Sutton Bingham - Sun 23 Feb

A few quick visits over the last week produced nothing of note and nearly two hours at the reservoir late afternoon was also pretty unproductive with the whole visit being rescued by two very vocal and obliging Marsh Tits at the southern end.
On the water a total of around seventy Wigeon were present (peak counts during the week were at 114 birds) plus seven Teal and three Mandarin. Gulls didn't linger tonight, instead there was a steady flow of birds heading south.
A Brown Hare was a nice find!
Sutton Bingham year list for 2020 now at 71 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 16 Feb

Storm Dennis failed again today, more very heavy rain and wind and even fewer birds than yesterday. That being said, when the weather briefing cleared up late afternoon I did make a quick visit to see if any gulls have been forced in and did find a second calendar year Yellow-legged Gull but it didn't linger. Nothing else of note today though.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 15 Feb

Not much to report from a few visits over the past week other than a drake Tufted Duck, but three Mandarin were viewable from the Fishing Lodge at lunchtime today, despite the heavy rain and strong winds. Wigeon numbers were slightly down on recent counts and a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls were noted. Finally, seven Teal were at the southern end.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 6 Feb

Following a weekend visit which produced a Coal Tit as an addition to the year list but nothing else of note, today saw me enjoying an afternoon visit in wonderful, if slightly chilly, weather was most enjoyable if somewhat lacking in birds. A Sparrowhawk flew over the car park area, a new bird for the patch year list but other than that it was pretty routine fair with the Wigeon flock rising to one hundred and thirty-four birds and a small flock of seventeen Meadow Pipits near the Canoe Club. Probably the highlight of the visit was a notable count of at least (hard to be sure exactly as many were in flight) thirty-five Mediterranean Gulls, in an assortment of plumages and ages, the pick being a very smart summer-plumaged adult.
Sutton Bingham year list for 2020 now at 69 species.