29th Sept 2026

6 x Shoveler 

1 x Black-tailed Godwit 

50 x Teal

28th September 2026

Very quiet on the bird front lately at north end just 2 x Common Sandpiper 

1 x Oystercatcher 

1 x Little Egret 

1 x Green Woodpecker 

3 x Common Gull 

And a nice surprise on the point was a Vestal a Migrant moth .

Dragonflies 

9 x Common Darter 

1 x Southern Hawker 

Common Darter

Several Common Darter where enjoying the afternoon sunshine yesterday,  these two where captured sunbathing on the road back to the car park.

Mega Butterfly 24th Sept 2026

I managed to get some photos of only our second record of Clouded Yellow at Rudyard . Andy Hearn had one fly over the water at the north end 5 days ago , so this could possibly be the same individual.  I was checking for waders on the spit as it caught my eye flying only yards in front of me. I only had my big lens and trying to capture a butterfly with that is almost impossible.  After 20 mins of flying around it eventually landed , to say iam happy to get it on camera is a understatement.  Several Common Darter Dragonflies were noted on the way back to the car. Very little news on the bird front the Peregrine went over again , 5 x Common Snipe and a single Little Egret. One adult Common Gull and 8 x Grey Heron out on the mud . 

22nd Sept 2026

It's looking good for waders at the north end plenty of exposed mud and a nice shoreline all the way down to the spit. 

We have just one single Black-tailed Godwit left along with a single Little Egret,  5 x Snipe ,103 x Teal and 6 x Common Gull . A Red Kite passed over distantly drifting south .

Late News

Monday 21st

Tawny Owl

40 x Rook.

A few images of this mornings Godwit in nice light.

20th Sept 2026

Couple of hours early morning at the north end produced .

2 x Black-tailed Godwit 

2 x Ringed Plover 

2 x Common Sandpiper 

1 x Dunlin

109 x Teal

1 x Little Egret 

1 x Peregrine 

1 x Kingfisher 

2 x Swallow 

1 x Buzzard 

2 x Raven

2 x Common Gull

and a small flock of around 20 Linnet. 

Common Gull showing the distinctive white  mirrors on the outer wing tips.

19th September 2026

Our first record of Clouded Yellow butterfly this afternoon at the north end. On the wader front still two Black-tailed Godwit's , two Ringed Plovers , Common Sandpiper and Little Egret. 

18th September 2026

A Dunlin fresh in today also the two Black-tailed Godwit's are still present along with a single Little Egret. 

16th September 2026

We have one Black-tailed Godwit which arrived on August 8th , and the one which arrived yesterday . Yesterday's bird is a bright orange individual just coming out of moult . The birds we usually get at this time of the year are already grey and in their winter plumage. But this individual stands out especially when the sun catches it.

First time visiting this Blog

 If you are looking at this blog for the first time on your phone scroll to the bottom of the page and open it up in web version this allows you to view as if on a computer and will allow you access to more information  . All sightings are recorded and logged which adds a picture to what's happening to our wildlife especially here at Rudyard. Birds that you might think are common elsewhere may not be the case at this site , high counts of species are just as welcome . Not only Birds we are also interested in Butterfly and Dragonfly sightings to add to our records . 

Steve

16th September 2026

No sign of yesterday's Baird's Sandpiper this morning after a good search. I honestly thought it would have stayed with overnight rain and a cloudy wet start. Noted this morning now 6 Ringed Plover , 2 x Black-tailed Godwit,  Peregrine through which momentarily flushed the waders . Small flock of Linnets on the point along with good numbers of Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtails.  Both yesterday's two Ruff and three Egyptian Geese have also moved on.

MEGA Baird's Sandpiper 15th Sept

A mega rarity found this lunch time by Charles Linfoot a Baird's Sandpiper only the 3rd record for Staffordshire. The first was Blithfield 1996 and the second at Chaswater 2005 .Charles phoned around 12-30 to say he had found our first record of Baird's at Rudyard needless to say within 10 mins i was watching this American gem for myself.  All Id features ticked off and yes it was Staffordshire third record and our first well done Charles and thanks for the call. The bird was quickly put onto social media sites allowing fellow birders to connect with this magical little wader. The bird is feeding at the north end with 5 Ringed Plovers. Also present are 2 x Black-tailed Godwit,  2 x Ruff , 2 x Common Sandpiper and 3 x Egyptian Geese. 

Below are three excellent images taken by Steve Nuttall.

My thanks to Steve Nuttall for the images much appreciated. 

As far as my records stand this is our 192nd species recorded at our site.

Sept 3rd 2026

The Black-tailed Godwit and 4 x Ruff are still present along with 4 x Common Gull and 49 x Teal.

Late News

Wednesday 2nd Sept

3 x Shoveler 

1st September 2026

Black-tailed Godwit and 2 x Ruff still present at the north end . Also noted 3 x Little Egret,  Peregrine,  Shoveler , Wigeon first for the autumn and 6 x Swallows. 

Black-tailed Godwit

A little bit better photo of the Godwit but still distant.

August 30th 2026

Four Ruff single Black-tailed Godwit,  Dunlin, Little Egret and Ringed Plover still at the north end. Also around 50 Teal a Kingfisher and two Raven over calling .

Distant record shot of the Godwit and one of the Ruff .

The little Egret fishing nearby showed a lot better as it was more interested in the fish than me.

August 29th 2026

We now have four Ruff at the north end along withe the single Black-tailed Godwit , Dunlin and Ringed Plover.

August 28th 2026

A single Black-tailed Godwit and three Ruff at the north end this evening. Also a count of around 50+ Teal.

August 21st 2026

Glossy Ibis still present upto 9-50 this morning when it flew off in a north west direction.  Also present this morning where 4 x Little Egret,  3 x Common Snipe , 12 x Teal , 1 x Kingfisher and a late Swift heading south. 

Late Report from Wednesday. 

2 x Gadwall 

1 x Green Sandpiper 

Butterflies 🦋 

Painted Lady

Small White (several)

Speckled Wood

Meadow Brown 

Gatekeeper 

Peacock

Small Tortoiseshell 

Painted Lady. 

Scarce Species

 Here at Rudyard we have 90 species which can usually be found quiet easily throughout the year . Along with another 10 species which are scarce but are usually recorded at least once or twice if we are lucky  during a twelve month period .  This forms the start of our yearly list which takes us to the magic 100 mark . The list below is of the 10 scarce species , which if anybody sees them it would nice if you could report the sighting to either myself or a Ranger who will pass the reported sighting on.

Scarce  (one or two records per year)

Goldeneye

Pochard

Gadwall

Shoveler

Gt W Egret

Barn Owl

Green Woodpecker

Skylark

Yellow Wagtail

Brambling 

Below is a short list of species not recorded during the last 10 years.

Black Tern

Knot

Wheatear

Whinchat

Stonechat

Wood Warbler

Agian if you see or here of anybody seeing any of the above species please get in touch with me or one of the Rangers who will pass the information on.

Like I have always say to people birds that are common at other local lakes and reservoirs may not be the case here. Its always best to record all sightings either on Birdtrack or eBirds where our local Staffordshire county recorder can pick them up. 

Thank You Steve.