Sutton Bingham - Fri 27 Dec

A couple of fleeting visits over the past ten days or so have failed to deliver anything more than a couple of Tufted Duck! However, I spent nearly two hours on patch this afternoon and it all started rather well as I was counting Wigeon of which there were sixty-nine present, when I came across a roosting drake Garganey on the water's edge! Presumably this was the bird that was present at Ninesprings in Yeovil a week ago, which in turn may well be the moulting drake I had on West Pool towards the end of October. A December Garganey was certainly not expected though today.

Driving round to the northern causeway I noticed a small bird on top of barns at Hyde Farm, so quickly pulling over I went to check it out as it looked rather interesting. This was, as it happens, a very good shout as I found myself looking at a female-type Black Redstart! This is only my second record for Sutton Bingham and I was pretty thrilled to have found it. It even showed well enough to be photographed!

After watching the Black Redstart for about ten minutes or so I lost it as it dropped down behind some farm buildings. What followed was a flurry of activity as the farmer arrived, then a delivery van, and that was it...no further sign of the bird.
Also this afternoon, a Coot was off the northern causeway, only my fourth or fifth of the year on patch. A pair of Reed Buntings were near the car park and there were loads of Redwing about. A mixed finch flock neat the Fishing Lodge contained at least a dozen Greenfinch. As it happened this would be my last visit of the year to Sutton Bingham and it ended on a high. My final total was my third best year list at the reservoir despite missing a total of eight species, four of which would have been patch ticks.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 116 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 15 Dec

An hour on patch mid-afternoon was disappointing, with most of yesterday's birds having departed. Two dozen Wigeon were present, initially at the northern end before flying to the southern end. A Chiffchaff was in the car park and that was it, though I did see five species of thrush today.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 14 Dec

A quick stop to view the north-east corner from the Fishing Lodge on my way home from work today proved to be an inspired decision as two Egyptian Goose were with the Canada Goose flock. Rather distant but a great addition to the patch year list. This was my best effort, you can just make out the second Egyptian Goose on the right of the photo fast asleep!

A couple of Tufted Duck were also present.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 115 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 12 Dec

For the first time in several weeks I had the opportunity to spend the entire afternoon at the reservoir...but the weather had other ideas so it wasn't until gone 3.00pm that I arrived on site once the rain had stopped. It was pretty much a wildfowl day, with Wigeon numbering a hundred and forty birds and at least a hundred Mallard also present. Three Mandarin and a Teal were at the southern end whilst eleven Tufted Duck were in the north-east corner. The Canada Goose flock seemed to be slightly down on recent visits with seventy-six birds present.
Away from the water, a flock of twenty-two Collared Dove were around the Fishing Lodge.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 8 Dec

I managed to get out to the reservoir for the last hour or so of light today and there were an impressive flock of 170 Wigeon roosting at the southern end (having flown down that way from the north-east corner). A couple of Teal and a Snipe were flushed from the water's edge while a single adult Mediterranean Gull was amongst the gull roost. A Raven was near the Fishing Lodge but the most impressive sight of the day was a flock of thirty Collared Dove...I've never seen so many together before.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 1 Dec

A very quick visit today during the afternoon was not very productive unfortunately. A Little Egret flew north and a single Meadow Pipit was near the Canoe Club. On the water a flock of twenty-six Teal and a dozen Wigeon.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 24 Nov

A very brief visit just before dark to check the gull roost produced a third calendar year Yellow-legged Gull, but nothing more exciting than that.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 21 Nov

Arriving at the reservoir early afternoon I lasted less than an hour as the weather steadily deteriorated. During that time all I could find were a flock of one hundred Wigeon and a couple of Teal, a Kingfisher and a somewhat unseasonal Little Egret, the latter being on West Pool before relocating to the Canoe Club.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 17 Nov

A late afternoon visit to check the gull roost produced three first-winter Mediterranean Gull but nothing any scarcer. The vast majority of the gulls present were Black-headed Gull and Herring Gull with a scattering of Lesser Black-backed Gull and Common Gull.
The only other birds of note were a single female Tufted Duck, a total of eighty-six Wigeon and a Kingfisher. Six Teal were seen yesterday lunchtime.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 14 Nov

A couple of hours at the reservoir this afternoon started off fairly well with a flock of fifty-six Lapwing in flight over the north of the reservoir and a flock of twenty-one Wigeon were off the dam.
I then had a walk up to the car park and back where a few Redwing and Fieldfare were noted but very little else so I headed down to Cotton Bridge to see if there was anything much happening down there. As it happened it was a good call as I counted ten Snipe and had a Water Rail calling, pretty much in the area I was hoping to find one and another addition to the patch year list. A couple of Teal were also present.
Other bits and bobs this afternoon included a couple of Linnet, a pair of Bullfinch and a Meadow Pipit. There was a great gull roost gathering but alas I did not have time to scan them to see if anything out of the ordinary may have been lurking.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 114 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 10 Nov

A late afternoon visit just before dark was somewhat profitable with a small group of ten Meadow Pipit in fields just south of the entrance to the Fishing Lodge, interestingly enough one looked noticeably larger than the others through the 'scope, but when I tried to get nearer I was unable to relocate the bird...but it looked interesting!
I then checked out the north-eastern corner where a redhead Goosander was up on the bank with a small number of Wigeon and around a hundred Canada Goose. Unfortunately the light was dire, it was getting dark after all, but here's a photo of the Goosander anyway!

The gathering gulls contained a couple of Common Gulls and an adult Yellow-legged Gull but I failed to find anything else amongst the couple of thousand gulls present. A Kingfisher was the only other bird of note this evening.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 7 Nov

My first "proper" visit to the reservoir for a couple of weeks this afternoon and it was pretty quiet all in all. That being said, two redhead Goosander flew through low over the water heading north and were a very welcome addition to the patch year list.
A good look around the car park and Canoe Club failed to turn up anything other than a Goldcrest whilst overhead a single Skylark flew east and a small flock of around twenty Meadow Pipit were over fields behind the Canoe Club, where they had been flushed by a Sparrowhawk.
On the water there were around thirty Wigeon and eighty Canada Geese in the north-eastern corner, and despite a good search through the gathering gulls I failed to find anything out of the ordinary, though I did register my first Common Gull of the winter.
A few winter thrushes this afternoon, with seven or so Fieldfare and around twenty Redwing seen in flight.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 113 species.

Rodden Hive & Abbotsbury - Sun 27 Oct

After a successful morning we set off to take a look at The Fleet, walking down to Rodden Hive where there were loads of birds, mainly Wigeon but some good numbers of Teal and a few Pintail. A sub-adult Marsh Harrier caused a bit of a stir and a few Stonechat were knocking around. A Cetti's Warbler was heard singing but didn't show itself whilst a single Curlew was noted as well as a few Lapwing and a handful of Redshank.
Walking back round to the car we saw half a dozen Red-legged Partridge whilst in Langton Herring village we added Coal Tit, Nuthatch and Chiffchaff to the day list. From Langton Herring we drive round to Abbotsbury seeing both Moorhen and Sparrowhawk whilst driving along. We parked up about a kilometre east of the Swannery and 'scoped The Fleet and found a female Common Scoter.
Our final stop of the day was overlooking the Swannery where a few more species were added to the day list, which for me ended up on 82 species.
NB: After dropping everyone else off I was able to twitch a Yellow-browed Warbler that a friend had found in his allotment in my village...a bonus at the end of a brilliant day out.

Portland Bill & Ferrybridge - Sun 27 Oct

A day out with friends today and a visit to Portland Bill and Ferrybridge in the morning, starting at Portland Bird Observatory where we saw a total of three Firecrest feeding in the garden. A walk down to the Bill produced three Black Redstart, and although a got a reasonably decent photo, the bird was facing away from me.

A late Wheatear was on East Cliffs with several Rock Pipit and a lone Purple Sandpiper. Out to see it was pretty quiet but a few Gannet and Mediterranean Gull were passing through with a handful of Razorbill and a couple of Guillemot. One of two distant Kittiwake went through heading west.
Leaving the island we stopped off at Ferrybridge to check out the Brent Goose flock, but unfortunately a chap with a massive camera decided he would try and get in the flock and flushed them all. Despite his poor fieldcraft we did see two Knot, a dozen Turnstone and several Dunlin and Ringed Plover. A lone Red-breasted Merganser was on the water and around five hundred Mediterranean Gull were present. A single Bar-tailed Godwit rounded off a decent morning.

Leaving Weymouth we then headed west to explore further up The Fleet.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 24 Oct

A flying visit this afternoon turned up a real surprise in the form of a drake Garganey on West Pool.

Light was dire and the bird was fairly mobile and distant, but you can at least see what it is. Moulting out of eclipse plumage this was a pretty decent October record.

Lyme Regis - Wed 23 Oct

An afternoon at the Lyme Regis fossil hunted did produce a rather fine drake Eider.

Other than that, a first-winter Mediterranean Gull, seven Turnstone and several Rock Pipit were the only birds of note.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 20 Oct

A lot of effort for little reward today. Three Snipe were flushed from the southern end where a Marsh Tit was heard calling and three Bullfinch were seen as well as my first Redwing of the winter.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 17 Oct

Yesterday's female Stonechat was in the company of a male today (though it's possible he was present yesterday and I simply didn't see him).

Other than that, a single adult Great Black-backed Gull and fifteen Wigeon were all I could manage.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 16 Oct

A female Stonechat was a most welcome addition to the patch year list this afternoon. Not much else about other than a fly-over Skylark and Meadow Pipit plus the small flock of eleven Wigeon and a single Tufted Duck.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 112 species.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 13 Oct

A Common Sandpiper was seen today, presumably the same bird I had seen earlier in the month, though I guess it could be another late migrant passing through. Three Swallow passed through early morning.
A return visit later in the day was slightly more productive, with eleven Wigeon in the north-east corner with a single Teal. Two Shoveler flew in from the east with Mallards and headed north and Canada Goose numbers were up to ninety birds. Eight Meadow Pipit and around seventy Pied Wagtail were milling about on and around the dam.

Longham Lakes - Thu 10 Oct

An afternoon twitch, my first for nearly a year, and I got lucky with some great views of an American Black Tern that had been present at Longham Lakes for a few days. The bird afforded some wonderful views as it hawked for insects over the water just a few metres from the shore. Always mobile getting a phot was going to be difficult with a hand-held mobile against my 'scope, but I managed a few...one even shows the characteristic "dirty" sides diagnostic of American Black Tern in this plumage.

No time to really look around the lakes as I needed to get back, but the target bird was safely ticked off!

Sutton Bingham - Thu 3 Oct

Surprisingly the Great White Egret was still present, having been at the reservoir for three months now (as it happens this would be the last day I was to see it). Like recent visits over the past week or so there was not a lot of note with six Mandarin at the southern end, three Wigeon, a Kingfisher and a single Common Sandpiper still. A few Meadow Pipit flew through as did three Linnet. A Raven was near the water treatment works.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 26 Sep

Not much to report over the last week or so, more of the same in actual fact, though a flock of eight Collared Dove on Sunday 22 September was notable.

With lots of rain over the past few days it was hardly surprising that water levels had shot up, leaving no mud for any late passage waders. That being said there were still four Common Sandpiper on site and the Great White Egret was still present. The southern end held six Teal and two Mandarin and a Lesser Whitethroat was a nice find.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 20 Sep

The first Wigeon of the autumn were present today, with three at the southern end. A single Tufted Duck was also new in whilst three Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper were also noted.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 19 Sep

A Wheatear on the dam wall was the pick of the birds today. A flock of thirty or so Pied Wagtail and four Grey Wagtail were in the same area with four Linnet.

The long-staying Great White Egret was still present and four Common Sandpiper were noted as well as a single Snipe. At least a hundred Swallow were over the reservoir and two Mandarin were seen.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 16 Sep

A quick early morning failed to locate yesterday's Shelduck, but the southern end did host a Green Sandpiper, two Snipe and a total of four Common Sandpiper.
However, there was a little more interest during a return visit in the evening with two Wheatear and three Meadow Pipit in the field opposite the entrance to the Canoe Club. One of the Wheatear looked spot on for a Greenland race, much more upright than the second bird with longer legs and a warmer plumage.
The southern end produced a total of three Green Sandpiper and this morning's Snipe and Common Sandpiper were still present. A Great White Egret was also seen.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 15 Sep

A very quick visit mid-morning produced three Green Sandpiper and a Great White Egret at the southern end, but not much else. However, returning later in the day I found a moulting adult Shelduck which was a much welcome patch year tick. I first located it near the sleeper bridge before it flew south and settled on the mud at the far end.

Also today, a total of five Common Sandpiper around the site and two Snipe.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 111 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 14 Sep

A flying visit before work turned out to be rather productive with four Ringed Plover on West Pool when I arrived. However, they soon flew south and were lost to view, then amazingly, a fifth bird flew in and landed. So a total of five Ringed Plover this morning, which must be some kind of record count for the site.

Also this morning, a single Snipe was also one West Pool, my first of the autumn and a Great White Egret was near the Sailing Club. Two Common Sandpiper were on West Pool with another three at the southern end where two Green Sandpiper were also present. Not bad for a ten minute stop.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 12 Sep

I arrived at the reservoir mid-afternoon and managed about ninety minutes on site with mixed results. Highlight was a small group of four Whinchat present together in the field opposite the entrance to the Canoe Club (my highest single count for Sutton Bingham) with three Yellow Wagtail in the neighbouring cattle field.

The southern end of the reservoir held pretty much the same assortment of birds that it has done for the past few days with a single Teal,  a Great White Egret, five Common Sandpiper and two Green Sandpiper.
A Great Black-backed Gull was on West Pool and a second Great White Egret was viewable from the Fishing Lodge where a flock of ten Linnet flew over. There was also a good number of Swallows and House Martins today, most of which seemed to be heading south.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 11 Sep

A quick stop on the way home from work produced two Great White Egret. The bulk of the action was at the southern end with six Common Sandpiper, two Green Sandpiper and five Mandarin. An adult Great Black-backed Gull was also seen.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 9 Sep

No birding at the reservoir all weekend but a flying visit this morning produced a Wheatear on the northern causeway and a Common Sandpiper on West Pool.
The southern end held a further two Common Sandpiper and a Great White Egret. Five Mandarin and half a dozen Teal were also present.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 6 Sep

A flying visit on the way home from work proved worthwhile with a juvenile Ringed Plover at the southern end of the reservoir. Not a year tick, or as obliging as the adult I had a few weeks ago, but a nice find nonetheless.

Also present a Great White Egret, two Green Sandpiper and a total of three Common Sandpiper.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 5 Sep

A decent visit to the reservoir this afternoon as I was able to spend nearly a good two and a half hours on site. Starting at the Fishing Lodge a Wheatear was in the paddock before alighting to the dam wall. So a good start to the visit but not much else going on in this area.

On then to the West Pool and northern causeway where a Yellow Wagtail was feeding on the water's edge with several Pied Wagtails. A bit distant, but a lovely bright adult bird.

I then set off to the southern end of the reservoir and checked the area out thoroughly. Despite a lot of hard work it was not actually that rewarding with the pick of the birds being three Mandarin, four Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper and a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls. A single Great White Egret was also seen.
Back then to West Pool where a I found a second Wheatear, this one on the fence just south of West Pool itself, an area that often seems popular with passage birds. Nine Linnet dropped down to the water's edge to drink whilst a Coot was present on the main reservoir, the latter being just my third for the year on patch.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 4 Sep

September has started as August ended with a few Common Sandpiper, a high of three Green Sandpiper (yesterday evening) and at least one long-staying Great White Egret still present.
Today, something a bit different with a Dunlin at the southern end of the reservoir this morning in the company of a single Green Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 31 Aug

Nothing out of the ordinary over the past few days, and today was no different. Two Green Sandpiper were still at the southern end and a total of four Common Sandpiper were noted. A Yellow Wagtail was heard flying over, and a few Chiffchaff were about. A Great White Egret was off the Sailing Club and half a dozen Teal were at the southern end.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 26 Aug

A call late afternoon had me at the reservoir for an adult Black Tern that was hawking off the dam, having missed the last two on patch this was most welcome! Three Yellow Wagtail flew over whilst I was watching the Black Tern.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 25 Aug

An early morning visit was pretty productive with a female type Garganey flying in from the north-east and heading south. Both Great White Egret were still present along with two Green Sandpiper and four Common Sandpiper. Two Teal were also seen and three Yellow Wagtail were at the southern end. Highlight was a fly-over Tree Pipit, an addition to the patch year list. A Jay was the first I'd seen at the reservoir for several months and over a hundred Swallow were around West Pool.
A return visit later in the day produced three Greenshank at the southern end with seven Green Sandpiper plus a Great White Egret. Two sub-adult Tufted Duck were also present.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 24 Aug

A morning visit turned up an adult male Siskin, which was somewhat surprising but presumably indicates local breeding.

A Marsh Tit was a good late summer find and a Raven was heard. More usually fair came in the form of a single Great White Egret, a Green Sandpiper and four Common Sandpiper.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 22 Aug

A few visits over the past week, since my last Blog posting, have not produced anything that out of the ordinary that required a separate posting, though two juvenile Tufted Duck were seen on 17 and 19 August. The two Great White Egret were seen throughout the last week with a third bird present yesterday.
Today there was a bit of excitement though with an adult Ringed Plover on the northern causeway early morning, it was extremely obliging, the problem was, I had left my phone at home so no chance to get a photo.
A single Green Sandpiper and four Common Sandpiper were also present today.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 15 Aug

A couple of Common Sandpiper were on West Pool this morning with three more at the southern end along with a single Green Sandpiper. A Great White Egret was opposite the Canoe Club.
However, the bird of the day was a wader heard calling (though unfortunately not seen) that flew over heading south. A very distinct call it simply had to have been a Spotted Redshank, I can't think what else it could have been.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 12 Aug

A little bit more of interest at the reservoir this morning with a Redshank a the southern end along with two Green Sandpiper and eight Common Sandpiper. Three female-type Mandarin were also seen, as was a single Great White Egret, but arguably the best bird of the visit was a fly-through Hobby that passed over the car at Hyde Farm.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 12 Aug

No time at the reservoir this weekend due to family commitments, but a quick stop pre-work today produced both Great White Egret whilst at the southern end two Green Sandpiper and eight Common Sandpiper were present.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 9 Aug

A mid-afternoon visit produced two Common Tern plus two Great White Egret and five Common Sandpiper. A female-type Garganey turned up later in the day, so obviously I had to pop along and take a look.

It was pretty late and nearly dark by the time I got there, that's my excuse for the poor photo!

Sutton Bingham - Thu 8 Aug

Having not seen a Great White Egret at the reservoir for since the weekend it was somewhat of a shock to find three on site today. This is, I think, the highest single count for the species at Sutton Bingham. Also present today a single Green Sandpiper and twelve Common Sandpiper plus the female Shoveler that was still at the southern end.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 6 Aug

A pretty decent count of fourteen Common Sandpiper yesterday had dropped to just ten today. Five Green Sandpiper were also present today, with all the waders (bar a single Common Sandpiper) being at the southern end.

Also at the southern end, a female Shoveler was a new arrival alongside a rather lethargic Teal.

A Raven was atop one of the pylons.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 3 Aug

A couple of visits at the start of the month produced highs of seven Green Sandpiper and twelve Common Sandpiper. Today there was a little more excitement with an Osprey over West Pool heading north, and it looked very much like the bird that I had seen a couple of weeks ago. A Great White Egret was also seen and waders were pretty much as had been present over the past couple of days.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 31 Jul

It was more of the same this morning, though a fly-over Yellow Wagtail was heard calling. Five Green Sandpiper and ten Common Sandpiper were present and two Raven were also noted.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 30 Jul

Rain overnight and steady drizzle this morning when I arrived for a quick look around before work. The southern end of the reservoir held a single Great White Egret plus a lone Green Sandpiper and five Common Sandpiper. Highlight though just as veer heavy rain started falling were two Common Tern that flew through heading south.
Driving round to the Fishing Lodge remarkably I found another Common Tern, this one sitting on a buoy off the dam.

Another eleven Common Sandpiper were also present.
A stop on the way home from work later in the day produced six Green Sandpiper and a Wood Sandpiper at the southern end.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 106 species.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 29 Jul

A quick morning visit today produced a Green Sandpiper on West Pool and a Great White Egret off the northern causeway. At the southern end of reservoir two more Green Sandpiper were seen and one of the Wood Sandpiper was still present. I did try and get a photo of the Wood Sandpiper today, but my efforts were significantly worse than the pathetic effort I managed on Thursday evening! A total of eight Common Sandpiper were noted at the reservoir.
A quick stop late afternoon produced two Lapwing on West Pool.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 27 Jul

A couple of hours at the reservoir this morning, starting at the Fishing Lodge where there was nothing of note! On then round to the northern causeway where a flock of seventeen Common Sandpiper were present as well at three others. A single Green Sandpiper was on West Pool.
A check of the southern end drew a blank, though a Great White Egret was seen and five Mandarin were noted.

Walking back to the car park I was sure I heard a Redshank call so hot-footed it down to the northern causeway where the Redshank was stood, a patch year tick! It must have just dropped in as it was not present an hour earlier. The Redshank relocated to West Pool before flying east when a few anglers turned up. Herewith a digi-binned record shot for posterity!

I then had a text from James to say the Wood Sandpiper was showing, so back to the southern end and after a bit of a wait the Wood Sandpiper popped out and showed well for a short while before vanishing again. Two Green Sandpiper were also present and my first three Teal of the autumn were seen.
A return visit in the evening produced both Wood Sandpiper showing well together at the southern end. A check of the entire reservoir produced a total of twenty-six Common Sandpiper.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 105 species.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 26 Jul

A mid-morning stroll failed with regard to seeing last night's Wood Sandpiper, though it had been seen earlier in the day (and again later). Ten Common Sandpiper were present along with three Green Sandpiper. A Great White Egret was near the Canoe Club and a couple of Mandarin were noted.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 25 Jul

A brief morning visit was pretty unproductive with just five Common Sandpiper present.
However, a text message from Pete Akers early evening informed me of an eclipse Garganey with a Teal off the northern causeway, so I headed out and en route I received another text from Pete, this time telling me of a Wood Sandpiper he had just found at the southern end. So I ignored the Garganey and headed south to stake out the area that the various waders that have been present over the past week have been favouring. There were two Lapwing present with ten Common Sandpiper and five Green Sandpiper. After a bit of a wait I heard the Wood Sandpiper as it flew past but didn't see it, then a few minutes later it flew past with two Green Sandpiper and eventually settled distantly on the mud. My first patch Wood Sandpiper at Sutton Bingham for several years and an excellent patch year tick. Always rather distant, here's a pretty top-quality of it with a Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper for comparison!

I did stop quickly on the way home at the northern causeway but failed to find the Garganey or Teal but a Great White Egret was on West Pool.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 24 Jul

Three Green Sandpipers were new in to West Pool this morning, where a Great White Egret also dropped in. Not a lot of interest off the dam/Fishing Lodge with just a couple of Little Egrets, a Kingfisher and two Linnet. At the southern end another two Green Sandpipers were present along with five Common Sandpipers (a sixth was on the northern causeway). Two Mandarin at the southern end were the only other birds of note.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 23 Jul

Hard going first thing this morning with heavy fog covering the reservoir, though it did start to clear just as I was leaving for work. That being said I did see a Great White Egret, on the bank opposite the Sailing Club, whilst two Common Sandpipers were on the dam. An adult Grey Wagtail was present with four juvenile birds and a Swift swept in for a drink!
A return visit later in the day was slightly more productive with a slight "heron-fest" at the southern end with both Great White Egrets, six Little Egrets and four Grey Herons present. Also at the southern end were two Green Sandpipers, four Common Sandpipers and three Mandarin.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 22 Jul

One of the long-staying Great White Egrets was showing very well off the northern causeway this morning.

The Green Sandpiper was still at the southern end with four Common Sandpipers whilst elsewhere three Little Egrets were scattered around the reservoir and two Great Black-backed Gulls were still present.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 20 Jul

A late afternoon visit added Green Sandpiper to the patch year list with a single bird at the southern end with four Common Sandpipers. The two Great White Egrets were still present and at least four Little Egrets were on site. A single female-type Mandarin was seen and two adult Great Black-backed Gulls were still present.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 17 Jul

Both Great White Egrets were viewable from the Fishing Lodge this morning. A single Common Sandpiper was at the southern end of the reservoir and Kingfishers at either end of the reservoir.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 16 Jul

The same Osprey I had seen yesterday morning was present again this morning over the southern end of the reservoir before it flew off to the north and I was unable to relocate it. A Common Sandpiper was present near the Fishing Lodge.
A return visit in the afternoon produced a Great White Egret on West Pool plus the first juvenile Yellow-legged Gull of the year. Two female type Mandarin were off the northern causeway.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 15 Jul

I was lucky enough to see an Osprey at the reservoir again this morning, it was interacting with a Buzzard over the northern end of the reservoir.

A single Great White Egret was again seen with five Little Egrets around the site. Two Swift were over the Fishing Lodge and a couple of Linnet were noted. A drake Tufted Duck was on the main reservoir, somewhat unseasonal, and a single Great Black-backed Gull was seen.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 13 Jul

A walk along the reservoir mid-morning failed to produce anything of note though West Pool played host to one of the long-staying Great White Egrets, the second bird was present on the dam. My first Sand Martins of the "autumn" were seen over the dam with at least ten birds flying around.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 10 Jul

One Great White Egret was present this morning alongside five Little Egrets. At the southern end of the reservoir a total of ten Mandarin were seen and four Linnet were near the dam where four Common Sandpipers were also present.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 9 Jul

An amazing visit to the reservoir pre-work this morning with two Great White Egrets seen, one on West Pool and the second opposite the Sailing Club. An Osprey, presumably one of the birds that was seen last week whilst I was in Cornwall, was present near the Canoe Club.

The highlight had to be a Greenshank, simply because it was an addition to the patch year list. Viewable from the Fishing Lodge initially it flew south calling at around 8.30am.
There were also five Little Egrets present this morning and singles of Kingfisher and Common Sandpiper. Two Great Black-backed Gulls were still around.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 8 Jul

A quick morning visit produced a Great White Egret on West Pool. There were also three Little Egret and a Common Sandpiper. An adult Great Black-backed Gull was present.

Martin Down & Salisbury Plain - Sun 7 Jul

A day out with friends today and we started off with a visit to Martin Down nature reserve where we were lucky enough to see a total of six Turtle Doves, including a flock of five flying around together. The supporting case consisted of Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer and Skylark. A great start to the day so off we headed to a couple of sites on Salisbury Plain.
Our first stop on Salisbury Plain produced a couple of singing Quail and also two Stone Curlew. I also picked up a rather Great Bustard...OK, so it's from the reintroduction scheme, but what a bird. A single Curlew was also seen at this site.

We then moved off to try another area and saw hundreds of butterflies plus a bonus Tree Pipit and a Stonechat.
Our final stop of the day was pretty amazing as we were fortunate to see a female Montague's Harrier.

A couple of Red Kite were also noted and then the male Montague's Harrier appeared to harass a Red Kite and so we were treated to great views of both harriers. This rounded off an absolutely brilliant day of birding.