Weirwood Reservoir!

 First Blog post in a while, basically because I ain't been anywhere! A combo of work & illness restricting my movements!! 😢 Has been a bit of excitement in the garden lately with a Hummingbird Hawkmoth appearing but every picture is blurred!!😢 Margie had more luck yesterday when a Dark Green Fritillary Butterfly turned up in the garden and posed on the Buddleia, typically I was at work😢 Hoping it reappears today, so far we have had  an orange Butterfly through which I suspect was it, but it buggered off before I could get outside and didn't stop at all, we've also had a Gatekeeper and a Marbled White through so fingers crossed! 

Margie's pics below!

Dark green fritillary

So to Weirwood, I had heard reports, that with work on the Dam, the water had been drained and there was a lot of mud with various Waders reported. Had also seen a few reports of Osprey and with Margie feeling a bit under the weather a quick visit to the hide, which would involve zero walking was our best option, also and completely coincidently😏 it is just around the corner from Plawhatch Organic Farm Shop where various goodies can be had!!

On arrival it was clear the water levels were way down with large areas previously underwater covered in grass!

A view of the empty reservoir by Margie

And again!

There was another observer present, one of the "Friends of Weirwood" who's name I can't remember, he hadn't found any Waders as yet and although there was vast amounts of mud, Waders were thin on the ground, though there were a lot of Lapwings, loads of Herons and Little Egrets, I counted over 30 Mandarin Ducks, a family of Egyptian Geese, a couple of the rafts seem to have Common Tern chicks on and there were loads of Great Crested Grebes out on the water, didn't see any Juveniles, would imagine nesting would have been difficult if all the water suddenly disappeared halfway through!

Mandarins, Mallards & Teal

Great Crested Grebes

Grey Heron

Grazing Canada Geese

Heron & a pair of Teal

Tree full of Egrets and Herons, Black-headed Gulls in front

Tern rafts by Margie

Herons wondering where all the water went!! By Margie

Egyptian Goose Family by Margie

Canada Geese with friend by Margie!

Eventually we did find some Waders on the mud, with a Common Sandpiper and 3 Little Ringed Plovers, were also a lot of Pied Wagtails about, Swallows and a House Martin as well! The other guy  spotted a Grey Wagtail and a Kingfisher but I couldn't get on em!! Obviously the distances involved means the pictures aren't great!!

Common Sandpiper

Little Ringed Plover

x2

The other guy left and I was about to do the same, when I noticed a large bird flying high along the far bank by the time I realised what it was and got the camera on it, it was past but I managed a couple of record shots! Osprey!!

Osprey

Being seen off the premises by a Common Tern

That was about it, though did see the Egyptian Goose family getting a load of grief  from the Common Terns when they got to close to the rafts!!

Tern in attack mode!

It worked with the indignant Geese turning around and retreating!

We headed off to Plawhatch where I restricted myself to some Chocolate Buttons, a Danish and a pot of Blackcurrant Jam although still managed to spend 70 quid!!!😲

Hopefully get out soon for a proper bit of birding though was quite entertaining at the reservoir. I imagine as the autumn progresses, it could be quite a migration hotspot, with all that mud!!