Sutton Bingham - Thu 16 Jul

Not much over the last few days, though an unseasonal Teal was present on West Pool on Tuesday.

A quick stop at the reservoir before work this morning produced a Little Grebe on West Pool, my first of the year on the patch of what is now a rather scarce visitor to the reservoir. It was always rather distant and very jittery, so much so that when I stopped off for a second look, having checked the southern end for birds, I couldn't find it.

Also present this morning, at least seven Common Sandpipers across the site but nothing else of note.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 99 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 11 Jul

Despite several brief visits over the few days I've not found anything of note, other than connecting with a Black Swan that Pete found on Thursday. I think it's safe to say it's a feral bird from somewhere rather than a genuine vagrant from Australia!

But that changed today with my first Green Sandpiper of the year present at the southern end of the reservoir with four Common Sandpipers. Still not much exposed mud to be seen, but hopefully it'll happen in the next few weeks.
Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 98 species.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 7 Jul

Yesterday I finally managed to add Marsh Tit to the year list, with a bird present in trees around the entrance to the meadows at the southern end.

An afternoon visit today was pretty uneventful with a check of the reservoir turning up very little. By chance I happened to check my phone and saw a WhatsApp from Pete saying he had seen two Shelduck on the slipway at the Sailing Club about an hour earlier...it was a good job I saw the message else I would have missed the birds which were luckily still present.

It's always nice to get a Shelduck on the patch year list, and although they were a little distant and mainly obscured by a load of gulls, it was good to see them.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 97 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 5 Jul

Another quick visit this afternoon as Pete had found a White-tailed Eagle earlier in the day. Fortunately, it was still lingering when I arrived and I had some decent views of it from the southern causeway.

This was a male bird, number G709, released in 2024 as part of the Roy Dennis reintroduction scheme. Interestingly, it was the second White-tailed Eagle at the reservoir in the past ten days, with a different bird seen on 25 and 26 June.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 4 Jul

There were five Common Sandpipers present yesterday but I couldn't find any today during a brief visit. Water levels are still dropping but are higher than this time last year, which is odd considering the lack of rain and high temperatures, so I'm hopeful the coming weeks might bring in some passage waders.

There was a Tufted Duck on West Pool and two Kestrels were on a pylon at the southern end. The only other bird of note today was an adult Mediterranean Gull that flew in from the south and kept going.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 29 Jun

I have only managed a couple of brief visits over the last few days, but other than a couple of Common Sandpipers I've not seen anything of note (though a White-tailed Eagle from the Roy Dennis reintroduction program was seen briefly on Thursday evening and Friday morning, but not by me!).

This morning I made a quick visit before work and found two Redshank on the northern causeway.

I then took a look at the southern end where a Kestrel was seen hunting over fields on the opposite site of the reservoir. I then had a real surprise as I could hear a Sedge Warbler singing! I was fortunate enough to see it very briefly a couple of times but it was pretty skulking in the waterside vegetation.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 95 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 21 Jun

It's been really quiet on patch recently, with very little of note other than a lone Common Sandpiper on 15 June plus a Red Kite through with four Swifts yesterday.

Today was a real scorcher, but I decided an early evening visit may be worthwhile, and so it turned out with a Redshank on the dam.

Pretty much bang on time for the reservoir, Redshank are often seen in late June.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 94 species.