A VISIT TO EGLETON.

As Richard was away with his wife for a few days to celebrate her birthday, I pondered as to where to visit for the Thursday visit out.In the end I decided to visit the Egleton Centre at Rutland. On arrivial I booked in with David who told me he had been to Lagoons 3 and 4 in the morning and had seen numerous waders plus a Peregrine Falcon. I therefore decided to start by visiting the new dipping pond to see if any Dragonflies were about, totally the opposite direction to which being recommended and of course being new very little was about so I carried onto Mallard Hide, and then round to Snipe Hide  and Wet Meadow, from here I carried on round to Harrier Hide but after seeing very little, decided perhaps to follow Davids recommended route so I returned to the Egleton Centre and carried on past and through the Woodland walk and made my way to Sandpiper Hide on Lagoon 4. Here I met up with a couple of gents who put me onto to numerous birds, all of which were silly distances away from the Hide so after a short time in the Hide I said my farewell and headed for Plover Hide. On arriving I had hoped to be closer to the Peregrine  but as is usual, I had moved towards the bird and the bird had moved onto the Osprey nest site at the opposite end of the Lagoon just where I had just come from.!!.

After this decided to call it quits and headed for Shoveler Hide on Lagoon 4, as a rule I manage some reasonable images from this Hide I thought so in I went. I found several people in the hide, two ladies to my left, one of which spent much of the time coughing and causing general chaos, at the other end of the hide was one of the gents from Sandpiper Hide, who had been joined by his wife. They finished up sitting next to me after the coughing lady departed and turned out to be a lovely couple who were visiting Rutland on the way home to Southampton Water having been visiting Kielder Water. After about an hour I started to make my way back towards the car park and away towards some of the Little Owl sites and also a Barn Owl site we were put onto on Sunday evening.

I saw one Little Owl at Site 9, and then went straight to the area where a Barn Owl had been seen and set myself in a spot where I had a good view of the area where the bird had been seen, I got stuck into my tea when one of the farmers visited me and told me the area where she had seen the Owl, this was followed about five minutes later by the other farmer driving by, this being the farmer where the birds are in his old milking parlour and again another ten minute chat and then he was away. I sat this site out until it was virtually dark and no bird was seen but both the farmers see the birds on a regular basis, so watch this space.



EGLETON RESERVE.
15th September. 

Ruddy Darter, Female, Near to the new Dipping Pond.

Ruddy Darter, Male.

Saw many Darters sitting on the fence posts, this one near to Snipe Hide. 

This one near to Plover hide. 

Common Darter, Female.

This near to Snipe Hide. We appear to not have the numbers of Dragonflies in general this year as over previous. Saw Hawker Dragonflies but not in great numbers and they seemed reluctant to land. 

Common Darter, Male.

Speckled Wood Butterfly, Near Sandpiper Hide.

Again a reasonable number of these flying about. 

Comma Butterfly, between Sandpiper and Plover Hides.

These were also about in reasonable numbers.  

Red Admiral, near Shoveler Hide.

When I think back to when I was young, we used to see large number of these, this was only the second I saw whilst out.

  

Little Egret, Lagoon Four, Sandpiper Hide.

Again this week numerous birds around but not many close enough to get a decent image, a gent with a scope pointed out a Curlew Sandpiper, I think the first I have ever seen with its slightly downward curved bill.

 Ringed Plover.

These were about in reasonable numbers over the Lagoon, This being the closest at about sixty metres, such pretty little birds.

Canada Goose, Sandpiper Hide.

Taken just to keep my hand in at capturing flying birds, shame I forgot when I got to Shoveler Hide.

SHOVELER HIDE,

LAGOON FOUR.

Lapwing, Shoveler Hide.

I arrived at the hide after an unsuccessful visit to Plover Hide and found these birds to the front of the hide and got some quick images before looking round much.  

I then had a scan around the Lagoon as a Bittern had being flying round the Lagoon the previous afternoon. I soon spotted a Little Egret followed by two Great White Egrets so things at last looked a lot more promising. 

Green Sandpiper, Shoveler Hide.

Another real favourite of mine, such a pretty little bird. 

Little Egret.

This bird was stood on one of the islands to the front of the Hide, It then walked away and into the Lagoon. 

Great White Egret Number One.

Not the same bird as last week as no black on its bill. A bit of a rushed and distant image, the lady I mentioned  who was coughing had just stood up with her phone and the Egret was heading towards going behind an island, so it was a quick image in front of her before the bird disappeared from view, mind it was over 160 metres away, so not sure as to what picture she was hoping to get. 

Great White Egret, Number Two.
Again I think a different bird to last weeks, not so much black to the tip of the bill. Denise and David both call these birds Great Egrets.  

Looks here to be practising a ballet step.  

Followed by a stretch of the wings and neck. 

Then it turned around and repeated the whole process. 

It then walked towards the end of the wooden structure and this is where I got it wrong, yes the bird flew and my practise image at Lagoon Four was forgotten and I have six hopeless images of the bird flying towards the Little Egret, this when the G W E got close and the Little Egret flew onto the shore.  

Little Egret after Escape.

This is where the bird ended after the G W E flew at it. 

It then eventually made its way back into the Lagoon. A Little Egret is not a small bird, but this gives an idea as to how big the G W E is.




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