10 May 2026 Rutland Water
We set off from Manchester at 9am and took our planned route avoiding motorways which turned out to be a good decision because it was a lovely day, the route was straightforward and the traffic wasn’t too bad. We drove straight through to Wyndhampton Windmill near Rutland Water for about 12 which was perfect. We had some brunch and headed off for Rutland Water. We started at the main reception at the Egleton end of the site about 1:15pm and we walked out to Lagoon 4. En route we heard our fits Cuckoo of the year, though many were to follow over the next couple of weeks. We also got our first Hobbies. Common Tern and Red Kite, Garden Warbler and Swift were also year ticks for us.
We returned to the visitor centre and drove round to the Lyndon side of the reserve where our target bird was obviously the Ospreys. It seems like a longer walk each time but when we got there we were rewarded with good views of the female Osprey on the nest and the make perched on a nearby tree. We hoped that we might get a view of the recently reported White Stork that had been seen from here and when we enquired about it, we were told that is occasionally appeared peeking out of the reeds on the other side of the water. They said it hadn’t been seen since the morning, so they were a little surprised when Anne pointed out the bird at the top of an embankment showing very well indeed! Later we got good views of the bird in flight as well which was quite the treat.
A long walk back and we headed off to The Old Pheasant where we were staying the night. So, a great start to our day with the following year ticks
Cuckoo
Hobby
Common Tern
Red Kite
Garden Warbler
Osprey
Swift
White Stork
The last of these, also a life tick in the UK.
Bird Sightings : 10 May 2026 Rutland Water
| Species | No |
|---|---|
| Avocet | 10 |
| Black-headed Gull | 40 |
| Canada Goose | 20 |
| Carrion Crow | 10 |
| Cattle Egret | 2 |
| Cetti's Warbler | 1 |
| Chaffinch | 2 |
| Chiffchaff | 2 |
| Common Tern | 20 |
| Coot | 5 |
| Cormorant | 10 |
| Cuckoo | 1 |
| Gadwall | 20 |
| Garden Warbler | 2 |
| Great Crested Grebe | 2 |
| Greylag Goose | 6 |
| Hobby | 6 |
| Lapwing | 6 |
| Little Egret | 2 |
| Magpie | 2 |
| Mallard | 20 |
| Marsh Harrier | 1 |
| Moorhen | 2 |
| Mute Swan | 10 |
| Osprey | 2 |
| Oystercatcher | 2 |
| Pheasant | 2 |
| Red Kite | 3 |
| Red-legged Partridge | 3 |
| Robin | 1 |
| Sand Martin | 12 |
| Shoveler | 6 |
| Swallow | 4 |
| Swift | 6 |
| Tufted Duck | 30 |
| White Stork | 1 |
| Willow Warbler | 2 |
| Woodpigeon | 4 |
| Wren | 2 |