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Monday 10 September 2018

MY FINAL OSPREY DUTY FOR THE YEAR, A QUICK VISIT TO EYEBROOK AND AN AFTERNOON AT EGLETON RESERVE.


Always a sad time when the last Osprey duty comes around, the season seems to have flown by this year., with the young having been gone for several weeks the adult birds have just lazed about with 33 catching the fish and the female just having the odd fly about.

I was on duty singly as my usual co-host was at the Burghley Horse trials so I could be in for a busy afternoon, as it happened initially it was extremely busy then after about 16.30 hrs it went the other way.

I had one delightful family arrive, Mum, Dad and two young girls, so the normal starter "have you been before" the Mum answered no, we have come because my youngest daughter is totally besotted with Ospreys but has never seen one. Well we are going to see one today I said, so I pulled a chair up to the scope and said to the young girl {she was seven} stand on the chair and look through the scope, she won't understand you said the Mum, we are from Luxembourg, So the youngster got on the chair looked through the scope and we had floods of tears bless her, she was so delighted at seeing the birds it was lovely. 




Ospreys, Manton Bay, Waderscrape Hide.

Male nearest , this is where the pair sat most of the afternoon just letting the world pass them by.





Female with a very small fish she caught herself in the top area of the bay. 



Female Osprey on the nest with a gull on the camera post, not that long ago the gull would have been chased away from the young.



Both birds have since left Rutland Water and on the way to West Africa.
I wish them a safe migration and return next Spring and thank them all for all the enjoyment we have all had from them throughout the season.
 



Adult Moorhen, Waderscrape Hide.

When I took this image we had no sign of the young and thought the Heron had been back and taken them.




Then they eventually returned later in the afternoon, the fourth is hidden in the reeds farther to the right. 



Juvenile Whitethroat, Waderscrape Hide.

This young bird kept appearing but never in an area where I could get a clear shot, so had to make the best of it with this image.




Douglas C47 Dakota, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

I could not resist taking this image even though the aircraft was a silly distance away, a serious crop.






EYEBROOK RESERVOIR.

I managed a very quick visit one afternoon, not much was about but I came upon a ploughing competition on my way home on one of the very narrow country lanes I follow.
I found six traction engines in a field cabling ploughs across the field, fascinating to watch.




Kestrel, Opposite to Stoke Dry.

I had just arrived and this bird flew towards me, so with no time to put the tripod out it was out the car and rest the camera on the door and shoot.



Osprey, Opposite Stoke Dry.

This is not the usual bird 03/2009, appears to be an unringed bird, not sure as it being one of ours or could be a Scottish bird heading South. 



Ploughing Competition, Near Stockerstone Village.

These wonderful old Traction Engines in full steam ploughing the field, you can see three more farther across the field, you can just see the smoke of the farthest, wonderful to stop and watch.



This is the plough the above engine had just pulled up the field by cable, just starting to return down the field, the three gents just give the weight to get the plough onto the ground where as it is pulled the plough pulls into the ground and the gent on the wheel keeps the furrows straight.



This Engine is opposite to the second at the top of the field and having just pulled the plough down the field the top engine is pulling and the cable is slack coming from the drum under the body .






A VISIT TO THE EGLETON RESERVE.
6th September.

I arrived at approximately 13.00 hrs and was greeted with a sunny sky, met up with my friends in the car park, we all booked in at the centre with David and got on our way through the Hides to see what was about.

By the time we had got to Sandpiper hide it was becoming cloudy but it was a case of carrying on and hoping the rain held off.

By the time we arrived in Shoveler Hide it had become very cloudy and we had lost  a considerable amount of light and after about half an hour it started spitting with rain so it was a case of getting back to the car park as soon as possible as none of us had any covers for the cameras. This we managed in fifteen minutes and were just in the cars when it began raining very heavily, a lucky escape.



Empty Osprey Nest, Sandpiper Hide, Lagoon Four.

This is the nest I saw 4K/2014 and his unringed female {possibly an unringed Scottish Osprey} sat on three weeks ago. Both birds have since headed South so another empty nest. Lets hope both return next year and raise some young.

4K has a satellite tracker and as I write this post he is in Morocco, 26 miles South West of Marrakesh, they most certainly cover some ground very quickly.
  
 



Female Ruff, Shoveler Hide, Lagoon 3.

Unfortunately the light was failing just prior to it raining but I could not try for images of the following birds, we had six Ruff about the area of the hide, these two were just over fifty metres away.










Such a delightful Wader. 



Snipe, Shoveler Hide, Lagoon 3.

Not in the numbers I had seen previously but still a lovely bird to see and photograph.
Again about 50 metres away.











Green Sandpiper, Shoveler Hide, Lagoon 3.

This bird was farther away and thus the image is considerably cropped.
Always a delight to see these birds, unfortunately it never came into the pool closer to the hide in fact after I took these two images it flew away.
 








Great White Egret, Shoveler Hide, Lagoon 3.

This bird flew in just as it started to rain albeit a very fine rain, so it was a case of take the image and immediately head back to the car park which normally at a steady walk takes about 25 minutes, luckily I got back in 15 and just as I sat in the car the heavens opened and it poured with rain.
This bird was nearly 200 metres away but I decided not to wait for it to come any closer.



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

12 comments:

  1. Fantastic images John, I love the the Green Sandpiper, the Snipe, the Ruff and Great White Egret, special.

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    1. Hi Bob,
      I was hoping to get an image of the Green Sandpiper as you managed but it was over far away.
      Also good to see the Snipe, Ruff and Great White, I'm hoping for better weather tomorrow.
      All the best, John

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  2. Extraordinario reportaje, me ha encantado la foto del juvenil de Curruca zarcera Sylvia communis, fantástica. Enhorabuena por todas las fotos John, un abrazo desde España.

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    Replies
    1. Hola German
      Gracias por la visita, inicialmente luve un problema al reconocer al juvenil Whitethroat pero un amigo me ayudo.
      Parece extrano estar sin las aguilas pescadoras.
      Lo mejor de Iglaterra es una buena observacion de eves.
      John

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  3. Wow! Amazing photos, next best thing to being there John. Thank you so much!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Denise,
      Might be the next best thing to being there but at least you missed the rain!!
      So pleased you enjoyed your visit and as always I will keep trying for that special image.
      All the best, John

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  4. You have managed to get something different again, coming across the traction engines and ploughing match. Just a bit before my time! But father did plough with horse and single furrow plough.
    Love the shots of moorhens and wading birds. The Kestrel and Osprey beautiful!
    Goodbye to Ospreys and hoping for safe journeys to all.
    No doubt you will find lots of other things to interest. Hope for plenty of Owls! M

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  5. Hi Margaret,
    Glad you enjoyed the traction engines, it was fascinating to watch, appears considerably more difficult to keep a straight furrow than the ploughing today.
    It is a quiet time at the moment at Rutland but its always good to see a few waders but such as the Ruff won't stay around for long.
    With the tracked Ospreys we have on already on her beach in Senegal. One male is in Guinea-Bissau and another is way up river in Gambia, he still however may not have finished his journey.
    I hope to find more things of interest in fact it has not been a bad week at all so watch for the next post.
    All the best and see you both soon, John

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  6. Hi John,
    yes, the Ospreys also go on a trip but they will be back next year :-)
    Very nice to read that the little girl was so eager to see an Osprey alive and you gave her this chance :-) It will also be one of the last images for us.
    Your photo of the warbler is very beautiful. Nice to see the praying kestrel but ...... photo 10 of the flying osprey is super !!!! What a beautiful moment to see this bird fly over.
    The old land machines are also really nice to see :-)
    The ruffs and the snippets are so nice but also the Greenshank is great.
    You have placed a beautiful series again John :-)

    Kind regards, Helma

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  7. Hi Helma,
    A sad time with the Ospreys but as you say they will return next year. It was an absolute delight with the little girl bless her, its the first time we have had tears in the hide.
    The Osprey in 10 does not appear to be one of our birds, no sign of a ring, so more than likely a Scottish bird on a late migration.
    The traction engines were such a lucky find that I found fascinating to watch.
    Its always good to see some waders but with the Ruff the will soon be away South.
    Glad you enjoyed the choices.

    Regards to you and have a good week. Joghn

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  8. I am sure you will miss the Ospreys, John, but you are probably also happy to have your stint as a volunteer over for another season. Maybe more time to devote to Little Owls?

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  9. Hi David,
    Yes its true what you say, but I find I miss the visitors, some come from far and wide, this last season I had visitors from Europe, the Far East, the UAE and even Australia.
    But as you say more time for Owling.
    All the best to you both, John

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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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