Sutton Bingham - Mon 29 Sep

It's been really quiet on the patch over the past couple of weeks, with nothing much to report other than a pair of Gadwall and sixteen Teal on 23 September and a Tufted Duck and Little Grebe on 24 September. Today I found a Greenshank along the arm, just south of the Canoe Club.

Nothing else to write about though at the moment.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 11 Sep

The rollercoaster that is patch birding took another turn today, after the disappointment of missing the Ruff at the weekend, today I got a patch lifer!

I spent a couple of hours on the patch this afternoon where at the southern end there were eleven Common Sandpiper and a mobile flock of fifteen Yellow Wagtails that spent all their time in the air and didn't settle anywhere that I could see. The long-staying Yellow-legged Gull and Great White Egret were still present and I thought that was that.

I planned to end my visit at the Fishing Lodge but there was nothing much there, however, as I scanned back towards the northern causeway I saw something, and I knew what it was and it hadn't been there five minutes earlier when I had been at that side of the reservoir, it was a Glossy Ibis!

I ran back to the car, drove back round to the northern causeway and was treated to some great views of this patch first for me.

There have been lots of records of Glossy Ibises in the south-west over the past few days, including some rather big flocks, so I had been hoping one might drop in, and sure enough one did and I got lucky, because after just a few minutes it took flight an headed south. Unfortunately, it did not relocate to the southern end and must've just kept going.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 117 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 7 Sep

After the joy of seeing the Avocets yesterday, it was pain today as I missed a message on WhatsApp and as a result by the time I got to the reservoir I was too late to see the three Ruff that had dropped in earlier in the afternoon...how annoying! It's been many years since I've seen a Ruff on patch and it would have been a great addition to the year list, but that's birding.

I did spend a little time searching to no avail and did see a few things including a pair of Gadwall and a Tufted Duck on the water. There were also two Ringed Plovers at the southern end with a Green Sandpiper and fifteen Common Sandpipers.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 6 Sep

A stressful morning at work today as Pete found two Avocets this morning and so I had a four hour wait before I could get to the reservoir, fortunately, they did the right thing and lingered enabling me to get a good view form the northern causeway. I then returned later in the afternoon to find they have relocated to West Pool.

I've been lucky to find two Avocets at Sutton Bingham, both Spring birds, so it was great to see today's individuals. At the southern end this afternoon, five Common Sandpipers were seen and a Ringed Plover was showing quite well.

Two Great White Egrets were also present along with the long-staying Yellow-legged Gull and my first returning Teal of the Autumn.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 116 species.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 2 Sep

A patch record count, I believe, of five Great White Egrets this morning that were present on West Pool initially before they moved to the southern end. A couple of Mute Swans were off the Sailing Club.