Rutland Water Nature Reserve

We journeyed down the A1 to Rutland Water Nature Reserve, Leicestershire for a bank holiday break, hoping to see the Ospreys that spend their summers on the Reserve. We’d booked an Osprey Cruise which began with an introductory talk about the Osprey project followed by a cruise of the reservoir scheduled to coincide with the fishing times of the birds. It wasn’t until the last 10 mins of the cruise that we spotted an Osprey which headed off in the direction from whence we came, but the weather made for a pleasant journey & allowed us time to familiarise ourselves with the reserve.

The following day, in the grounds of the hotel we found this Dryads saddle (Polyporus squamosus) .

Over the hotel, swifts twisted & turned in the air before settling briefly on the weather vane above the belfry.

The local rabbit population appeared to be thriving, the illuminated ears of the young rabbits (kittens) peeping through the grass.

One of many Great Crested Grebes seemingly unbothered by the fishermen.


Onto Lyndon Visitor Centre where we visited a number of hides overlooking a variety of habitats including shallow & deep water lagoons, islands & channels, mudbanks, reed beds all with panoramic views of the reserve.

Amongst the highlights, we caught a brief glimpse of a Water Rail with chicks amongst the foliage. A pair of Shelduck shovelling for invertebrates in the muddy water.


An aerobatic Tern skims the surface of the water.

At one point a Red Kite flew overhead

On the shoreline, 5 Egyptian Geese

Reed buntings & warblers darted around the reed beds occasionally settling in plain sight.

Later in the afternoon we headed over to Egleton visitor centre, two passing birders pointed us in the direction of the new lagoon where they’d been watching an Osprey, so we picked up the pace in anticipation. At a distance we could see it sat high up on the nesting platform where it settled for half an hour.....

......before taking flight, presumably off to catch a fishy, which is where I just about managed to get this pic.

Also on the lagoon, it was nice to see a pair of Oystercatchers with chicks.

A group of Plovers flew in to rest on the far shore.

The other lagoons were occupied by more Great Crested Grebes, & we watched a pair of Coots feed their chicks.
Walking between the hides, the fields were full of golden glistening buttercups, swaying grasses & the round heads of purple clover, attracting butterflies, dragonflies & damselflies. Here's one that Ive been able to identify, Large Red Damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) and some others I'm yet to ID.

Thanks to Rambling Rob who helped to identify this as a male Common Blue damselfly.

Peacock (Inachis io)
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

A Cardinal beetle (Pyrochroa serraticornis)

Teeside visit part1, Saltholme RSPB

We travelled up to Billingham at the weekend & made the most of the fine weather. There was a clear difference in wildlife compared to our previous visits in February & March where wintering waders & wildfowl gathered in large flocks.

At RSPB Saltholme, on the paved entrance in front of us appeared a Garden Tiger Moth caterpillar. The setae or bristles can cause a rash if handled, luckily we didn’t even try to pick it up & it was safely escorted across the path by a fascinated 3 year old & her mum. The caterpillars pupate from June to July, the moths hatching July to August.

We noticed a few Yellow wagtails bobbing around the place, apparently several pairs nest at the centre. They’re summer visitors that migrate to Africa in winter. I’ve compared a Grey Wagtail & Yellow Wagtail for my benefit to remind myself how different they look.

From the hide a Grey Heron fished on the edge of Saltholme Pools, it looked like the injured Heron reported on the website, despite its injury it showed no difficulty in feeding.

In front of the hide a Mute Swan settled on its nest in the shallows near the edge of the lake.

At the far side of Saltholme Pools a pair of Great Crested Grebe were present. After spotting one bird on the water, I noticed another in the reeds, realising it was sat on the nest I kept my distance on the opposite side of the road before making my retreat so not to cause alarm.


Find out more about local sightings at Teeside Bird Club