Medway and Maidstone Groups' Coach trip to Rutland Water.

Yesterday saw the long-awaited trip to the best place in England to see Ospreys. This is the second time the two groups have amalgamated on coach trips, proving very successful.

Leaving Sittingbourne at 7 am,  we called in briefly at the Railway Station, then onto Parkwood, Rainham and County Hall, Maidstone to pick up members, eventually leaving at 8 am for Rutland Water Nature Reserve. It was a Bank Holiday Weekend and the traffic could have been horrendous, but we were lucky in that respect. After a twenty minute stop at the Baldock services on the A1(M) we made good time to the reserve.

We paid £4 group entrance and set off in small groups to explore the Reserve.

After two or three hours at the Anglian Water Birdwatching Centre, Egleton visiting the plentiful hides dotted like boxes around the huge shoreline of this massive inland body of water we saw lots of ducks, herons, gulls and terns, some of us managed to see, from Redshank hide (which overlooks South Arm III) an Osprey circling over the water with a small fish in its' talons.

Weather-wise it was pretty overcast and dull with the occasional spot of rain, but not enough to affect the day or our anticipation for seeing the nesting Osprey.

At 2.15 we boarded the coach again and drove the 8.5 kms to the Lyndon Visitor Centre.

After a small talk from a very informative lady, we set off along the track to the various hides along the south shore giving good views of South Arm II and Manton Bay. I went into Waderscrape where there is a good view of the nest and a live webcam screen. There were three-part grown youngsters all vying for food from their parents. Through the scopes and binoculars, it was easy to get goods views of these lovely birds.

It is a fair trek back up to the visitor centre, the best part of a mile, so we couldn't stay too long as we were leaving at 4 pm.

For me the highlight of the day (aside from the Ospreys of course) was Great-crested Grebes displaying, I watched a pair about 30 feet apart, they had low postures in the water and swam towards each other with necks outstretched jerking and bobbing their heads in unison. After a few seconds, they swam apart and dived simultaneously re-surfacing, beaks full of weed. Swimming towards each other they arrived breast to breast, their whole bodies rising from the water on dabbling feet, head plumes fanned out, still maintaining the elaborate head moves. It was amazing to watch, especially as I'd never seen it before.

It was a most enjoyable and successful trip for the 24 (pretty much split evenly between the groups) who attended.

The full species list is as follows:- Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Osprey, Common Tern, Sand Martin, Swift, Swallow, Great Crested Grebe, Gadwall, Greylag Goose, Egyptian Goose Barnacle Goose, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Mallard, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Garden Warbler, Chiffchaff, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Lapwing, Garganey, Cormorant, Buzzard, House Martin, Ring-necked Parakeet, Moorhen, Coot, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Red-legged Partridge, Pheasant, Goldfinch, Curlew, Redshank, Avocet, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Robin, Wren, Ringed Plover, Shoveller, Reed Bunting, Chaffinch, Wood Pigeon, Hobby, Collared Dove, Oystercatcher, Rook, Crow, Jackdaw, Jay, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Bullfinch, Sanderling, Dunlin, Dunnock, Pochard, Pied Wagtail, Stock Dove, Starling, Marsh Harrier and finally Cuckoo. This made a total  of a very respectful and pleasing 74.

It is worth noting Steve Goodrich noted over twenty individuals of each species of Red Kite and Common Buzzard.