Dawlish Warren (Cockwood) - Thu 4 Dec

News broke yesterday of a rare tern off Dawlish Warren which was eventually identified as a Lesser Crested Tern, and as it decided to linger overnight I made the decision late morning to head down on my afternoon off work to try and see it.

A drive of nearly two hours meant I arrived at Cockwood just before 3pm and decided to stop here and check for the bird, this was a good decision as there were a small number of birders present who very kindly got me on to the bird within a minute or two. OK, it was a bit distant, but I got some great views through my scope of it in flight on perched on a distant buoy.

After a while it took flight again and eventually settled a little closer, still too far away for a decent photo though.

Knowing that the light would be against me, I decided to not to drive round to Dawlish Warren and make the thirty minute hike across the dunes to the hide. I might have got closer views, but by the time I got there I knew I wouldn't have long so decided to just enjoy the views from Cockwood, even if they were a little distant.

So, Lesser Crested Tern is the latest addition to my life list, and what a great bird it was.

Obviously, I didn't really spend any time looking for other birds, but there was a good number of Brent Geese present and I did have four Bar-tailed Godwits fly by.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 13 Nov

My WeBS count was rained off on Sunday, there were three Mute Swans present but it was almost impossible to count what other wildfowl may have been knocking about.

This afternoon the weather turned out to be much better than forecast, so I made a visit to the reservoir on the way home from work, however, the entire site was inaccessible due to tree works, so I made for Water Treatment Works as it was probably the only area where I had any chance of seeing any birds. However, there was nothing on the buildings of note and other than a Chiffchaff I was thinking it was going to be a pretty poor visit, but that all changed when a bit of movement over the outflow stream alerted me to a Yellow-browed Warbler! Always rather mobile I did manage some excellent views as it moved around a few feet above my head for a short while. My fourth patch Yellow-browed Warbler, of which three are self-found.

I then had a quick look of the reservoir from the Fishing Lodge, but other than a few Wigeon and a Common Sandpiper there was nothing else to report.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 120 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 8 Nov

A message from Pete mid-afternoon meant a quick visit to the reservoir late afternoon to successfully twitch a Black Redstart that was at the water treatment works, with light fading and the bird being really mobile I managed a couple of ropey record shots.

Annoyingly I had spent the best part of half an hour scanning every bird at the water treatment works during my last visit on site and found nothing, but at least I managed to see this one.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 119 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 6 Nov

My first proper trip to the reservoir for many weeks this afternoon, and water levels have raised considerably since my last visit and presumably as a result there was a decent number of wildfowl present, especially at the southern end.
A fair sized flock of Canada Geese also harboured a lone Mute Swan and whilst the majority of duck were Mallard, there were at least fifty Wigeon, thirty Teal plus three Gadwall and two Shoveler.
A late Common Sandpiper was also at the southern end.

Cornwall - Fri 17 Oct to Fri 24 Oct

A week away in Cornwall and despite it being a family holiday, I did manage to get in some birding.

A bit of seawatching from Porthkurnick did produce a surprise in the form of a Great Skua that passed by closely. Many Gannets out in Gerrans Bay but nothing on the water, I guess two early for returning grebes and divers.

A decent coastal walk from Towan around St Anthony's Head and back did turn up to Chough, always a delight to see and a bit of a surprise. Half a dozen Swallows were noted flying along the cliff in strong winds.

A mid-week trip to The Lizard and Mullion Cove to twitch a Steppe Grey Shrike was successful, with this being a lifer for me. It showed really well, if a little distant, but I managed some photos.

A stop at Tesco in Truro produced a Lesser Yellowlegs which showed really well.

From Portscatho I found three Ringed Plovers and a Sanderling in with a flock of around forty Turnstones and there were at least sixty Mediterranean Gulls loitering on the rocks and offshore.

All in a few decent birds for the year list and a lifer to boot.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 9 Oct

A new addition to the year list today with a pair of Siskin in the car park, somehow I'd missed this species over the winter, so was glad to finally connect with a couple.

Other than that, it was pretty much same old same old today with four Wigeon and two Teal on the water, a Great White Egret still on West Pool and two Common Sandpipers. There were really good numbers of Meadow Pipits across the site, probably well over a hundred, but I couldn't fin anything in with them.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 118 species.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 29 Sep

It's been really quiet on the patch over the past couple of weeks, with nothing much to report other than a pair of Gadwall and sixteen Teal on 23 September and a Tufted Duck and Little Grebe on 24 September. Today I found a Greenshank along the arm, just south of the Canoe Club.

Nothing else to write about though at the moment.