Rutland Water, August 2014

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Rutland Water is a large man made lake in the County of Rutland. The area was flooded in 1976 and part of the lake is used for water sports (sailing, fishing, etc.), and part has been developed as a wild fowl reserve, with other areas set aside for other bird species. I visited it while I was at the British Bird Fair, held in the nearby village of Egleton.

Rutland Water

Rutland Water

ABOVE Map of Rutland Water  BELOW Stand at British Bird Fair

There were stands from many countries – this one is from Santa Lucia, in the West Indies

There were stands from many countries – this one is from Santa Lucia, in the West Indies

From the birding point of view, the area is divided into three parts, two on the same side of the lake, either side of the main reception building and a third across the water. From this third area it is possible to see ospreys fairly close up; I stayed on the nearside as neither time nor transportation was on my side, but with approximately twenty hides to visit there was plenty to see.

Ospreys on the nest (from http://www.ospreys.org.uk/category/osprey-team-blog)

Ospreys on the nest (from http://www.ospreys.org.uk/category/osprey-team-blog)

ABOVE Ospreys at Rutland water BELOW Little ringed plover

Little ringed plover at waterside

Little ringed plover at waterside

The ‘new’ for me included a little ringed plover, pretty but hard to spot, and a little egret (first time for me in the UK, although common enough in Argentina). Lots of Egyptian Geese (I counted 21 in simultaneous sight at one hide), and an unusual close up shot of a couple of little grebes building a nest in open water close to the 360 Hide. At one distant hide I opened a hatch and found four swans, two adult and two of this year’s cygnets, about two metres from me; they were quite unmoved by my presence.

One of several little egrets I saw on Rutland water

One of several little egrets I saw on Rutland water

ABOVE Little egret  BELOW view from one of the hides

View of wetland — from Grebe Hide

View of wetland — from Grebe Hide

I managed to visit all the hides bar one (I took the wrong turn and missed it) and my legs tell me I did a fair bit of walking but it was worth it. This is one of Britain’s premier birding sites and if the pickings were a little lean in mid summer that is hardly to be unexpected. I have made a note to come back in the winter, when migrants are likely to be passing through, and in April, reputed to be the best time of the year for the reserve.

Pennington Flash, August 2014

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Pennington Flash Country Park is a premier bird watching site in the North West of the UK. The core visitor’s area is a 70 hectare lake, with paths around part of the shoreline and some seven or eight hides strategically located around the site. Here’s a (rights free) general view of part of the site that I found on the web.

General view of the Flash, courtesy Colin Davies at ‘Occasionally — Birding St Helens’

General view of the Flash, courtesy Colin Davies at ‘Occasionally — Birding St Helens’

One of these hides looks on to a feeder area that attracts a large number of species (see pics further down) , although visitors are warned that the place where the feeders are is heavily shaded and the light levels can be low; photographers should choose a day with high overhead sun or use fill in flash (which can upset other people in the hide). You can get there by car (it’s near Leigh and Wigan) and there is pay and display car parking on site. I went by bus: X34 from Manchester Piccadilly and then 600 from Leigh, getting off at the Robin Hood pub.

Kingfisher in the distance – this was the closest — I could get to him

Kingfisher in the distance – this was the closest — I could get to him

I spent a few hours at the Flash (an English dialect word for a non-specific ‘lake’) and took some good shots, the weather ranging from cold, wet and overcast to hot and sunny. A typical Lancashire day, in fact. As it was the school holidays the park areas were full of schoolchildren, running, jostling and generally having a good if noisy time. The park is for all of us, and somehow the birding didn’t suffer. I managed to get a shot of a kingfisher who for once perched within distance, albeit farther away than I would have liked, but this was more than compensated by close shots of a couple of great spotted woodpeckers and three or four jays, together offering a whole rainbow of colour.

A jay, photographed — in the feeding area

A jay, photographed — in the feeding area

[ABOVE} a jay in all his finery, taken in the feeder hide when the sun came out. [BELOW] a great spotted woodpecker.

I don’t like photos of birds on feeders, but this great spotted woodpecker — was unmissable

I don’t like photos of birds on feeders, but this great spotted woodpecker — was unmissable

I didn’t make a list of the birds I saw, but working from photos I processed on my return I saw at least: black-headed gull, bullfinch, chaffinch, common (mew) gull, common sandpiper, great crested grebe, great spotted woodpecker, green sandpiper, greenfinch, jay, kingfisher, lapwing, lesser black backed gull, mallard, moorhen, mute swan, pied wagtail, snipe, starling and willow tit. The last of these, the willow tit, was a first for me; they seemed common enough here, but in other parts of the UK are quite a rarity.

A willow tit, with no visible weakness of intellect

A willow tit, with no visible weakness of intellect

[ABOVE} willow tit (Poecile montanus), almost indistinguishable from the marsh tit but the locale is a good indicator. [BELOW] a young bullfinch, who will in time develop a beautiful deep red chest but is still in his juvenile plumage. Both of these were shot in the feeder area.

Juvenile bullfinch

Juvenile bullfinch

If the feeder hide was something of a feeding frenzy, down at the lake there was no shortage of activity either. One problem here was that so many waterfowl were in intermediary plumage, and my identification skills are still rather rudimentary. There were mallards of every shape and hue, and black headed gulls galore. One lesser black backed gull perched on a nearby rock while I could see a single common gull in the distance, perched on a green buoy. A single snipe was rooting around in the mud, in the company of moorhen and green and common sandpipers.

A lesser black backed gull

A lesser black backed gull

[ABOVE} lesser black backed gull [BELOW] snipe, a little fuzzy I’m afraid – it was heavily cropped due to the distance.

A snipe in his habitat

A snipe in his habitat

Verdict: a good day’s birding, at an exceptional site which I highly recommend for the non-specialist birder. On the downside, although there are onsite toilets there was no information office and no site maps available – the few signs around were limited in scope and offered little guidance. It’s probably a good idea to take your own food and drink too – what was on offer from the vans in the car park looked a little dodgy, and at very inflated prices.