it was a case of watching the area and waiting.

It eventually got within 220 metres of me and the following happened.

I would not usually use these images but this bird did something most unexpected.

I have checked with my friend Rhys and several others and none have ever heard of a Marsh Harrier doing an Osprey.

Please forgive the image quality, the camera was tending to focus on the rip rap stone wall.





Female Marsh Harrier, {juvenile I think} Crake Hide.

This is when the bird first saw something and started to hover. 











It then slowly started getting lower.





And lower, by this time I was wondering as to what this bird was doing, I was most certainly not expecting what followed. 










Just dipping its talons into the water.





A little deeper, the water in this area must be 1.0 to 1.5 metre deep. 




And this is how it finished, with its tail feathers up and out the water but with the body well in with its wings up. 



Then it commenced to get out of the water with a black polythene bag gripped in its talons, this damn polythene and plastic gets everywhere. Had it seen a dark shape under the water and thought it was a fish. As to what it was doing I really don't have a clue but whatever it was the bird was very fortunate to get away with it. 





The final image with the black polythene bag deposited behind it. After this the bird flew away and I didn't see it again, but it certainly gave me some entertainment, also a few heart stopping moments.







Cormorant, Crake Hide.

These divers always appear to be on the verge of sinking they sit so low in the water. This bird was diving into an area of thick weed which I found surprising.




After another dive it surfaced and had a wing drying session, you can see the area of weed behind the bird.



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

14 comments:

  1. Hi John
    Fantastic visit to Rutland, beautiful collection. I love the Little Egret. Thanks.

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  2. Hi Bob,
    Yes indeed I had a super time, the weather was perfect but we are still awaiting an inflow of Winter visitors to the reservoir, it is still down in bird numbers.
    I have visited again this afternoon and again Little Egrets everywhere.
    All the best Bob, John

    ReplyDelete
  3. You certainly saw some great bird sightings, beautifully captured!!! Thank you John, always a pleasure to visit.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Denise,
    I had a wonderful afternoon with some very unusual events with the Marsh Harrier.
    So pleased you enjoyed your visit.
    All the best, John

    ReplyDelete
  5. Super selection of stunning shots! Really lovely ! You should be very pleased with your images. M

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Margaret,
    I was pleased with the images other than the Marsh Harrier, but I had to use them due to the bird doing such an unusual escapade.
    All the best, John

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hello John.
    Fantastic days with all these birds. I like to see all these Tufted Duck. it's been a long time since I've seen any!
    Yes, this plastic is a horror for wildlife. He was lucky. We know of cases where eagles drown.
    Every year in France, fishermen find them. It's strange not to be able to open their legs when the prey is caught.
    You have a good week dear John.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Nathalie,
    We always have large numbers of Tufted Duck at Rutland, the numbers will increase over the winter.
    The Marsh Harrier was so lucky, its such a shame world wide with all this plastic waste.
    Its such a shame to have eagles drown, such beautiful birds.
    You also have a good week, John

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi John,
    first of all a compliment for your nice header with the Buzzard :-)
    The pictures of the buzzard are also very nice to see. You could photograph the buzzard from up close. The herons are always beautiful though I have a penchant for the little egret :-) The green sandpiper is cool !!!
    And wow !!! You have a kite thief and also in flight. What a sensation this would have been when you saw this :-)
    You also have the cormorant. Do you know that I live near a very large cormorant colony :-) I am not there often because they smell pretty hahahahaha ....

    have a nice week.
    Greetings, Helma

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Helma,
    Thank you for the compliment regarding the header, the Buzzard was about sixty metres away and having its feathers blown about in the wind.
    I find it very difficult to see a Heron and not take an image, likewise with the Little and Great White egrets.
    I did not know you lived near a Cormorant colony, I can imagine the smell is not special.
    You look after yourself and have a good week.
    All the best, John

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  11. That dark morph Buzzard is very spectacular and the photographs show it off so well. And the Harrier in flight is not so shabby either. Between your owls and hawks you are the Raptor Man!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Both,
    It was a very windy afternoon and the Buzzard was hiding out of the wind on the ground, would have been useful if it had been closer but we can't have everything.
    The Marsh Harrier is a regular visitor around the reserve and wonderful to see, but no one appears to have ever seen one go into the water, this it did again last week.
    Following my renaming I will have to go under Titus John Raptor Man.
    All the best to you both. John

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi John!!! Rutland is a fantastic place.. I see..
    Love all the bids and shots.. And the header really really beautiful and funny..
    Have a nice week..
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Ana,
    Yes Rutland is such a marvellous place to visit and soon we will have the Winter visitors.
    So pleased you enjoyed the Tawny images, it has been difficult to get them with it being so high up in the tree and surrounded in branches and leaves.
    You have a good week, all the best, John

    ReplyDelete

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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