Rutland Water & Blithfield Resevoir this Weekend
Yesterday we headed eastwards to Rutland Water. We were particularly keen to see Sabine’s Gulls as they were reported here on Friday and the past few days has seen quite an influx of them on inland waters in the UK. We weren’t disappointed as we had spectacular views of 2 juvenile Sabine’s Gulls (lifer) shortly after arriving at the Fieldfare Hide. They were unmistakable with that stunning wing pattern and they came flying quite close in at times. We also saw one swimming for a bit until it got pestered by a group of Black Headed Gulls. We also had many juvenile Arctic Terns (lifer), which helped address the difficulty of separating ‘commic’ terns and I finally felt that it could be properly ticked.
Other notable sightings from Rutland yesterday included Tree Sparrows on the feeders near the visitor centre at the Anglian Birdwatching Centre, 3 Little Egrets, Pintail, Dunlin, Snipe, Ruff, Redshank, Hobby, Green & GS Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Common Gull, Great & Lesser Black Backed Gull and an adult Yellow Legged Gull, which was a year tick. We also saw a Hare at close quarters. We tried to look for a Red Throated Diver at the dam at the other end of Rutland Water as one was reported there yesterday, unfortunately there was no sign of it but that wasn't too much of a blow after the two lifers of the day.
This morning we decided to try our luck twitching the Grey Phalarope, which has been present Blithfield Reservoir in Staffordshire for the last few days. We found the Grey Phalarope (lifer) very easily, it was a great little bird and was very tame; the photographers managed to get very close indeed (2-4 feet). My other half managed to get a digi-scoped shot (see below). There was also a Knot nearby.
Finally we had a Buzzard flying near our house when we returned from our adventures mid-afternoon. This might not seem remarkable, but it’s a good garden tick for us, living as we do in an urban area of South Birmingham. It doesn’t happen often but it’s the third time I’ve seen/heard a Buzzard in the area.