5 minute read
WINTERING WILDFOWL AND OSPREYS
Wintering Wildfowl and Osprey Chicks
Kate knew about the Rutland Osprey Project but wanted to find out what else goes on at the Lyndon Visitor Centre so met centre manager, Laura Brady
Image: Kevin Blood
THE LYNDON VISITOR Centre on the south shore of Rutland Water opened its doors in spring 1985 in readiness for the osprey season. Then when the ospreys left for warmer climes in September the doors closed until the next year. This has been the pattern ever since, until now.
Rutland Water Nature Reserve was created in 1976 alongside the construction of the reservoir, and is managed by Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust in partnership with Anglian Water. Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust runs the Lyndon Visitor Centre, and in February 2020 a new team - Laura Brady, Centre Libby Smith, Visitor Centre & Events Assistant - arrived to shake things up. The new team have been instrumental in getting more visitors through the door, particularly since throughout the winter to allow visitors to enjoy the thousands of wildfowl that overwinter on the water, and to continue to use the facilities and hides.
We’ve all heard about the successful osprey programme at the centre – but very few of us appreciate the wealth of birdlife that populate Rutland Water’s wetlands and lagoons.
‘We get lots of migrating birds on our wetlands here,’ Laura told me. ‘As well as the ospreys during the summer, we get huge numbers of around 25,000 wildfowl and waders over the water during the winter.’
Rutland Water Nature Reserve is a Site of Special designated wetland site. At the Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre in Egleton there are lagoons where water levels can be altered to suit the birds (and where dinosaurs can be found, but more about that another month), and all over the reserve there is an ongoing management programme to maintain and improve the water and surroundings.
‘We have a habitat and conservation team doing all the practical work,’ says Laura. ‘Then in addition to our team ringing and ecology surveys.’
Every year the Trust takes part in the wetland bird survey (WeBS) to determine trends in bird populations. ‘Because of global warming, we’ve seen birds here that would normally not come this far north,’ says Laura. ‘Great white egrets, for example, are working their way up the country and we’re seeing many more of them.’
A Wealth of Wildlife
There are plenty of things to see at the centre besides birds. Stoats, muntjac, water voles and otters are often and invertebrates. were there. ‘I recently saw a microscopic caterpillar at the minutes what it was. We had a Blue Underwing moth this year which is very rare and Wainscot moths in the reed outdoors more inclusive; showing people there is
became an Osprey Ambassador. She went on to do the through volunteering she became the Osprey Information
Rutland Osprey Project
Ospreys were once widespread across the UK but became extinct in England as a breeding bird in 1847 partly due to loss of habitat, egg collecting and competition with translocated. And over the years they have successfully
Fast forward to this year and the project has celebrated of the project. These facts are the bare bones of what has
been a labour of love for the Trust, Anglian Water and many, many volunteers who have given up their time to monitor the ospreys’ every waking moment during the brought to the nest and any intruder birds. This builds up a picture of their lives in Rutland, then partnerships with organisations and villages in places like the Gambia add to the knowledge of what the birds do when they leave. Before Covid-19 many of the volunteers would go to local schools there. One bird has a satellite tracker on it that gives data on altitude, the speed and direction of travel and the bird’s exact location. The birds are ringed as chicks with a silver ring and a blue Darvic ring so it’s possible to quickly identify a Rutland bird. All the rings are issued by the BTO (The British Trust for Ornithology). The Trust monitors ten nest sites in Rutland and Leicestershire. Only one, the Manton Bay nest is at the reservoir, the rest are on private land. There are great views of Manton Bay from the nearest hide ‘Waderscrape’ and a webcam is trained on it continually which you can view on YouTube or at www.lrwt.org.uk/rutlandospreys. It gives an amazing view of the eggs and a raft of data about how long the birds sit on the eggs, exactly when they’re hatching, what they’re eating, etc. In 2021, 19 chicks hatched from eight successful breeding pairs from the ten nests. Thirty birds returned overall (this number includes Rutland birds that were sighted elsewhere in the UK). Maya and 33(11) are one of the current most successful breeding pairs and sat on the Manton Bay nest in 2021. They have been breeding there since 2015 and return to the same nest each their ring number, which is a unique number/letter combination. As Maya is unringed and believed to have come from a Scottish nest, a local school got the chance to name her.
Osprey are relatively faithful, but the team have an of who is going to claim which nest,’ says Laura, ‘who are they going to partner with and will there be the correct ratio of males to females?’ Maya and 33(11) like to get back early to claim their favourite nest. At the end of each to learn as they migrate.
Team Talks
The team at the centre are very happy to talk to visitors about the work of Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust. Plenty of local campers and people on the cycle route also visit to have tea and cake, and enjoy the view.
The team at the Visitor Centre run bird and nature walks,
www.lrwt.org. uk/lyndon-visitor-centre www.lrwt.org.uk/rutlandospreys
