In the brief sunny spell following storm ‘Doris’ we took ourselves off to Rutland Water for the day on Friday 24th. We saw loads of ducks, including goldeneye, shovelers and more shell-duck than I have seen for a long time. There were signs of mating behaviour among the great crested grebes. We also had a brief view of a red kite high in the sky.

A fellow birder reported seeing a whimbrel by one of the hides and we managed to get some quite good views. I have seen one before at Attenborough but no where near as close as this. It looks a bit like a curlew but it is a lot smaller.

The other high spot of the day was a clear view of a male brambling among the bird feeders near the visitor centre but nicely posed on a branch.

You can see it’s a member of the finch family by the shape of its beak. Later on I was told the female was also seen. To get a shot of both of them would have been very special.