Sutton Bingham - Thu 28 Feb

Another very quick visit to the patch today. There were still a few Wigeon off the dam, but numbers have dwindled to just thirty-two birds. A pair of Tufted Duck were also noted. The only other birds of note were a couple of adult Great Black-backed Gulls.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 21 Feb

A new bird for the patch year list today with a singing Reed Bunting at West Pool. Also at West Pool a single Chiffchaff.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 71 species.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 20 Feb

Five Tufted Duck at the reservoir this morning during a brief stop on the way to work. Also today a flock of sixty-four Wigeon still present and a couple of adult Great Black-backed Gulls were present.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 18 Feb

A quick pre-work visit produced a pair of Gadwall and a rather splendid summer-plumaged Mediterranean Gull.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 17 Feb

A very quick visit late morning and I focused solely on the area around the outflow stream. These was a good call as I added Goldcrest and Chiffchaff to the patch year list.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 70 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 16 Feb

Everything worth seeing was at the southern end of the reservoir during an afternoon visit. Highlight was a Woodcock that I inadvertently flushed whilst searching for two calling Marsh Tits, though I only saw one of them. Five Snipe were south of Cotton Bridge whilst on the water there were seven Tufted Duck, sixteen Teal and eighty Wigeon.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 10 Feb

A decent walk around the patch this afternoon starting at West Pool where three Tufted Duck were present along with four Snipe that were flushed from the water's edge and a Little Grebe. An adult Mediterranean Gull was also on West Pool.
At the southern end of the reservoir it was much quieter with just thirty Wigeon. Over the fields a flock of around fifty Meadow Pipits and a female Kestrel.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 7 Feb

Pretty quiet at the reservoir this afternoon, just fifty-five Wigeon and four Teal on the water. A couple of Meadow Pipits were near the Canoe Club whereas two Stock Dove and a Sparrowhawk were both new for the patch year list.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 4 Feb

After receiving a text from James saying that the Garganey was showing well on West Pool late morning, and having had a Twitter message from another birder saying a drake Pochard was off the Sailing Club, I simply had to pop out during my lunch break for another look.
I did score with the Garganey and had some wonderful views, though it did spend a lot of time hiding in the vegetation on the water's edge.

No sign of the Pochard but a very smart adult winter plumaged Mediterranean Gull was flying around.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 3 Feb

A mid-morning visit failed to find yesterday's Garganey on West Pool, but most of that area of water was frozen! A nice flock of thirty-three Tufted Duck were off the Fishing Lodge along with one hundred and sixty Wigeon. My first Grey Wagtail of the year was also noted. Singles of Kingfisher and Snipe were also seen
At the southern end of the reservoir there were at least three hundred Teal, but the light was dire so it was difficult to check through them properly.
I had a text message mid-afternoon to say the Garganey was still present and was at the southern end along with a drake Mandarin, so I popped back out to try my luck...but failed, seeing neither. I did see a male Kestrel though, so not a completely wasted trip. I also put up five Snipe from the water's edge.
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 66 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 2 Feb

I stopped off at the northern causeway on my way home from work this lunchtime, and found a Pintail on West Pool. Whilst watching the Pintail a second duck swam past and I couldn't believe my eyes as I was looking at a drake Garganey! A bit distant as it was towards the back of West Pool, I still managed to get a few record shots.

An remarkably early record of what is a scarce visitor to Sutton Bingham and a real surprise find. And just to be fair, James was looking over West Pool from the other end of the causeway at the same time, so I suppose we should share finders credits!
Sutton Bingham year list 2019 now at 64 species.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 1 Feb

A very brief late afternoon visit in the snow failed to produce much in the way of birds, though there was a noticeable increase in the number of Mallard present. I did manage to pick up a patch year tick though in the form of a Little Grebe that was half way down the reservoir near the sleeper bridge.