tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83960126313787900302024-03-27T23:53:58.102+00:00Tim's Birding BlogTim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.comBlogger1827125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-88312564641952391672024-03-22T09:55:00.003+00:002024-03-22T09:55:15.840+00:00Sutton Bingham - Thu 14 Mar<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The recent trend of Sutton Bingham failing to produce any decent birds has been continuing, hence the total lack of blog postings this month. I did manage a year list addition today with one, probably two, <b>Skylarks </b>singing over fields near the Canoe Club. Access to the southern end has been closed off for several weeks, though I'm not entirely sure why, which is not helping when it comes to seeing if anything is about. A couple of <b>Chiffchaffs </b>have been heard singing, indicating Spring is on the way, but that has been all other than a roost of ten <b>Little Egrets</b> in trees below the car park one evening.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Sutton Bingham year list for 2024 now at <b>72 species</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-56169275944416365522024-02-29T22:31:00.005+00:002024-02-29T22:31:37.542+00:00Sutton Bingham - Thu 29 Feb<span style="font-family: arial;">Well February has been a pretty poor month, not much reported from the reservoir by other birders and my infrequent visits have yielded very little, with additions to the year list limited to a <b>Chiffchaff </b>in the car park and a <b>Reed Bunting </b>along the arm. Today, however, was a little more interesting when I arrived on site having made for the Fishing Lodge and a flock of eight birds flew from the direction of West Pool towards me before banking and heading north, they were <b>Curlew</b>! My single largest count of this scarce bird for Sutton Bingham and a very welcome addition to the year list.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Soon after the <b>Curlew </b>flew through I happened to notice another larger flock of birds to the north-east, <b>Golden Plover</b>, about forty of them. So a second decent year tick.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">The rest of my time on patch this afternoon was nowhere near as exciting, a lone drake <b>Tufted Duck</b> was at the southern end and three <b>Siskin </b>were in the car park. There was still a fairly decent flock of <b>Wigeon </b>present but nothing else amongst them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Sutton Bingham year list for 2024 now at <b>71 species</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-50888632484850957682024-02-08T14:09:00.004+00:002024-02-08T14:09:11.562+00:00Sutton Bingham - Sat 3 Feb<span style="font-family: arial;">A flying visit on the way home from work at lunchtime today produced a <b>Great White Egret</b> on West Pool.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJaOOtdNoPhaNsElU-4Eml9C2KPKvc5wBg70J9-WN54_szjRpLDNug1j2L-ag_xH_DYpjJH2FP3z_FHiinufWULLE8TEaa4LOkOXC_iqg2PHIBaYv56EsNG0R2xFZgagYDdQ1R7JJEsXTVetWjvRrhxKUz0C-8L8mhoDbLTU8EATnhGf5LfgJ6Z7aPoQ/s680/20240203%20GWE.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="680" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoJaOOtdNoPhaNsElU-4Eml9C2KPKvc5wBg70J9-WN54_szjRpLDNug1j2L-ag_xH_DYpjJH2FP3z_FHiinufWULLE8TEaa4LOkOXC_iqg2PHIBaYv56EsNG0R2xFZgagYDdQ1R7JJEsXTVetWjvRrhxKUz0C-8L8mhoDbLTU8EATnhGf5LfgJ6Z7aPoQ/s320/20240203%20GWE.jpeg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Nothing else of note, which is par for the course at present.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Sutton Bingham year list for 2024 now at <b>65 species</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-45620174504289480482024-01-31T10:07:00.007+00:002024-01-31T10:07:31.911+00:00Avalon Marshes - Sun 28 Jan<span style="font-family: arial;">A day out with friends today and a trip to the Avalon Marshes, or Somerset Levels as I've always called them!</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We started off with a stop at Wetmoor where there were loads of birds and amongst the gathered wildfowl we found four <b>Bewick's Swans</b>, a great start to the morning, but that paled to insignificance when a stunning male <b>Hen Harrier</b> flew across the moor in front of us...things don't get much better than that. A lone <b>Cattle Egret</b> was also noted as well as around thirty <b>Common Cranes</b>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We then headed off to the West Sedgemoor RSPB reserve where the pick of the birds were at least two <b>Marsh Harriers</b> and around nine of so <b>Great White Egrets</b> but generally speaking not the numbers of birds we saw at Wetmoor, though a large flock of <b>Golden Plover</b> did take to the air at one point with a loads of <b>Lapwings</b>, a pretty impressive site.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Off then to Ashcott Corner, via a slight diversion that did produce five <b>Scaup </b>on Long Drove and a party of <b>Siskin </b>feeding in a small clump of alders. Parking at Ham Wall RSPB we walked out to Meare Heath to check Noah's Lake where three <b>Whooper Swans</b> had been present all morning in, but it turns out we missed them by 20 minutes and were unable to relocate them at their other favoured site, so a disappointing miss.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Not a lot else to add to the list of birds as the day progressed, but a wonderful time out with friends and some decent birds to boot.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-23337915651896483342024-01-27T11:01:00.003+00:002024-01-27T11:01:11.110+00:00Sutton Bingham - Sun 21 Jan<span style="font-family: arial;">A decent stomp around various parts of the reservoir this afternoon and it did produce some decent patch birds. A <b>Woodcock </b>was put up from a private area towards the south of the reservoir, an area that has produced <b>Woodcock </b>in the past so I'll be keeping my eye on that particular patch.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I the had a look around parts of West Pool flushing some twenty or so <b>Snipe </b>and, to my delight, a single <b>Jack Snipe</b>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">To be honest there was nothing else of note to be seen as the water continues to attract much in, though there were around 130 <b>Wigeon </b>at the southern end.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Sutton Bingham year list for 21024 now at <b>63 species</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-9703594408378068282024-01-27T10:57:00.006+00:002024-01-27T10:57:19.891+00:00Sutton Bingham - Sat 20 Jan<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A late afternoon visit produced the highest gull numbers that I've seen at the reservoir for many weeks with the pick being an impressive count of thirty-three <b>Mediterranean Gulls</b>. Three <b>Tufted Ducks</b> were present off the northern causeway.<br />It's also worth noting that I successfully twitched a <b>Coot </b>on patch earlier in the month, but didn't feel it quite warranted a separate blog posting!<br />Sutton Bingham year list for 2024 now at <b>59 species</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-38479546958151497982024-01-02T15:54:00.000+00:002024-01-02T15:54:19.191+00:00Sutton Bingham - Mon 1 Jan<span style="font-family: arial;">So another year starts and I spent a couple of hours at the reservoir this morning where I made a fairly good start to the new year list. Starting new the Fishing Lodge I noticed a duck out in the middle of the reservoir on its own, it was a female <b>Pintail</b>, a species I missed in 2023 so was thrilled to pick one up on the first day of the year. A total of thirty-nine <b>Wigeon </b>were present, still significantly down on usual winter numbers. At the southern end I picked up around fifty <b>Teal</b> and a pair of <b>Mandarin </b>whilst overhead a <b>Stock Dove</b> flew by. A <b>Marsh Tit</b> was heard calling, but I couldn't pin it down, likewise with a calling <b>Siskin</b>. Along the arm a pair of <b>Stonechats </b>were present. All in all an enjoyable visit this morning, made all the better with it being the first day of a new year.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Sutton Bingham year list for 2024 now at <b>47 species</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-11702862647206925322023-12-31T23:36:00.001+00:002023-12-31T23:36:18.721+00:00Sutton Bingham - Sun 31 Dec<span style="font-family: arial;">Well having not visited the reservoir much recently due to other commitments, moving house and work taking up far too much time, I did pop up to Sutton Bingham today to see if I could add any last minute year ticks, I couldn't. The "best" birds on offer were a pair of <b>Gadwall </b>off the northern causeway, nothing else of note at all today. The <b>Wigeon </b>flock was at the southern end and numbered just thirty-two birds, I guess floods on the Somerset Levels mean there are less wildfowl elsewhere.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So 2023 finishes with a whimper, it's been a terribly poor Autumn and early Winter on the patch with just eight species added in the second half of the year, my worst ever return for that time period. That being said, I added a new bird to the patch list, with the <b>Forster's Tern</b> back in April and also had just my second <b>Pied Flycatcher</b> and <b>Wood Warbler</b> for the patch, throw in a couple of rare raptors with <b>Honey Buzzard</b> and <b>Goshawk </b>and it makes for a decent year in parts. I did have some gaping holes in the list this year having missed <b>Kestrel</b>, <b>Whinchat </b>and <b>Yellow Wagtail</b> amongst others (eleven species missed in total this year that other observers had seen).</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So that's it for another year, and it will all start again tomorrow. Happy New Year to you all and I wish you a prosperous and joy-filled 2024.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Sutton Bingham year list for 2023 now at <b>116 species</b>.</span></div></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-86864994456232053442023-12-12T14:48:00.005+00:002023-12-12T14:48:51.439+00:00Sutton Bingham - Mon 11 Dec<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A quick stop on the way home form work in what now seems to be typically dismal weather produced two <b>Cattle Egrets</b> roosting in trees below the car park and viewable form the northern causeway. Amazing that what was once a very rare visitor to the school (my first was only in 2020) is now becoming fairly regular, but I guess it's not that surprising given the massive increase in numbers in Somerset over recent years.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-48786725812255501052023-12-08T09:29:00.003+00:002023-12-09T08:40:54.430+00:00Sutton Bingham - Thu 7 Dec<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I suppose I should apologise for the lack of Blog postings over the past month, but it's simply down to the fact that I've not had much opportunity to visit the reservoir and when I have there has been nothing of note to see. November was a terribly quiet month for me, with occasional sightings of a <b>Common Sandpiper</b> and the long-staying pair of <b>Egyptian Geese</b> being about it.<br />My first December visit, in pouring rain, did turn up a real patch scarcity today though, with a drake <b>Goldeneye </b>present at the northern end. Get this for a record photo:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFABcK75De0b2NMRbbrJ4AkrwMpgu8bs6IBHNitTq4GP_50OByCkIe5Gs983cAZIIJ1PuSKXMmhQ43mhVW8En-iUGfvGlZYxbB_qqfiCpgR32Ab7fzweJvoTDplLPgefM56DKBaLFu8L-Gj8KKNzuh-lCvthYxpu5amDU69LHWR4if2DxKnxK7Xj79afM/s680/20231207%20Goldeneye.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="401" data-original-width="680" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFABcK75De0b2NMRbbrJ4AkrwMpgu8bs6IBHNitTq4GP_50OByCkIe5Gs983cAZIIJ1PuSKXMmhQ43mhVW8En-iUGfvGlZYxbB_qqfiCpgR32Ab7fzweJvoTDplLPgefM56DKBaLFu8L-Gj8KKNzuh-lCvthYxpu5amDU69LHWR4if2DxKnxK7Xj79afM/s320/20231207%20Goldeneye.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">I've seen very few <b>Goldeneye </b>at Sutton Bingham, this being just my fourth (and second drake), so it was a real joy to find it.<br />Sutton Bingham year for 2023 now at <b>116 species</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-30784025137910060512023-11-07T12:54:00.002+00:002023-11-07T12:54:27.880+00:00Sutton Bingham - Sun 5 Nov<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A quick visit last Thursday produced a pair of <b>Egyptian Geese</b> and they were still present today, loafing off the northern causeway.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuk4N-zggTTzjmWMHN8SX8qkOIMfIXDVU6QCv3dRA5ocMkg5z06jvSuP7UCVLbg-A9SV5-qMcg76PogxQnzN7FzEAdn4ehGwMyE490av_ITuMkeISiVty1uq3HWXIEmKUVYxX7LYE7kyvqgD8_mslpnnT1pVvUOoDoA_CwkDbT0SItOr0KTntjFyMzI0/s1503/20231105%20Egyptian%20Goose.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="1503" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtuk4N-zggTTzjmWMHN8SX8qkOIMfIXDVU6QCv3dRA5ocMkg5z06jvSuP7UCVLbg-A9SV5-qMcg76PogxQnzN7FzEAdn4ehGwMyE490av_ITuMkeISiVty1uq3HWXIEmKUVYxX7LYE7kyvqgD8_mslpnnT1pVvUOoDoA_CwkDbT0SItOr0KTntjFyMzI0/s320/20231105%20Egyptian%20Goose.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">It's been a good year for <b>Egyptian Geese</b> at Sutton Bingham, with these bringing the total number seen on patch up thirteen birds.<br />Also present this afternoon, a <b>Common Sandpiper</b> in the north-east corner and a <b>Stonechat </b>was also seen. At the southern end there were thirty-two <b>Wigeon</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-47055228241875896542023-10-31T17:27:00.006+00:002023-10-31T17:27:46.753+00:00Sutton Bingham - Sun 29 Oct<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A late visit today and again it was terribly quiet with very few birds. <b>Wigeon </b>numbers had dropped to just ten from yesterday's thirty-eight and four <b>Teal </b>were at the southern end. A lone <b>Stonechat</b> was present and finally a glimmer of excitement as two <b>Cattle Egrets</b> flew in from the east, over the dam, and towards the car park with a <b>Little Egret</b> just as I was about to give it up for the day.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">This ended up being my final visit of the month to the reservoir and considering October is one of the best months for migration I failed to add a single species to my year list which after a great first half of 2023 has really dried up. Here's hoping the final two months of the year turn up a few new birds.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-19218290962679230702023-10-31T17:23:00.008+00:002023-10-31T17:23:42.311+00:00Sutton Bingham - Sat 28 Oct<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I popped in to the reservoir for about half an hour this morning and it was rubbish, nothing of note at all until I got round to the Fishing Lodge where I saw a <b>Common Sandpiper</b>, at last, something to look at. I then checked the dam where, to my surprise, there was a <b>Redshank</b>! Just my second in what has been a terrible year for waders on patch.<br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApGL7GENllDP7r3Yb6vUHoT48yQxXVA1vG03wz3yLc63XscLy1FM-tyeTrBnPpKCoCmDA0CmqC25d_6ieZsr99A07ApSW0BeOZnQHpSb5Cy_OdOiufDsriFxz4Kkdl_C628X0KKDtqqWyv-NLAaRFyfd3hR0k67tOFiG6JOPLI9cbpW5OTp56WQD5Wkg/s680/20231028%20Redshank.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="432" data-original-width="680" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjApGL7GENllDP7r3Yb6vUHoT48yQxXVA1vG03wz3yLc63XscLy1FM-tyeTrBnPpKCoCmDA0CmqC25d_6ieZsr99A07ApSW0BeOZnQHpSb5Cy_OdOiufDsriFxz4Kkdl_C628X0KKDtqqWyv-NLAaRFyfd3hR0k67tOFiG6JOPLI9cbpW5OTp56WQD5Wkg/s320/20231028%20Redshank.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">There were also thirty-eight <b>Wigeon </b>present.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-14850184178311489512023-10-31T17:20:00.000+00:002023-10-31T17:20:01.405+00:00Sutton Bingham - Sat 22 Oct<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Back on patch today after a week away and I started off at the southern end where there were six <b>Teal</b>, four <b>Wigeon </b>and a <b>Gadwall </b>present. I then took a walk round to Cotton Bridge and spent a fair bit of time scouring a feeding flock of small birds but failed to find anything out of the ordinary, with half a dozen <b>Chiffchaffs </b>and a couple of <b>Goldcrests </b>being the only notable birds. A <b>Stonechat </b>was also seen as were my first <b>Redwings </b>of the Autumn. Overhead I had a <b>Siskin </b>and a <b>Skylark</b>. So although a few birds were seen today, again, there was nothing new for the year list.</span></p>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-63445171662094024712023-10-31T17:16:00.007+00:002023-10-31T17:16:38.151+00:00Cornwall - Fri 13 Oct to Fri 20 Oct<span style="font-family: arial;">A week away from the patch, to be honest there has been nothing of note over the past fortnight other than a pair of <b>Stonechats </b>on West Pool on 5 October and a putative <b>Caspian Gull</b> that flew just as I got on it...very frustrating and one that got away.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Anyway, back to the holiday which was pretty devoid of birds with Gerrans Bay holding no divers or grebes and very few smaller birds seen anywhere.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A seawatch off St Anthony's Head on the morning of 16 October did produce a <b>Cory's Shearwater</b> and a <b>Manx Shearwater</b> along with good numbers of <b>Kittiwake</b> and <b>Gannets</b>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A trip to Ruan Lanithorne failed to turn up anything much in the way of waders though both <b>Greenshank </b>and <b>Redshank </b>were seen at St Just in Roseland.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Several walks along Pendower and Calne beaches produced a fly-over <b>Ringed Plover</b> in very windy weather and I also had two separate sightings of <b>Choughs</b>, both involving two birds on 17 and 19 October.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So not a lot of birds, but some quality ones thrown in, and a very relaxing and much needed family holiday.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-39174695303333049762023-10-31T17:07:00.001+00:002023-10-31T17:07:10.316+00:00Sutton Bingham - Sun 1 Oct<span style="font-family: arial;">A good start to the month with some good birds but no new ones for the year list. I arrived in the afternoon and stopping at the northern causeway noted a small flock of eight <b>Egyptian Geese</b>.</span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gnSNJe1ae2_TIgJw8j9fgMNLSElv5BOkCuk0meLhyvFKQQi-dMkLZggI2bM_45x3Sxj906vCHRdlAZMC5kgxRsTBygjBtdSj1gQ73bCPkfFwMU_7j57Rii_kg_a_GX-ZyN7s-GpRKh7su2819aqpWXeDTM5FJSyPyR2HRy_V7i8rrn4a53DUzI6BZ-U/s680/20231001%20EgyptianGeese.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: arial;"><img border="0" data-original-height="394" data-original-width="680" height="185" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1gnSNJe1ae2_TIgJw8j9fgMNLSElv5BOkCuk0meLhyvFKQQi-dMkLZggI2bM_45x3Sxj906vCHRdlAZMC5kgxRsTBygjBtdSj1gQ73bCPkfFwMU_7j57Rii_kg_a_GX-ZyN7s-GpRKh7su2819aqpWXeDTM5FJSyPyR2HRy_V7i8rrn4a53DUzI6BZ-U/s320/20231001%20EgyptianGeese.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Having made a mad dash to the reservoir in early April during a lunch break to twitch one, I've now found a party chilling out together.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I then headed to the southern end, where a single <b>Common Sandpiper</b> and three <b>Teal </b>were present, before checking out Cotton Bridge which produced a sizeable flock of feeding birds but a <b>Marsh Tit</b> was the best of the bunch.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Round then to the Fishing Lodge and I found two <b>Wheatears</b>, continuing the excellent number of records this Autumn (bucking the trend with regard to <i>passerine </i>migrants this year). A single <b>Stonechat </b>was also present to round off an interesting visit to the patch.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeSkkk__lyOveSs0MrgL9bm7-rY8h7lFk2u6DdZXRfkBHrDAa4j1_fOVPWlaLmOGKp6K2ZczkOzneaELGNL16oV2wzAYe93X3d9bm0NtTuxBuwP82Ey5lUICosU6ut-pamwr572FTXrKEmTLwIFc7MzZSF6eNJJA5R8kOrR91Gs-NE7hLSiWwTaI9Ot0/s680/20231001%20Stonechat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="483" data-original-width="680" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOeSkkk__lyOveSs0MrgL9bm7-rY8h7lFk2u6DdZXRfkBHrDAa4j1_fOVPWlaLmOGKp6K2ZczkOzneaELGNL16oV2wzAYe93X3d9bm0NtTuxBuwP82Ey5lUICosU6ut-pamwr572FTXrKEmTLwIFc7MzZSF6eNJJA5R8kOrR91Gs-NE7hLSiWwTaI9Ot0/s320/20231001%20Stonechat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Gq6deEuM7Mr4gz0txqGuD8fpldjcCJxAXrqzIax4bQfcxIevtN79ZDvP4ZrxaB_aw5zR_bc1oQKsqgdaf5JAAExuSX0_YeeJTy8jc2Mh5dDpWqOa8RPx3HTYV2BV9L2X7VtrcKAErksyybxEb55vn99Q-sCF9skzVHgtGN4LxxVCnuMAuHxvEubAtZc/s1024/20231001%20Wheatear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="679" data-original-width="1024" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1Gq6deEuM7Mr4gz0txqGuD8fpldjcCJxAXrqzIax4bQfcxIevtN79ZDvP4ZrxaB_aw5zR_bc1oQKsqgdaf5JAAExuSX0_YeeJTy8jc2Mh5dDpWqOa8RPx3HTYV2BV9L2X7VtrcKAErksyybxEb55vn99Q-sCF9skzVHgtGN4LxxVCnuMAuHxvEubAtZc/s320/20231001%20Wheatear.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-80258825749734940702023-09-30T11:07:00.003+01:002023-09-30T11:07:26.659+01:00Sutton Bingham - Tue 26 Sep<p><span style="font-family: arial;">Nothing of note at the reservoir over the past ten days or so, but a Blog post today simply because I had a record count of </span><b style="font-family: arial;">Mandarin </b><span style="font-family: arial;">at the southern end of the reservoir with thirty-one birds present. A lone </span><b style="font-family: arial;">Common Sandpiper</b><span style="font-family: arial;"> was the only other bird of note.</span></p>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-68206567548071847612023-09-30T11:04:00.003+01:002023-09-30T11:06:54.384+01:00Sutton Bingham - Fri 22 Sep<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Another <b>Dunlin </b>turned up yesterday and was still present this evening alongside seven <b>Common Sandpipers</b>. There were five <b>Wigeon </b>and around thirty <b>Teal </b>also at the southern end whilst three <b>Gadwall </b>were on West Pool.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-46226159656648715672023-09-30T11:02:00.003+01:002023-09-30T11:02:26.665+01:00Sutton Bingham - Sun 17 Sep<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A brief visit a couple of days ago produced my first two Wigeon of the Autumn but today was much better with an evening visit yielding a <b>Black Tern</b> at the southern end alongside a <b>Common Tern</b>. It's been a couple of years since my last patch <b>Black Tern</b> and with Autumn passage at Sutton Bingham being so poor this year with hardly any migrants it was great to finally pick up a very welcome year tick. Also this evening a <b>Dunlin</b>, whether it's the same bird that was present a few days ago or not, who knows, and a few <b>Common Sandpipers</b>.<br />Sutton Bingham year list for 2023 now at <b>115 species</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-42084505927710242762023-09-30T10:54:00.003+01:002023-09-30T10:54:12.465+01:00Sutton Bingham - Wed 13 Sep<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A quick visit during my lunch break today produced a <b>Dunlin</b> at the southern end with half a dozen<b> Common Sandpipers</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-7986104825923759302023-09-30T10:52:00.007+01:002023-09-30T10:52:56.231+01:00Sutton Bingham - Sun 10 Sep<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">An evening visit today, arriving at around 5.30pm and there was a nice amount of action for a change with two <b>Cattle Egret</b> dropping in to land on the small pontoon opposite the Canoe Club being the pick of the birds seen. Five <b>Common Sandpipers</b> and a drake <b>Gadwall </b>were at the southern end. A <b>Wheatear </b>was in the field that is on the far side of the road by the Canoe Club and another two were on the dam wall, this is the first time I've seen three separate <b>Wheatears </b>at Sutton Bingham on the same day.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-40390333187041233722023-09-09T11:41:00.002+01:002023-09-09T11:41:11.514+01:00Sutton Bingham - Thu 7 Sep<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Water levels are dropping but I fear it's too late for any real wader passage now, but here's hoping. A quick visit on Monday this week did turn up another brief <b>Cattle Egret</b> and a drake <b>Gadwall </b>but little else.<br />This afternoon a very quick visit in very hot conditions was unsurprisingly devoid of birds with just a single <b>Common Sandpiper</b> seen but two more <b>Wheatears </b>were on the dam wall briefly.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EQG9M8L4VBA8mBF-epyCRLhGK6EdG1NIukBI4r8-b7CrJgYVIhuNqmSJSzlTC_Bo0UjDwNHXu80zdLn1Z0tbZhnrtcEOC55G6JBEbCWEOfU9Y4On3c93F37QaouUZtitFMP9hGOzalHsmDHlmrGfRHPpr2UXNFg6B_zTB3mDlv2vfUmsAyF0JUpryLY/s1482/20230907%20Wheatear1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="1482" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EQG9M8L4VBA8mBF-epyCRLhGK6EdG1NIukBI4r8-b7CrJgYVIhuNqmSJSzlTC_Bo0UjDwNHXu80zdLn1Z0tbZhnrtcEOC55G6JBEbCWEOfU9Y4On3c93F37QaouUZtitFMP9hGOzalHsmDHlmrGfRHPpr2UXNFg6B_zTB3mDlv2vfUmsAyF0JUpryLY/s320/20230907%20Wheatear1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVp7hQbTsYSTCfH2E-G46sV1I2Z7ZhhoWmLFzux_BXdE72K-JO4TDfvPTZpkSW5432eddRVxha1H6eYI2IBVKg0kekxmXSDFPczskEDasltEXpTPfJIAkxzt1HQGfBihtLNLqjXIHLibK6C1VKgqC9OVjhBvMHoaXK8jMn4OGIAZp2RVRBlVqbq6QhIXM/s1579/20230907%20Wheatear2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1436" data-original-width="1579" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVp7hQbTsYSTCfH2E-G46sV1I2Z7ZhhoWmLFzux_BXdE72K-JO4TDfvPTZpkSW5432eddRVxha1H6eYI2IBVKg0kekxmXSDFPczskEDasltEXpTPfJIAkxzt1HQGfBihtLNLqjXIHLibK6C1VKgqC9OVjhBvMHoaXK8jMn4OGIAZp2RVRBlVqbq6QhIXM/s320/20230907%20Wheatear2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">It's been a pretty amazing Autumn for <b>Wheatears </b>at Sutton Bingham this year, with a total of eleven being seen (of which I've seen nine), but there have been very few other <i>passerine </i>migrants.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-76785026775767119702023-09-09T11:35:00.001+01:002023-09-09T11:35:06.995+01:00Sutton Bingham - Sun 3 Sep<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After the day out in Devon I thought I had better check out the patch just in case! Two <b>Common Sandpipers </b>were at the southern end, but the <b>Greenshank </b>seems to have moved on after its two week stay. Another <b>Wheatear </b>was present on the dam wall and a<b> Cattle Egret</b> flew up the arm.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-37156367300277165292023-09-09T11:32:00.002+01:002023-09-09T11:32:26.055+01:00South Devon - Sun 3 Sep<div><span style="font-family: arial;">A trip out with birding mates today as the usual suspects met up at Darts Farm and headed out to our first stop of the day, </span><span style="font-family: arial;">Bowling Green Marsh RSPB where we struck it lucky as the tide was in so there was a mass of waders present. Among the numerous <b>Curlew</b>, <b>Black-tailed Godwits</b>, <b>Dunlin </b>and <b>Redshank </b>there were a few different waders.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A <b>Ruff </b>showed pretty well feeding in the grass at the water's edge.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zf95zgKHhdo6Nxb-eUJFvUe0qE2E5-hTB9vsrvIW61ZJ-gSMCDNPC6nAw8OVMf2KjZxn3uzrErU9q6naxxDQZh6ertIh08i93z8dEcYOcaN5CUE0KFLPt_u_4jwd_8hEOzI618ZilKTs9FXJ7DaXaLuMoxmZ_h0zju2Od4SlsvZmW0jHQzahNGfnwVM/s1910/20230903%20Ruff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1097" data-original-width="1910" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9zf95zgKHhdo6Nxb-eUJFvUe0qE2E5-hTB9vsrvIW61ZJ-gSMCDNPC6nAw8OVMf2KjZxn3uzrErU9q6naxxDQZh6ertIh08i93z8dEcYOcaN5CUE0KFLPt_u_4jwd_8hEOzI618ZilKTs9FXJ7DaXaLuMoxmZ_h0zju2Od4SlsvZmW0jHQzahNGfnwVM/s320/20230903%20Ruff.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A lone <b>Whimbrel </b>was located amongst the gathered waders.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3C51dBot31ash8Q199tAWEMLsK_1Haww1h0JdyTK0s8Pzbk0St7BzbcMSfJZJol6CVvBEx3wuLZzmad1C__abHebKRKIjfecGBslXObCQGAx_KtEsvhHvV-YjadNCnWjKJIad3Z1IqjJXTgnF7k1y9YPNOxl1SMri4pLA85rMHaqNH1eHsjfZWVqott8/s2048/20230903%20Whimbrel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1347" data-original-width="2048" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3C51dBot31ash8Q199tAWEMLsK_1Haww1h0JdyTK0s8Pzbk0St7BzbcMSfJZJol6CVvBEx3wuLZzmad1C__abHebKRKIjfecGBslXObCQGAx_KtEsvhHvV-YjadNCnWjKJIad3Z1IqjJXTgnF7k1y9YPNOxl1SMri4pLA85rMHaqNH1eHsjfZWVqott8/s320/20230903%20Whimbrel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A few <b>Bar-tailed Godwits</b> were amongst their black-tailed cousins.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4KLq7seUP_YrSqigEQUj-N9W-_PSk-oMk1lE4hA62wya37_4aSPg4AyGBz2DI5zpjgZJahBp6JxPooHLON4qIPuo6pOlUzrPmkQJhcMbkUC72pRUrM_bVFpxSDOeanWB6TLJiaNJoz6zL18ur-qMt3u4TBqYBF5AsxhO_R6rGjM7GrhDuBqlYazesHRI/s1501/20230903%20Barwit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1059" data-original-width="1501" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4KLq7seUP_YrSqigEQUj-N9W-_PSk-oMk1lE4hA62wya37_4aSPg4AyGBz2DI5zpjgZJahBp6JxPooHLON4qIPuo6pOlUzrPmkQJhcMbkUC72pRUrM_bVFpxSDOeanWB6TLJiaNJoz6zL18ur-qMt3u4TBqYBF5AsxhO_R6rGjM7GrhDuBqlYazesHRI/s320/20230903%20Barwit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">About a dozen or so <b>Knot </b>were present, though could blend in with the crowd, this one associating with <b>Redshank</b> and <b>Dunlin</b>.</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAVqP-JYveDu-ZpzJiOCfl5HgFR337YqysGe-mbwHr1560gDHGkBbfaDw4o_aRgt0RIG3InDdBPyrp2nBgcforta4MWpcCLjNqHwHCPKN9fNqAofdaaN4GYpOr9trRwLvWjfLh00zFcvDyu0CSQcyhO9CCpcBjWh6mUN7n7lA6kTLd96CiiZBmI6CLys/s2048/20230903%20Knot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1645" data-original-width="2048" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAVqP-JYveDu-ZpzJiOCfl5HgFR337YqysGe-mbwHr1560gDHGkBbfaDw4o_aRgt0RIG3InDdBPyrp2nBgcforta4MWpcCLjNqHwHCPKN9fNqAofdaaN4GYpOr9trRwLvWjfLh00zFcvDyu0CSQcyhO9CCpcBjWh6mUN7n7lA6kTLd96CiiZBmI6CLys/s320/20230903%20Knot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">A single <b>Curlew Sandpiper</b> took some finding, but I managed it!</span></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSw_l1W_FvLdI-rDu-_IdhQCSpTfFtilafb-IEaoqwe4VyDlHPZGkx4S6S0FSb1BHQMalPd4zsBB7vygEDYbMs3Mfrtvg9HbZPuBNGaOfMyDyfoJmbPq4baC1h2-QxgsidK1ReWPHLLvHMetthf7sy_Ea0BcGsInAvCsZyoNmRc9HAbqvgv4rza5eF8lE/s2048/20230903%20CurlewSand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1951" data-original-width="2048" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSw_l1W_FvLdI-rDu-_IdhQCSpTfFtilafb-IEaoqwe4VyDlHPZGkx4S6S0FSb1BHQMalPd4zsBB7vygEDYbMs3Mfrtvg9HbZPuBNGaOfMyDyfoJmbPq4baC1h2-QxgsidK1ReWPHLLvHMetthf7sy_Ea0BcGsInAvCsZyoNmRc9HAbqvgv4rza5eF8lE/s320/20230903%20CurlewSand.jpg" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Other than the waders there was very little around, a <b>Kingfisher </b>flew past and a <b>Pintail </b>was on the pool at the back of the reserve and a <b>Spoonbill </b>flew in, circled the area and headed off north.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">After a good peroid of time we decided to head back to the cars and drove on to our second location of the day, Aylesbeare Common RSPB. By the time we arrived it was very hot and there were very few birds around, just a few <b>Stonechats</b> and we did eventually locate three <b>Dartford Warblers</b>. There were lots of butterflies though with the pick being <i>Grayling</i>, <i>Small Heath</i> and a <i>Clouded Yellow</i>.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">We then decided to head back towards home and stopped at the Seaton Wetlands reserve, in particular Black Hole Marsh, for a look around. We added <b>Ringed Plover</b> and <b>Greenshank </b>to the day's wader tally but not much else, though a <b>Knot </b>was seen on the Axe estuary.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">With the heat and a fair amount of walking now taking it's toll we called it a day and set off for home. Some great birds and some even better company.</span></div><div><br /></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8396012631378790030.post-9487209844347787922023-09-09T11:12:00.002+01:002023-09-09T11:12:22.117+01:00Sutton Bingham - Fri 1 Sep<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;">A pre-work visit turned up another <b>Wheatear</b>, this one was on the dam wall, which seems to be a favoured spot for them this year. A <b>Hobby </b>flew over the car I was making my way to the Fishing Lodge whilst at the southern end the <b>Greenshank </b>was still present along with five <b>Common Sandpipers</b> and five <b>Teal</b>. A drake <b>Gadwall </b>was off the northern causeway.<br />Whilst at work Pete messaged our WhatsApp group to say he'd had a few<b> Spotted Flycatchers </b>at the southern end so during my lunch break I hot-footed it back to patch to try my luck. Fortunately, I succeeded with at least seven being present around Cotton Bridge.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprnbcGKVd9SH1lBCKjApLeAznCVuKppZJiJNlo0yXbyG8Nxa67Z6sAj287xsELuiGSCVpI6B9kn-Xwb_5m2iBjHzUzEDAotSRIchqVhwH9tyiZWlK3-CC7_nSUfkiDz0QzCldIAR6JJHDyfdnFvlW7YUvsf2r6-KuyeJ_OmCHOOCho4BVXly03YS_b_Q/s1553/20230901%20SpotFly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1553" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgprnbcGKVd9SH1lBCKjApLeAznCVuKppZJiJNlo0yXbyG8Nxa67Z6sAj287xsELuiGSCVpI6B9kn-Xwb_5m2iBjHzUzEDAotSRIchqVhwH9tyiZWlK3-CC7_nSUfkiDz0QzCldIAR6JJHDyfdnFvlW7YUvsf2r6-KuyeJ_OmCHOOCho4BVXly03YS_b_Q/s320/20230901%20SpotFly.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: arial;">I'd left my 'scope in the car so the above photo was the best I could manage through my bins.<br />Sutton Bingham year list for 2023 now at <b>114 species</b>.</span></div>Tim Farrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12308573643666488809noreply@blogger.com0