Sutton Bingham - Mon 27 Jul

Pete's had a good few days on patch, and today he found a couple more decent patch year ticks, luckily I was able to connect with them both. A Greenshank was present at the back of West Pool but spent much of the time I was there in deep vegetation so I was unable to get any sort of photo of it.

I was more fortunate with a Yellow Wagtail which was present on the fence line just south of West Pool with a couple of Pied Wagtails. It was very vocal and rather mobile and eventually flew south.

Pretty lucky to get another two year ticks today.

Sutton Bingham year list now at 104 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 25 Jul

Just a quick visit on my way home after a family day out and that was only to add Black-tailed Godwit to the year list with Pete having found one mid-morning. Luckily it stayed all day and I had some good, if distant, views of it as if fed at the back of West Pool. Too far away for a decent photo, but I managed a few records shots.

Also present this evening, two Redshank on the northern causeway.

A lone Common Sandpiper was also on West Pool.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 102 species.

Eastleach Downs - Fri 24 Jul

Somewhere different today as I took advantage of a day's annual leave to head up to Eastleach Downs on Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire border for a twitch...my second of the year! It was a fair journey, around 100 miles each way, but I arrived at the field that had been set aside for parking and made the recommended £5 donation before walking out to the area in question. Before long I was enjoying some wonderful views of the Long-tailed Shrike that had turned up a few days earlier.

I watched the bird for about thirty minutes, and managed to see it in bout Gloucs and Oxon. There were few other birds about, not that I was really looking for any, but a couple of Red Kites drifted overhead and a Yellowhammer was noted.

Soon after 1.30pm I headed back home after a successful twitch, and Long-tailed Shrike becomes the eighth species of shrike I've seen in the UK.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 21 Jul

A new bird this morning with an adult Little Ringed Plover at the southern end of the reservoir, unfortunately it was a little distant and whilst it gave great views through the 'scope, my photos are somewhat lacking!

So, a bit of wader passage at last but water levels are still much higher than they were this time last year. Also this morning a single Green Sandpiper (which was also present yesterday morning) and a couple of Common Sandpipers.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 101 species.

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.

On a hunch, I also stopped off on the way home from work and this proved to be an inspired decision as I found an Oystercatcher, initially on the bank opposite the Sailing Club it flew off north but then banked back round and landed almost in front of me on the northern causeway!

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 100 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.

A rather odd one today too, with a Moorhen having made a nest on the jetty on West Pool, not the safest place to have a nest and I doubt it'll be there for long.

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.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 7 Jun

Another day and another quick visit between rain showers. No sign of the Osprey but I did find two Common Terns along the arm. Always a little distant, I still managed a couple of record shots.

Terns seem to be rather thin on the ground this year, so it was good to see these.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 93 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 6 Jun

Another brief early afternoon visit on my way home from work and, despite no reports since I saw it on Thursday, what was presumably the same Osprey was present again today. After first seeing it at the southern end in flight, including an aborted stoop for a fish, I finally nailed it down perched up in a tree where it gave some wonderful views.

Nothing else of note today though.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 4 Jun

May was a very quiet month on the patch, hence the lack of postings, but there was one late addition which didn't really warrant a full post and that was a singing Reed Warbler next to the jetty at the end of the northern causeway.

Today I only had a few minutes at the reservoir around 1.30pm and with nothing to see at the northern end I went down to the southern end and when I got out of the car I could hear a couple of gulls going rather mad so I rushed out into the meadow and was surprised to see the gulls mobbing an Osprey! I watched for about five minutes before the gulls finally got their way and the Osprey drifted off to the south and was lost from view. I did grab a couple of record shots through my binoculars.

I don't recall ever having seen a June Osprey before, as it's rather late for a Spring migrant so I wonder whether it was a failed breeder heading back south. The only other bird of note during my fifteen minute stop was a Hobby, mind you the weather was pretty poor with some quite heavy rain.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 92 species.

Arne RSPB - Mon 25 May

A trip down to south Dorset today and it was blisteringly hot, with the temperature up around 30°C. A walk out towards Shipstal Point was mainly under the trees, but was also very devoid of birds, with a small number of Bar-tailed Godwits being the pick.

We that took a walk out onto Coombe Heath, where I did see a couple of Dartford Warblers to provide some much needed interest.

All and all it was a lovely day out, though the heat was stifling.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 17 May

Not much opportunity to visit the patch over recent weeks, and the few visits I have made have been very unproductive other than a Hobby on 7 May and a lone Swift passing through before gathering rain clouds on 14 May.

Today there wasn't much of note other than two pairs of Mute Swans, which is a rare occurrence at Sutton Bingham these days. The long-staying pair were still at the southern end but a second pair were present in the north-east corner too this afternoon, so felt that must be worthy of a mention.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 90 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 25 Apr

A brief trip on the way home from work at lunchtime today was not as productive as I had hoped, but a pair of Mute Swans were at the southern end, whether the same pair that were present a week ago or not, I don't know. It's been several years since Mute Swans attempted to breed on the patch, so maybe these two might just give it a go.

There were two Common Sandpipers on the northern causeway and two Red Kites were seen over the south of the reservoir.