Sutton Bingham - Wed 24 Nov

A pleasant if somewhat chilly afternoon, and not being in the mood for a long drive I popped up to the reservoir for an hour or so before dark. I took a long walk around the southern end of the reservoir where there were a few birds around. The wintering wildfowl were rather skittish and flocks of at least thirty Teal and sixty Wigeon were wheeling around above the reservoir and occasionally settling on the water. A single female Tufted Duck was also present.
A total of twelve Snipe were flushed from the water's edge and overhead a few Siskins passed by. On the pylons there were two adult Peregrines, one of which spent ten minutes or so dive-bombing a Buzzard which had caught prey.


Winter thrushes were a but thinner on the ground today, with just a couple of Redwings and Fieldfares seen. A Water Rail was heard calling but refused to show itself and as I returned to the car a pair of Bullfinches flew over.
A quick stop to check the gathering gulls and West Pool failed to produce anything of interest other than a single Little Grebe. Some of the Wigeon flock had relocated to West Pool to roost and on the reservoir proper there was a flock of twenty or so Canada Geese roosting.