We made a rare excursion into nearby Rutland in January, visiting Eyebrook Reservoir, staying overnight near Uppingham, and then spending the next day at Rutland Water. Although we chose the coldest days of the winter so far we were rewarded by outstanding views of many species that we do not see in our local area. Water birds were obviously the main attraction, but songbirds and birds of prey were also abundant. Geese were seen all over Eyebrook, including Egyptian Goose (an African species that is now resident in feral populations all over the UK) and Canada goose (another introduced species that is now widespread); even our native Greylag Goose (shown here) is boosted in numbers each winter through seasonal migration.
Ducks of all the common species are to be found including Wigeon, Teal, and Mallard, as well as the understated Gadwall (shown here). Rarer species turn up regularly although on this occasion we missed out on the Smew that were out there somewhere. Mute Swans are numerous and Whooper Swan occasional in the winter. The shallower parts of the reservoir, particularly around the ‘island’ and the inflow, often have numbers of waders, but on this occasion only Lapwings were out on the ice in any numbers. On a warmer day we would have stayed longer and undoubtedly would have seen a few more.
A walk along the Leicestershire bank, where a little more sun and a little less wind made things rather more pleasant, we found a number of smaller birds around the inflow including a first ever Marsh Tit as well as Goldfinch, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Chaffinch and the first Fieldfare that I’ve seen this winter. Whilst walking back to the car we were treated to a close view of a Red Kite, one of the most elegant of our native birds of prey.
The next day, Rutland Water brought us even more species of birds, coupled with the relative luxury of being able to view most of them from the numerous hides that are situated alongside the lagoons. The thick frost is clear to see in these pictures of a Song Thrush and a Pied Wagtail; the quest for food goes on regardless of the weather.
The lagoons that were in sunshine had large areas of open water and along the edges of these Snipe could be found. These wading birds are remarkably well camouflaged and they use their long bills to probe for insects, snails, worms and crustaceans. At the other end of the scale is the Great White Egret, a large wader up to one metre tall. They feed mostly on fish and aquatic insects but occasionally are found on land where they can take small mammals.
As always on winter reservoirs large numbers of ducks are present, but it was particularly pleasing to get good views of Goldeneye. These diving ducks are adept at feeding underwater, preying largely on insect larvae and crustaceans plus occasional small fish and underwater plants.
In spite of the freezing conditions we saw a large variety of birds, often in large numbers, and all looking splendid in the winter sunshine. Whatever the weather, a trip to Rutland’s reservoirs are always well worth the effort.
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