Having spent the past five days on the road with talks etc, I thought the Spotted Redshank was destined to be a lost cause? I was wrong....
There it was, as I arrived at the roadside floods.....
It came even closer too as I found a gap in the hedge using the car as a hide :-)
What a stunning bird and possibly a 'first' for a local Summer plumage bird?
There was a Greenshank present, quite distant on the opposite side of the road. A quick check of the Mere on the way home produced an Arctic Tern too!
Also on this day the previous year. Another stunning Osprey moment at VP on 14th April 2012
Plenty of birds about on the reserve today: Willow Warbler, Blackcap, male Redstart, together with the Wagtail invasion - Channel (1), Yellow (6), White(5) and Pied (7) viewed from the causeway. It was not turning out to to be a day for images but all that changed at 3.30 with a familiar sight gliding in from the South - OSPREY!!!
It circled a couple of times.....
Before hovering, eyes intently looking down (were there any fish left after the drought and Cormorant trawls?)
A close check of the images showed that the left leg was ringed (I've inset a close up from this image - white KR)....
Clearly visible in all of these too!
I've emailed Roy Dennis for any history on this particular Osprey. What I do know from a brief web trawl is that it was seen at Carsington Water on 5th May 2011!
Anyone sat in the North hide would probably have fallen off the bench at this moment in time! I took this image from the causeway but even at 400m distance you can see the Osprey is clutching a tiny Roach / Rudd.
It later relocated to a telegraph pole next to the road and flew off in the direction of Berrington Pool.
