Rutland Water

Today I was expecting to do a long, possibly tedious, photo post about a rare away-day to Rutland Water. Lyn and I had arranged to meet friends, Dave & Sue from Cambridge, at a venue midway between us, and the reserve fitted the bill.

Lovely warm day, plenty of birds to look at, including a distant Osprey, Hobbies, a Little Egret, a good view of a Garden Warbler, a sitting Avocet, a Grey Partridge, and lots of Red Kites, like this one.

If you sense I am galloping through rather, you are not wrong. As we left the pub I took a call from Dave. There was a hippolais warbler sp near Marsh Lane GP in deepest Warwickshire West Midlands. After this news it was hard to concentrate. Dave (Cambridge) had to leave by 3.00pm, but we could stay on if we liked. Then a text from Dave (Kenilworth), its a Melodious Warbler.

So at 3.50pm Lyn and I headed home. The journey was horrendous, and it was 6.25pm before we finally got home. I had convinced myself the bird would not be showing, but Lyn encouraged me to go for it.