Sutton Bingham - Fri 31 Dec

A late afternoon visit today in an attempt to try and add a last minute year tick for the patch but I failed with not a lot around at all. A few duck were in the north-east corner with 173 Wigeon, twenty Teal and around sixty Mallard.

Other than that there were loads of gulls, including a Yellow-legged Gull and plenty of winter thrushes coming in to roost.

All in all a very good year of birding at Sutton Bingham, my second highest annual total and one addition (Caspian Gull) to the patch life list. However, I did miss fifteen species over the course of the year, some by a matter of moments, and two that would have been patch ticks (but as I was in Cornwall at the time there was nothing I could do about that).

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 finished on 118 species.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 29 Dec

Just half an hour of looking for birds at the reservoir this morning and I checked out West Pool in the hope of finding a Jack Snipe before the end of the year, I failed but did count seventy Common Snipe, a pretty decent Winter count for that small area. The only other sighting of note was of around two thousand Black-headed Gulls.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 26 Dec

A Christmas Day visit yesterday failed to deliver and presents, and today was not much better. The Common Sandpiper was still in a private area, I wonder if if will hang around for another week and make it in to the New Year? Other than that there were one hundred and sixty Wigeon and ten Teal, most of the duck were at the southern end today, whilst an adult Great Black-backed Gull was the first I'd seen on site for several weeks.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 20 Dec

I made a couple of brief visits to the reservoir over the weekend and the Caspian Gull continued to put on a good show.

A drake Gadwall was present on Sunday and there were also plenty of Wigeon about, but nothing else of note.

This morning I stopped off briefly before work and found a pair of Pochard! Having seen the female on Friday, the first on patch for a long time, two more appear today. There were three female Tufted Ducks and a drake Teal with the Pochard.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 17 Dec

A message on the SBR WhatsApp group just after 1pm sent me hurrying to the reservoir for a female Pochard, which fortunately I saw after a little bit of a search. Initially in the north east corner it then flew in to the middle of the reservoir with the Wigeon flock.

This is the first Pochard I've seen at Sutton Bingham for nearly three years, it is a real site rarity nowadays. Apparently the Caspian Gull was also present today, though I didn't really look for it as time was against me. The Common Sandpiper was still present though.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 118 species.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 15 Dec

Heartbreak on Monday as Dave Chown found the first Caspian Gull for Sutton Bingham, present from early afternoon until around 4pm when it was lost to view, presumably amongst the gathered roost. I arrived at 4.15pm and in dreadful weather and dismal light failed in my quest to see it. A two hour visit yesterday afternoon drew another blank but on a hunch I zoomed down to the reservoir during my lunch break today and refound it! What a tide of emotions over the past few days.

Initially on the causeway where a lady was throwing out bread it then took to the water before I succumbed to throwing bread myself and that drew it nice and close, the flight views were spectacular as this bird, a nice first-winter, flew by showing a snowy white head. Caspian Gull is a species I have searched for in numerous gull roosts at Sutton Bingham over the years, so finally connecting with one was brilliant, especially after the disappointment earlier in the week.

OK, the above photos are not as good as those taken by Dave when he found it on Monday, but I'm happy to have been able to see it and at least get a few record shots. I had to zoom back to the office so no time to see if anything else was about.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 117 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 12 Dec

Another fairly brief visit and again nothing much to report. A nice little flock of eleven Tufted Duck were viewable from the Fishing Lodge and a single drake Gadwall was with one hundred and six Wigeon at the southern end and that was that.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 9 Dec

Nothing much to report from the reservoir in early December, partly because I've not had the chance to visit other than a couple of brief stops. The Common Sandpiper is still present, thought not in a publicly accessible location. Wigeon numbers hit over eighty birds at the start of the month and three Tufted Duck stayed a day.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 25 Nov

A very brief stop today on the way home form work at lunchtime and a quick look from the Fishing Lodge. Three Tufted Duck were amongst eighty Wigeon and a single Little Grebe was present. However, the surprise find today was a Common Sandpiper, presumably the same bird I saw at the end of October. It will be interesting to see if it remains for the entire Winter.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 20 Nov

Whilst out with the lads in the morning I had a message from Pete telling me that the Yellow-browed Warbler he found last week was still present so I made a little time to visit the reservoir before getting home. I knew I only had a limited amount of time and I spent an hour staring at a clump of sallows and just as I was pretty much out of time a Chiffchaff flew in along with another bird, and then I heard the call I had been waiting to hear and I was soon treated to some excellent views of the Yellow-browed Warbler.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 116 species.

Somerset Levels - Sat 20 Nov

After roughly two years I managed a morning out today with some good friends and we headed up to the Somerset Levels starting our mini-tour with a stop at Aller Moor, taking a look from both Oath and Stathe where the pick of the birds were a couple of Marsh Harriers and at least fourteen Common Cranes, part of the reintroduction scheme but a great sight nonetheless. Other bits and bobs seen including a Chiffchaff and three Blackcaps feeding in the various small bushes along the river.

We then moved on to Hay Moor where we connected with one of the target birds of the day, as three Whooper Swans were amongst a herd of Mute Swans.

Leaving Hay Moor our next stop was Greylake RSPB where other than a fair number of Golden Plover were whirling around, no doubt freaked out by a passing Peregrine. Another Marsh Harrier was also present but there was very little else about so we didn't linger long and instead headed up to towards Westhay village and taking the road towards Burtle where after a few hundred yards I stopped the car as there was a field full of egrets and I caught a glimpse of our quarry, a Glossy Ibis! Checking the field a quick count produced sixty-five Cattle Egrets along with the Glossy Ibis, some twenty Little Egrets and all were then dwarfed by a Great White Egret that flew in and joined them. Not a bad stop.

Our next destination was Ham Wall RSPB where were walked out to Loxton's Marsh where after a fairly lengthy search finally found a single Water Pipit and loads of Teal and Snipe.

Walking back towards the car park a single Great White Egret was noted from the first viewpoint before we walked out to Tor Hide where a Ring-necked Duck had been present yesterday, but we failed to find it...our only miss of the afternoon.

Back at the car I said my farewells to the boys and headed back towards home after an excellent morning out, good birds and great company.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 14 Nov

Yesterday afternoon Pete Akers found the third Yellow-browed Warbler for Sutton Bingham, and it was an extremely elusive, mobile and silent bird. Nevertheless I popped down late afternoon in the hope of seeing it, I didn't. I did see forty-seven Wigeon and a single Teal, but that was it.

So I was back on site early this morning to give it another go...I didn't see it. However, some small consolation today with a small flock of six Lesser Redpoll that flew over, my first on the patch for a couple of years. A few Siskin were also noted flying over.

A very obliging Marsh Tit was nice to see and a Chiffchaff was also noted amongst a feeding flock of tits, shame it wasn't the Phyllosc I was looking for.

A couple of Mandarin flew north and a Peregrine was again present on a pylon. Whilst searching for the Yellow-browed Warbler I had a constant background chorus of calling Water Rails.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 115 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 4 Nov

An early afternoon visit today and I started off checking out the north-east corner where Wigeon numbers had increased to forty-two birds. Of more interest was a very decent site count of nine Gadwall on the main reservoir. There was not much else going on at the northern end of the reservoir so I headed to the other end.

Around Cotton Bridge I heard a couple of calling Water Rails, my first of the year and a welcome tick having missed the one present in September that I spent over ten hours searching for! In the same area a Little Grebe was briefly seen and a Chiffchaff was noted. A Peregrine was atop one of the pylons and a small flock of around thirty Redwing flew south. All in all a fairly decent visit today.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 114 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 31 Oct

A planned day out birding with my mates was postponed due to illness, injury and a dreadful weather forecast so I ended up at Sutton Bingham for a couple of hours early afternoon instead. The north-east corner held 136 Canada Geese and around fifty Wigeon but nothing else on the water. However, a late Common Sandpiper was a most surprising find.

However, a small bird flitting around some nearby buildings caught my attention and soon I was treated to some wonderful views of a Black Redstart...just my third patch sighting.

After watching the Black Redstart for a while I moved on to explore other areas of the reservoir but to be honest with access still closed due to the work going on it was not easy. A few Redwings were around the church whilst singles of Raven and Stock Dove flew over. Checking an adjacent field I noted around thirty Linnet and a dozen Chaffinch before they were all spooked by a Sparrowhawk. So not a bad end to a month where I missed two patch lifers.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 113 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 28 Oct

A quick visit before work produced a fine drake Gadwall off the northern causeway.

Also this morning, two Little Grebes on West Pool.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 23 Oct

After getting back from our holiday in Cornwall I didn't waste too much time before heading to Sutton Bingham for a quick look around. I had missed two patch lifers over the last week, a fly-over Crossbill and a Glossy Ibis that turned up late afternoon and appeared to roost at the reservoir. I had also missed a fly-over Brambling, another decent year tick!

My visit to the reservoir was much less productive with forty Wigeon in the north-east corner and a Raven overhead. A Little Grebe was on West Pool whilst a nice flock of some two hundred Linnet were in one of the neighbouring fields, but I couldn't find anything more interesting amongst them unfortunately. Fourteen Collared Doves were also noted.

Cornwall - Sat 16 Oct to Sat 23 Oct

A week long trip to Cornwall started well with a stop off at Dozmary Pool on Bodmin Moor where two Ring-necked Ducks were the pick of the birds seen. Also around the pool, at least two hundred and fifty Golden Plover and around forty or so Lapwing. A Peregrine was in the air above us whilst also on the water a couple of Little Grebes plus a drake Shoveler, two Teal and a a pair of Tufted Duck.

On then to the Roseland peninsula where we were to spend the next week on holiday and when we arrived at our accommodation I was surprised to see a Swallow flying around before it settled on a telephone wire looking rather tired and thinking it should be in sunnier climes!

On the Monday we drove over to the Lizard peninsula in an attempt to see Choughs, a bird I'd not seen for a few years and so was keen to see one again. In rather poor weather we found none at Lizard Point and none at Kynance Cove so it was on to the third choice site which was Church Cove at Gunwalloe, where after a decent search I finally found a small group of five Choughs on the back of the beach...result!

A mid-week visit to Ruan Lanithorne at low tide failed to turn up anything unusual but I did see four Little Grebes, a single Snipe and good numbers of Wigeon and Canada Geese along with a few Redshank and a lone Greenshank.

A walk down to the small creek at Lanhay produced a fly-over Ringed Plover calling away as it headed east and up to five Cirl Buntings were noted.

More Cirl Bunting action at Towen Beach with at least four, including three males, with house Sparrows on the cliff. A couple of Mediterranean Gulls were also seen at Towen Beach.

I decided on a drive out to St Anthony's Head for a sea watch and although there was not a lot about I still saw five Manx Shearwaters and a few Kittiwake all heading west.

On our final evenign we had fish and chips overlooking Gerrans Bay from the top car park at Portscatho, where I finally, after a week of trying, found a Great Northern Dover offshore and a nice pod of Common Dolphins rounded off what was a lovely family holiday.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 10 Oct

A brief evening visit was fairly unproductive, though Wigeon numbers have risen to twenty-one birds and with them a single Tufted Duck and a Shoveler. All in a private area of the reservoir with no public access. There were also forty Canada Geese present this evening and a Kingfisher also showed well. Finally, a lone Common Gull was in the gull roost.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 7 Oct

Due to the site being closed I focused mainly on the southern end around Cotton Bridge where a single Snipe was flushed and a Marsh Tit was heard calling. A total of twenty Mandarin flew over heading north and a lone Meadow Pipit also passed over. The only other sighting of note was of eight Wigeon on the water.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 3 Oct

With the site being closed from tomorrow until the New Year whilst work is going on making improvements to the car park I took advantage of being able to wander around the site this evening. The Great White Egret was still present, for it's ninth day, though with recent rain sending water levels pretty high I wonder how long it will hang around now. A single Mediterranean Gull was off the dam whilst on the wildfowl front there were twenty Mandarin at the southern end with three Teal and seven Wigeon plus a lone Gadwall. There were also a couple of hundred Swallows on site this evening.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 30 Sep

Since the weekend I've dropped in to the reservoir a few times and it's been pretty much the same with regards to the birds present each time I've been on site. The Great White Egret has been a permanent fixture on West Pool and was still present today whilst at the southern end a couple of Green Sandpipers have been about as well as a Common Sandpiper. Teal numbers have been creeping up with thirteen on site today and Wigeon have increased to seven birds. Three Snipe were seen earlier in the week and a single Little Grebe was off the northern causeway, but in dreadful weather neither species were seen today.

Let's see what October brings, but with the site being closed whilst work is undertaken in and around the car park until the New Year, it could prove to be difficult adding much more to the year list...but let's hope not!

Sutton Bingham - Sat 25 Sep

A call from Pete this morning and a quick trip to the reservoir to finally connect with a patch Great White Egret this year. It's about time one turned up, and I'd been expecting one for the past couple of weeks.

No time to look for anything else but the target bird successfully twitched.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 112 species.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 24 Sep

A lunchtime visit and after several other brief visits over the past few days there were a few more birds on offer today. The southern end was where most of the action was with a couple of Wigeon and seven Teal showing that winter is on the way. That being said, there were still two Common Sandpipers and a single Green Sandpiper present. A couple of Kingfishers were present along with a Grey Wagtail.

A return visit at the end of the day produced a Snipe and a lone Little Grebe. Pretty much nothing different from the birds seen over the last week.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 19 Sep

A few visits during the last couple of days had failed to produce much, but a couple of Wheatears on 15 September were big brutes and are surely good candidates for Greenland Wheatear.

A little bit of wader excitement today though as I initially missed a call, whilst I was in church, from Pete Akers this morning telling me of a Spotted Redshank at the southern end of the reservoir, hasten to say as soon as the service was over I hot-footed it to Sutton Bingham, family in tow, to try and see the bird...and see it I did! It really was rather distant, feeding in the muddy area in the far southern corner. It's been a few years since my last patch Spotted Redshank. Herewith the obligatory record shots.

It wasn't all good news though, as despite seeing the Spotted Redshank I missed a Water Rail that had been seen briefly a few times in a similar area (and a two hour return visit later in the evening also failed to find this much-needed patch year tick).

There were also a couple of Green Sandpipers today and I got up to four Common Sandpipers across the site. A lone Teal was off the dam in the evening whilst earlier in the day the first Wigeon of the "Winter" was present. A Tufted Duck was still at the southern end and appeared to have either a damaged or pinioned right wing...which may explain why it's still here. Finally, as evening set in three flocks of Mandarin flew in, totalling eighteen birds, and the three Little Grebes were still about.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 111 species.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 14 Sep

It all kicked off late morning when I received news of a juvenile Black Tern at the reservoir, found by Guy Campbell (thanks Guy!). Fortunately I was able to take an early lunch and arrived on site soon after midday and was eventually treated to some lovely overhead views after having settled for distant views when I arrived as it was flying around off the dam. Eventually, after two failed attempts, it gained height and headed off. Luck was with me on that one. Whilst watching the Black Tern a small group of three waders flew in from the south, rather distant it was hard to get a positive ID, my gut feeling was Dunlin but they will have to go down as "not sure" but a fourth wader joined them and that was identifiable, a Ringed Plover! I scooted round to the other side of the reservoir to see if these waders had landed and whereas I failed to relocate them I did find two Curlew!

Also during my lunch break today, a Wheatear and a Common Sandpiper...so not bad at all for a little over thirty minutes on site.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 110 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 12 Sep

A pretty decent late afternoon visit today with the highlight being a Blue-headed Wagtail present with half a dozen Yellow Wagtails and a number of Pied Wagtails in a private area of the reservoir. This is the second Blue-headed Wagtail I have found at Sutton Bingham, both being Autumn birds...it would be great to get a nice Spring one!

A flock of thirty Linnets were in the same area.

At the southern end a Green Sandpiper was present along with a Teal and two Mandarin.

Near the Canoe Club a lone Coot was present and a female Tufted Duck was also seen. A juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was on the northern causeway and three Common Sandpipers were noted.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 107 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 11 Sep

A very quick visit before work produced a flock of seven Mute Swans which flew in from the north, did a quick check of the reservoir, decided they had seen enough and then flew back north. Singles of Teal, Common Sandpiper and Kingfisher were the only other notable sightings today, but a lone Wheatear was present last night.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 9 Sep

A few brief visits over the past few days have produced a few birds of note, with three Little Grebes present on Tuesday and a Green Sandpiper yesterday being the pick.

A visit this afternoon turned up the Green Sandpiper again at the southern end and at least four Common Sandpipers were also present. A nice flock of eleven Mandarin were also present in the same area along with two Teal.

From the northern end a Greenshank was heard calling, but I failed to see it, but a juvenile Common Tern showed very well (there had been a fairly good passage of Common Terns passing through the reservoir earlier in the day, so I was glad one lingered).

A single Yellow Wagtail was present and a Raven was also noted. Little Egret numbers had risen to seven birds, the highest count this year.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 5 Sept

I had a bit of free time this evening so spent nearly two hours at the reservoir. The southern end held a Little Grebe near the sleeper bridge and a couple of Teal were present along with seven Mandarin. Four Common Sandpipers were scattered over the reservoir whilst ten Mistle Thrushes were in the field south of West Pool.

A nice young Grey Wagtail was present in a private area.

Finally, three Yellow Wagtails were also seen loitering with the Grey Wagtail and Pied Wagtails.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 4 Sep

A nice fall of fourteen Yellow Wagtails in a private area of the reservoir this morning but other than that just a couple of Common Sandpipers and a rather obliging Lesser Whitethroat were seen.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 3 Sep

Early morning on patch and another (or possibly last night's) Whinchat was present.

Other than that it was fairly quiet with three Common Sandpipers and a group of nine Mistle Thrushes. A Kingfisher was, rather aptly, by the Fishing Lodge.

A quick lunchtime trip and two Little Grebes and a Shoveler were present at the southern end.

Finally, a patch year tick during a stop on the way home from an evening out as at least two Tawny Owls were calling by Bingham Bower Farm.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 106 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 2 Sep

Another pre-work visit to the reservoir this morning and the field south of West Pool held ten Mistle Thrushes and a brief Wheatear which flew from the field, over West Pool and was lost to view. Three Common Sandpipers were present and there were also singles of Teal, Kingfisher and Mandarin. A return visit on the way home from work produced a Whinchat.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 1 Sep

August finished with very little on the bird front, just a couple of Common Sandpipers plus a Peregrine and a lone Mandarin seen in the final couple of days of the month.
September, however, started pretty well as I made a very brief stop on the way to work and found two Whinchats on the fence line south of West Pool, an area they really do seem to favour. As always a little distant, but I had to grab a record shot anyway.

As I started to head off I saw a bird drop on to the northern causeway and a fine Wheatear was on show.

So nothing new for the year list but a nice little haul before the day started.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 28 Aug

I arrived on patch just after 6.00am today in the hope of finding something before any disturbance, and pretty much all I found was fog! A single Common Sandpiper was on the northern causeway and a Yellow Wagtail flew over. A quick visit to the north-east corner then produced three more Yellow Wagtails but with no sign of the fog clearing it was back home for breakfast.

A return visit in the afternoon did produce six Shoveler at the southern end.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 27 Aug

A quick stop on the way to work produced a Wheatear on the fence line south of West Pool, but not a lot else so I popped down to the Canoe Club where I drew another blank.

As I drove back north Pete Akers, who I had pointed the Wheatear out to earlier, waved me down as he had located a Whinchat on the same fence line! Where had that been five minutes earlier?

A return visit later in the day failed to produce any chats, but a Snipe was on the northern causeway.

So a wader finally stayed long enough for me to see it, shame it wasn't a new bird for the year, however, the Whinchat earlier in the day sure was.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2021 now at 105 species.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 23 Aug

An afternoon visit did produce a couple of decent birds, most noticeably a couple of Yellow Wagtails in the north-east corner.

A single Common Sandpiper was in the same area as the Yellow Wagtails, whilst at the southern end there were three Gadwall present.

The only other bird of note was a single Teal that flew south with a Mallard.

However, it was yet more disappointment today as I missed another fly-through bird, there seem to have been so many this year, this time a Ringed Plover. This means I have now missed a dozen species at the reservoir this year.