Rutland Water

A couple of weeks back I went to Rutland Water to go and have a look at the breeding pair of Ospreys, and what a fantastic day it was. My dad told me when I was a lot younger, and wasn't really into birdwatching as much as I am now, I saw one. As I am now a very keen birdwatcher it would mean a lot more for me to see this fantastic bird.

I arrived at the Egleton side of the reservoir and had only been there for about 15 minutes when the first Osprey flew over, it was very far away, but it was an Osprey. I stayed at the Egleton side for about 3 hours, and in that time I saw 3 species of birds that I had never seen before; Hobby, Cuckoo, and Black tern.

Unfortunately the Cuckoo was quite far away, and the light was in the wrong place, so it is only a silhouette.



Reed Bunting:



It was then off to the Lynton Side of the reservoir for the afternoon, this is where I would hopefully have the best views of Ospreys. This is the area of the reservoir, where the nests are, and where they are therefore breeding. A few moments after arriving at the viewing hide I was already having fantastic views of Sedge and Reed Warblers.

Reed Warbler:



Sedge Warbler:



I saw the pair of Ospreys on the nest, and was thrilled, but the best was yet to come. I waited for over an hour. Finally the moment came when the male Osprey left the nest and went hunting. It caught a fish, which it then took back to the nest, and shared with the female. I was so overwhelmed and privileged to have witnessed this extraordinary event. I managed to photograph it, which was a real bonus. The eggs have not yet hatched, and until they do, only the male hunts while the female incubates the eggs. The male only usually hunts once a day, as there are only two mouths to feed, yet when the chicks hatch this becomes a lot more frequent.

Male Osprey hunting:




Osprey perching:


When leaving the Lynton side a few hours later, I went a bit further around Rutland Water, where I heard a Nightingale calling, sadly I didn't see it, it would have been nice, and it would have been a first for me, but you can't expect to win them all. I also saw a pair of Egyptian Geese.

Egyptian Goose: