Sutton Bingham - Tue 2 Apr

I had the morning off work but still needed to get to the office for the afternoon, however, that did give me the opportunity to spend about an hour or so at the reservoir just after midday. It was a lovely sunny day, and out of the wind it was really warm, and this led me to think it may be a good day for raptors, and so it was with a single Red Kite seen and a bonus in the form of Goshawk (an increasingly regular visitor to the patch).
Over the water I saw a small number of Sand Martins and at least one Swallow, the latter being my first of the year. A lone Wigeon was at the southern end whilst a drake Tufted Duck was on West Pool.
A quick stop on the way home from work in the evening turned up another surprise, with a Dunlin on the northern causeway.

The Dunlin was extremely obliging and another welcome addition to the patch year list.
Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 81 species.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 28 Mar

A lunchtime twitch today and I successfully connected with a very smart drake Shelduck that Pete had found on West Pool earlier in the day. When I arrived on site there was no sign on West Pool, but a Mute Swan was present. Staying positive, I headed for the southern end and was rewarded with some lovely views.

After a short time the Shelduck took off and ended up back on West Pool again.

Other additions to the patch list during a couple of brief visits over the last ten days include two Sand Martins on 19 March and a Jay on 22 March.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 78 species.

Ham Wall RSPB - Thu 20 Mar

It was a lovely afternoon and I had time off work so I decided to head up to the Somerset Levels and enjoyed a couple of hours at Ham Wall RSPB reserve. On arrival I made straight for the first viewing platform where there were three target species I was after. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts I could only find one of these, a very smart Spotted Redshank, that showed pretty well...not that you can tell from this photo.

There were also a couple of Redshank and a few Black-tailed Godwits present, along with the usual species of duck.

I then walked on down to the second viewing platform, with Bitterns booming, Marsh Harriers quartering and Great White Egrets gathering nesting material it was a delightful walk, and I also had a Red Kite fly over.

As I returned to the car park, I stopped off at the first viewing platform again where this time I did manage to see the drake Garganey.

I pointed the Garganey out to a couple of other birders who were present, who went on to tell me the two Glossy Ibises had just flown in and were somewhere out of site, so I stood up on one of the benches and straightaway managed to see both birds.

All in all a very enjoyable afternoon out and I connected with all three target species, that does not happen that often!

Sutton Bingham - Tue 18 Mar

I got a message from one of the Rangers this morning, but I was at work so couldn't get to the reservoir until lunchtime and despite missing the birds he'd seen earlier in the day, I did get lucky and found a Greylag Goose. As you can see form the high quality images below, it was rather distant!

March is probably the best time of year to see Greylag Goose at Sutton Bingham, but it's by no means annual.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 75 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 16 Mar

I managed about an hour on patch this afternoon, my first prolonged visit to the reservoir in some time, as it was the date of the monthly WeBS count. I didn't see an awful lot in the way of wildfowl or waders, though there were still forty Wigeon present and I saw a lone Snipe.

However, there was a little bit of interest as a Linnet was in full song near the entrance to the Fishing Lodge and I also had a surprise find when a Kestrel flew in, landed on a telegraph cable and was subsequently flushed by a passing farm vehicle and was lost to sight. Kestrel is a scare bird at Sutton Bingham, so it's always a good species to record.

At the southern end I spent some time scanning for raptors and was finally rewarded with a Red Kite flying over. So three year ticks for the patch today, not bad for a cold day in mid-March.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 74 species.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 14 Mar

A quick lunchtime visit today paid off with a Coot on West Pool.

A Chiffchaff was also in full song along he railway embankment, but failed to show itself. At the southern end there were still twenty or so Wigeon, but very little else to mention today.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 71 species.

Milborne Port - Tue 4 Mar

Having failed at the weekend, I popped along to Milborne Port again today during my lunch break and this time got lucky with some lovely views of a single Hawfinch in the churchyard. Always rather elusive in the top of a tall yew tree, I did manage to watch it for a few minutes and it moved around feeding. Always a great bird to see and it made up for missing out on Sunday.