MANTON BAY - JUNE 2018

Thanks MIKE Yes please

My visit to Rutland yesterday was perfect in every way. Absolutely glorious weather from start to finish; a slight breeze and gorgeous blue skies without a cloud in them. I had been emailing Anya last week and as my 3 friends and I arrived, she and Paul came out of the office to greet us. Paul guided us to the big window and he talking to us, when he said, "Isn't that right Mr Simmonds?" and with that Mike, his wife and Sheila stood up to welcome me. To say I was overjoyed is putting it mildly.Paul was very good and more or less stayed with us for the whole visit. After chatting with Mike and co for a while, they wandered down to Waderscrape and we followed shortly afterwards, with Paul taking us along the top path. This was a bit bumpy in places, but a lovely walk with Meadow Brown butterflies flitting about and many small birds flying across the path and a constant cloud of midges  Paul also pointed out some Common Spot Orchids

When we eventually got to the hide, it was pretty busy with volunteers talking to visitors and pointing out the ospreys and other wildlife. Because of all the chatter, nobody noticed 33 deliver a fish to the nest. We were able to watch the feed, whilst 33 sat on the pole to the left of the nest. I would have liked to see the chicks helicoptering which Paul said they have been doing I think they were too stuffed, and perhaps too warm. A little later 33 and Maya took off and by the chicks hunkering down in the nest, it was clear there were intruders...2 in fact. Some people went out of the hide to take a look and indeed there were 4 ospreys flying around. Even though I had my binoculars with me, I asked at one point if there was any chance of seeing the birds through one of the telescopes. A really nice, patient volunteer whose name, sadly, I wasn't given, did his best to accomadate this request, but it looked as if this wasn't to be. Mike suggested that there must be a way and with a little jiggery-pokey between Mike and the voluunteer, I was able to watch the family. We were also able to see some ducks in front of the hide, including a pair of tufted ducks. Every now and again there was a call of, "water vole" and you could see one briefly. I think the last we saw of it, to everybody's amusement, one of the tufted ducks nipped it on its rear and it swam rapidly off into the reeds.

After all this activity Paul asked us if we would like to all go and have some lunch and took us to a lovely area with a picnic table and benches and then, all too soon, it was time to leave.

That was my third visit to Rutland and it was by far the best, because of all I met, all the activity of the animals, especially the ospreys, the beautiful flower meadows an the glorious weather.