Sutton Bingham - Thu 9 Apr

A quick visit before work this morning was completely uneventful, with mist across the reservoir and barely a bird to be seen, so I was completely surprised when Pete posted a message mid-morning to say that he had found a Kittiwake off the northern causeway. Fortunately, I was able to take an early lunch and pop along to see it, eventually getting some good views off the bottom of the car park.

Always nice to see a Kittiwake on the patch, and I was pleased it did the decent thing and stayed long enough for me to connect.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 79 species.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 6 Apr

My first visit to the reservoir for a fortnight, and I managed to add a few birds to the year list. At the southern end a pair of Mandarin were seen, but two Swallows were my first for the year.

There was nothing of note from the northern causeway, so I moved round to the Fishing Lodge where a lone Common Sandpiper was another new bird. There were a few distant hirundines flying high, but I was unable to identify them.

I then had a quick stop at the outflow stream where a Willow Warbler was feeding and I finally connected with a patch Treecreeper. So, not a bad visit with regard to new birds albeit species I would expect to see.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 77 species.

Mallorca - Thu 26 Mar to Thu 2 Apr

A family holiday in Mallorca was a non-birding trip, but I still managed to see a few birds. Full trip report to follow.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 22 Mar

A quick visit this afternoon to carry out the monthly WeBS count and it was still pretty quiet on the patch with a pair of Tufted Duck new arrivals on West Pool and the flock of Wigeon was still present, with thirty-one birds present.

Pick of the birds present was a second calendar year Yellow-legged Gull that was present on the northern causeway with a fair number of Herring Gulls.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 73 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 19 Mar

An afternoon visit today turned out to be rather productive with a couple of distant Goshawks and a Red Kite soaring in the warm Spring air.

It was fairly quiet on the water, which seems to be the norm at present, but there were still thirty Wigeon and a pair of Teal at the southern end, and then a nice addition to the year list when a pair of Mandarin swam through.

A Chiffchaff was in song near the southern gate and was my first for the year at the reservoir but arguably the best bird of the visit was a Kestrel that flew low over, a species that is hard to see at Sutton Bingham these days.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 72 species.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 4 Mar

As the weather was good and it wasn't dark, I decided that a quick stop at the reservoir on the way home from work might be nice, and indeed it was! I parked up on the northern causeway and looked over West Pool and the main reservoir hardly surprised by the apparent lack of birds, until I saw a distant duck off the dam that got me getting the 'scope out and sure enough, it was something of interest, a drake Goldeneye!

I quickly drove round to the Fishing Lodge and was able to get some closer views as it lingered with a couple of Mallard. Light was going and it was never that close, but I got a few record shots.

Nothing else of note during this quick visit, but Spring is on the way, so hopefully a few more things of interest will appear over the coming weeks.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 64 species.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 20 Feb

I've had very little opportunity to visit the reservoir of the past month, but the few brief visits I have made have been very unproductive. This morning, there was a little interest with a Red Kite soaring over Hyde Farm and a Great White Egret on West Pool.