Sutton Bingham - Sun 30 Sep

No sign of yesterday's Great White Egret but the Ringed Plover was still present and was slightly closer today.

The only other bird of note today was the first Common Gull of the winter on West Pool early afternoon.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 29 Sep

A surprising find this afternoon with a Great White Egret present at the southern end, at one point standing next to a very diminutive Little Egret.

Another surprise was my second Ringed Plover of the year, quite unusual as this is a species I see much less than annually.

So two quality Sutton Bingham birds today, but neither a patch year tick!
Supporting cast today came in the form of a single Common Sandpiper and a flock of Linnets and Goldfinches that numbered some fifty birds...and try and I might I could not find anything rarer amongst them.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 26 Sep

Not much time to explore the reservoir this afternoon due to a hip x-ray, long story, but I did find five Lapwings at the southern end of the reservoir and these proved to be the only waders I saw. The first Wigeon of the "winter" were off the dam, with four birds being present. Seven Teal were noted whilst a Raven was seen overhead and a dozen Meadow Pipits were seen. Finally, a splash of colour with my first Clouded Yellow of the year seen as it flew along the field below the dam.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 23 Sep

I felt slightly better today, not much, but enough to manage to get up to the reservoir after the heavy rain and the fresh air actually did some good. The pick of the birds was a Ringed Plover, present at the southern end of the reservoir. Not an annual visitor to the site it was a good bird to find.

The Green Sandpiper was still present today and a couple of Common Sandpipers were on West Pool. The first Meadow Pipits of the autumn were noted, with have a dozen on the dam and a couple more on West Pool. A total of seven Teal and four Mandarin were the only wildfowl of note whilst overhead a Skylark was seen heading north. There were still plenty of Swallows and House Martins knocking around, though I'm sure most of these were simply passing through.
Sutton Bingham year list 2018 now at 114 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 22 Sep

After a night of no sleep, a banging headache, sore throat and runny nose I really didn't want to go in to work this morning, but needs must. That being said, a very brief stop at the reservoir on the way in produced a fly-through Sandwich Tern which flew west with a couple of gulls. A real bonus patch year tick.
Sutton Bingham year list 2018 now at 113 species.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 21 Sep

A Green Sandpiper was at the southern end, and despite my best efforts I failed to make it in to anything rarer.

 

A couple of Common Sandpipers were also seen but no storm blown rarities at Sutton Bingham after all the recent winy conditions.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 20 Sep

A juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was on the northern causeway early evening and six Common Sandpipers were still present.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 19 Sep

A little over an hour at the reservoir this afternoon but nothing out of the ordinary, just routine fair. A total of six Common Sandpipers were noted and five Teal were present. A single Mandarin dropped in to the Mallard flock at the southern end and a Great Black-backed Gull was seen. A trickle of Swallows passed through.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 16 Sep

An unexpected patch year tick today with a drake Gadwall present with Mallards at the southern end of the reservoir.

Other than the Gadwall it was pretty slim pickings (mind you I only spent ten minutes on site) with just three Common Sandpipers and a Great Black-backed Gull being seen.
Sutton Bingham year list 2018 now at 112 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 15 Sep

A pre-work visit produced a Little Grebe, the first on patch for several months. A single Great Black-backed Gull was present and half a dozen Common Sandpipers were noted. A couple of Linnets were present with several Pied Wagtails and a Grey Wagtail on the dam and three Teal were at the southern end.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 14 Sep

A flying visit at lunchtime produced three sub-adult Tufted Duck at the southern end plus three Common Sandpipers.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 12 Sep

Nothing overly exciting during a couple of hours at the reservoir this afternoon. There were nine Common Sandpipers and a single Green Sandpiper present along with three Teal, a Little Egret and a fly-over Raven.
Around the outflow stream there were a few Chiffchaff plus singles of Blackcap and Willow Warbler.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 11 Sep

The? Black-tailed Godwit was present again this afternoon, this time on West Pool. A total of five Common Sandpipers were present today.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 10 Sep

A bit of a clear out overnight, with just four Common Sandpipers this morning, though a Green Sandpiper was new in.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 9 Sep

A Black-tailed Godwit was the pick today, though whether it's a new bird or the same as has been present on and off for the past few days is anyone's guess. Other than that just nine Common Sandpipers today.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 7 Sep

A early evening visit produced the Black-tailed Godwit again along with a single Snipe and nine Common Sandpipers.
It would appear I missed a couple of things today though as the warden had a Greenshank earlier in the day and fellow SBR-birder James saw a large wader, probably a Curlew, as he drove past but was unable to relocate it when he returned later.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 6 Sep

The, or another, Black-tailed Godwit was present at the southern end of the reservoir this evening with a Snipe and ten Common Sandpipers. The juvenile Shelduck has finally moved on with no sign today.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 5 Sep

Managed a little over an hour at the reservoir this afternoon but there was not much in the way of new stuff to be seen, it's been a really poor "autumn" so far for passerines. However, a Black-tailed Godwit was off the northern causeway.

Whilst at the southern end ten Common Sandpipers and the long-staying Shelduck were present.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 4 Sep

A brief visit on the way home from work and I focused on the southern end where the juvenile Shelduck was still present along with six Common Sandpipers, four Snipe and ten Teal...that was until some photographer started trespassing in a private area and flushed everything. He may have had a big lens, but he had no field craft!

Sutton Bingham - Mon 3 Sep

The juvenile Shelduck still about today along with the Black-tailed Godwit. Snipe numbers have increased to four birds but I could only find four Common Sandpipers today. A couple of Mute Swans put in an appearance and half a dozen Teal were seen. Finally, a single Little Egret was noted.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 2 Sep

A sub-adult Tufted Duck was a new arrival at the reservoir today, present at the southern end where most of the action seems to be at present. A total of fourteen Teal were seen today and a single Reed Warbler was noted. On the wader front it was much as it was yesterday. The Little Ringed Plover was here for it's third day and was very obliging.

Presumably the same Black-tailed Godwit was also around.

Two Snipe and seven Common Sandpipers were also present today.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 1 Sep

More wader action today with the juvenile Little Ringed Plover again present and showing well, a Black-tailed Godwit was at the southern end with a Greenshank. A total of five Common Sandpipers were located today along with a single Green Sandpiper and two Snipe.

The juvenile Shelduck has now been present for a week.