Sutton Bingham - Sun 17 Sep

A very busy weekend meant that I only got to spend about an hour at the reservoir on Sunday afternoon over the course of the entire weekend. As I didn't have much time today it was pretty much a whirlwind visit with a single Kingfisher, two Common Sandpipers, seven Little Egrets and a Raven being the only birds of note other than a female Wigeon which was the first of the "winter"!

There were a few Swallows and House Martins still around, but not much else to report today.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 13 Sep

An afternoon visit to the patch rather than a mad rush down to Weymouth to twitch some rare sandpipers...wrong decision! A walk from the car park down to the southern end and back produced a couple of Common Sandpipers, four Little Egrets and a Kingfisher. There was a bit of excitement and frustration as I spent 45 minutes scrambling through vegetation trying to identify a skulking warbler, which eventually turned out to be a Sedge Warbler.
West Pool produced an adult Great Black-backed Gull but nothing else while another Common Sandpiper and three more Little Egrets were noted from the Fishing Lodge. All in all somewhat disappointing given the large numbers of storm-driven waifs that have been reported from other sites around the south-west, but if you don't look you won't find anything I guess.
To add to the frustration, the warden had a Redshank first thing in the morning...no sign of it this afternoon though!

Sutton Bingham - Mon 11 Sep

A quick visit during my lunch hour was not looking like a good idea as it absolutely chucked it down just as I arrived on site. Scanning the reservoir from the car was pointless, and there was hardly anything to see other than a Mute Swan on West Pool and a couple of Little Egrets.
But then the rain stopped so I got out and checked West Pool and the fence line just to the south where I noticed a few birds milling about. So out with the 'scope and I was soon able to pick up a few pipits, and after some close scrutiny it was obvious they were Tree Pipits, result! I've got Tree Pipit on my SBR list, but I've only had fly-over birds identified by their call, so to see grounded birds was a real bonus. Scanning the fence line further I noticed a Yellow Wagtail and then a Spotted Flycatcher! Two patch year ticks in the space of a few minutes, the only down side was that I needed to rush back to work.
Sutton Bingham year list 2017 now at 108 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 10 Sep

I just about managed a hour at the reservoir early in the afternoon, but pretty much straightaway it started to rain, which steadily got worse until I gave up and headed off at around 3pm. That being said I still managed a few things of note today.
There were three Tufted Duck on West Pool and a Wheatear was on the fence line near the horse paddock just south of West Pool. A single Meadow Pipit flew over.
On then to the southern end of the reservoir where a Common Sandpiper was seen and three Teal were noted. Two Mute Swans were also new arrivals, this species didn't even attempt to breed at the reservoir this year. A Kingfisher added a splash of colour in worsening weather.
Back then to the Fishing Lodge where a Sand Martin was seen but not much else unfortunately. A total of six Little Egrets were counted around the reservoir this afternoon.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 9 Sep

A flying visit on the way to work produced the first Meadow Pipit of the autumn as a single bird flew over West Pool. To add another touch of autumn a female Teal was on West Pool and was typically jumpy. A couple of Raven flew over and there was a single Common Sandpiper present as well as a Little Egret.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 6 Sep

A couple of hours at the reservoir this afternoon and the weather was lovely for a change. Starting in the area around West Pool I found a flock of twenty-five Yellow Wagtails, my single highest count of this species at Sutton Bingham and a joy to watch. The photo below shows just some of them.

I then took a walk from the car park down to the far end of the reservoir, but failed to add much, though a couple of Common Sandpipers were noted and there were several Chiffchaffs and Swallows milling about.
Back then to the Fishing Lodge where I counted four Little Egrets, another Common Sandpiper and the adult Great Black-backed Gull was still present. Then a bit of a surprise as an adult Mediterranean Gull dropped in and started bathing. Before long it flew towards me and settled near the dam.

I certainly wasn't expecting to find a Mediterranean Gull this afternoon!

Sutton Bingham - Mon 4 Sep

A quick visit this morning produced a juvenile Tufted Duck off the Sailing Club. After careful scrutiny I couldn't make it in to anything else, and though it didn't look quite right for a Tufted Duck, it certainly wasn't anything more exciting (though whether there was a trace a Scaup somewhere in it's past or not will never be known).

Nothing else to report this morning though.