On Sunday morning I was poor to say the least, so fresh air and a stroll were the order of the day, this came in the shape of Rutland Water. Rutland Water in recent years has seen the reintroduction of Ospreys with the programme itself being a huge success. Two breeding pairs are now in the area, with one nest viewable from a series of hides within the Lyndon Nature Reserve. Sixty Four Ospreys were released at Rutland Water between 1996 and 2001 with around ten of these birds returning. This year’s pair has successfully raised three chicks which can’t be far off fledging? One of the birds released here has already had six successful broods at a reservoir in Wales, with a Scottish born female, so the expansion is taking effect, albeit year by year. It was also a sad fact to learn that around 70% of juveniles die in their first year with the bulk of this statistic perishing on their migration back to Africa. With £18m from Anglian Water though, money and time is on side to hopefully dramatically increase the English and Welsh populations, so fingers crossed.
The views today were distant with the sheer size of Rutland Water sadly meaning they were always going to be. The three chicks could be seen through the scope, with the watchful adult close by. It took to flight twice whilst we were there with the following photo’s being the best I could do, nothing more than record shots really.
Still a great couple of hours though and the paths between the hides gave me a good opportunity to photograph some of the various species of Butterfly on show.
Gatekeeper
Ringlet
Comma
Small Tortoiseshell
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