Ospreys at Rutland Water, 3rd August 2022

Rutland Water is always a great place to visit and as I had not seen an Osprey this year, what better place to visit. We started off in Manton Bay and visited a few hides before reaching the Osprey nest site. A Ruddy Shelduck was a welcome surprise.

A young Grey Heron was fishing and caught a Crayfish.

Some Canada Geese also dropped in along with a Green Sandpiper.

A Little Egret was also very confiding.

A handful of Great Egrets were very distant, but one kindly flew past and I managed one shot before it disappeared behind the trees.

So, what about the Ospreys? As we arrived at the Deep Water hide both adults and two young were present and the volunteers kindly gave us some helpful information. At the Shallow Water we witnessed some flight action. Later in the day we went round to the Egleton Reserve and saw a further three birds on Lagoon 4. The pictures that follow are a mixture of the two sites.

I love this view across Lagoon 4.

But it's even better with something blocking the view!

Flight shots were initially tricky, but the birds on Lagoon 4 were more obliging today than the ones in Manton Bay.

A wonderful day, and other good birds included Common Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff and Yellow-legged Gulls. A massive thanks to all of the staff and volunteers for making our visit very memorable!