Sutton Bingham - Sun 9 Jun

June is usually the quietest month of the year with regard to "new" species on the list or even seeing much in general and that has certainly been the case this year, hence the real lack of any news.
I did manage an hour on site today though and there were a few birds of note around. Two Little Egrets were seen from the Fishing Lodge (at least one of which has been present on and off for a few days). A Raven was heard "cronking" and a single Stock Dove flew through. A drake Mandarin was present at the southern end of the reservoir whilst from the northern causeway the long-staying Cetti's Warbler could still be heard singing. A Reed Warbler was also in song along the western edge and the first Meadow Browns of the year were on the wing.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 31 May

A pre-work visit this morning and I added the 100th species of the year to my Sutton Bingham patch list with a singing Skylark high above the field behind the Canoe Club. Surprisingly enough a second Skylark was heard half an hour later over the Fishing Lodge!
Also this morning a Reed Warbler was singing from the water's edge on West Pool (the Cetti's Warbler was heard earlier in the week though not today) and two adult Great Black-backed Gulls were on the main reservoir.
A patch tick today in the form of a Small Blue, my first sighting of this butterfly at the reservoir. There have been good numbers of Common Blue all week and a few Small Coppers also.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 27 May

An early morning visit to the reservoir today before it got too busy, what with it being a bank holiday. To be honest there was not really anything much about though I did manage to add Spotted Flycatcher to the year list. I didn't have my 'scope on me, hence these really dodgy digi-binned efforts.

Always nice to see a Spotted Flycatcher and it certainly made the trip worthwhile.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 23 May

An hour at the reservoir this afternoon and it was very hard going, a Raven was heard cronking and a handful of Linnet were seen, but other than that it was very quiet. However, I finally managed to find a decent bird as a Red Kite drifted in from the east before flying south over the reservoir and being lost to view over the hill away to the south. Funnily enough, about twenty minutes later another Red Kite (though possibly the same I guess) was seen over the Fishing Lodge heading north-east. So finally got one on the year list! High quality photos as always!

Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 98 species.

Sutton Binhgam - Sat 18 May

A quick visit before work and the last night's Dunlin was still present though it had moved over the area near the Fishing Lodge and was in the company of two Common Sandpipers. Unfortunately I had left my phone at home so was unable to get a better photo!
I made a very late return to the patch today, having been out with friends in Sherborne I stopped off at around 11.30pm following up on some information one of the local farmers had given me a few weeks ago. He had told me that he was certain he had a Nightingale singing in his garden! Anyway, today was the first real chance I'd had to check this out, and sure enough he was right. I spent about half an hour listening to the Nightingale singing away, a most unexpected patch tick.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 97 species.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 17 May

A quick stop on the way home from work failed to produce anything but a text from James an hour later (just after a heavy rain shower) told me of a Dunlin on the northern causeway. So off I went and fortunately the bird was still showing well. A very smart summer-plumaged individual with a very nice long bill, a possible alpina candidate? The light was dreadful but obviously I had to get a photo!

Having missed a flock of eight Dunlin seen by Pete Akers earlier in the month (only present for a minute or two before flying off) this was another bird I have clawed back. On the down side, James had two more Red Kites over the reservoir this afternoon, that's four I've missed on patch this year!
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 96 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 16 May

A decent walk around the reservoir this afternoon but birds were rather thin on the ground. Two adult Black-headed Gulls were most unusual for this time of year, surely they should be at a breeding colony somewhere?
The Lesser Whitethroat near the entrance to the Fishing Lodge showed very well this afternoon and a pair of Linnets were in the same area.
A Little Egret was at the southern end of the reservoir and two Common Sandpipers were noted. A dozen Canada Geese were present today, and a pair have four cygnets, hopefully these will all fledge this year.