Sutton Bingham - Sat 7 Nov

A quick lunchtime visit didn't turn up anything different with the Great White Egret and Shelduck still on West Pool.

As with most recent visits, I failed to find anything else of note.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 5 Nov

Two hours spent at the reservoir this afternoon and it was pretty disappointing, with very little to be seen. A Great White Egret was on West Pool and the Shelduck that turned up on Saturday was still lingering, so it was obviously finding something to feed on in the mud.
At the southern end there was a party of twenty or so Greenfinches were feeding in trees and a decent flock of around fifty Linnets were in the vegetation along the muddy fringes.

Other than that, just a dozen Teal and Wigeon had risen to over forty birds.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 31 Oct

A surprise this morning with a Shelduck on West Pool! Found by Dave Chown a few minutes before I arrived on patch it was a decent October bird.

The only other birds of note were a fly-over Lapwing and the Coot was still present. Plenty of Redwing and Fieldfare passed overhead during my quick fifteen minute visit.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 26 Oct

A return to the patch today after a week's holiday and water levels were still really low. A Great White Egret was present on West Pool before it flew across to the main reservoir and a Coot was off the northern causeway.

But nothing else of note this morning.

Cornwall - Sat 17 Oct to Sat 23 Oct

A decent week in Cornwall with the family for some much needed downtime which involved several Cornish pasties, a couple of cream teas and quite a bit of coastal walking. There was still time for some birding and a few decent birds were seen over the course of the week.
A walk down to Porthcurnick beach turned out to be well worth it with two Chough feeding in the field behind The Hidden Hut.

Another decent walk to Towan beach was also productive with a couple of Cirl Bunting seen, though these were a little distant and I only had my binoculars, hence the dreadful photos.

I did spend quite some time seawatching from our apartment, which was pretty useful as it meant I didn't have to stand on a windy headland to see what was out in Gerrans Bay. Despite it being arguably too early in the year for much in the way of sea birds, there was still some interest with a few auks and Common Scoters passing through westwards and six Great Northern Divers on the water.

A flock of around thirty Turnstones were on the rocks off Porthscatho and a couple of Curlew and a lone Redshank were also noted and four Sanderling were seen in flight. There were also good numbers of Mediterranean Gulls, with a peak count of eighty-five.
However, the highlight of the week was arguably a couple of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna that were seen breaching in Gerrans Bay, something I'd never seen before. So, all in all a lovely week away.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 11 Oct

Three Egyptian Geese were present on Friday and a pair of Stonechat were on West Pool yesterday.

A lunchtime visit today was pretty productive with highlight being a flock of around 180 Golden Plover over the ridge at the southern end of the reservoir. The five Teal and two Ringed Plover were still present along with around sixty Meadow Pipits.

A single Common Sandpiper was at the northern end from the Fishing Lodge and two Wigeon (five were present yesterday) were also seen.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 113 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 8 Oct

A very quick visit this afternoon turned out to be pretty good by recent standards. At the southern end of the reservoir there were two Ringed Plover present, loosely associating with a few Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits.

There were also five Teal but not much else so I went up to the northern causeway where I picked out three Wigeon.

I then had a bit of a surprise as a small wader suddenly flew in towards me before backing and flying down the arm...it was a Dunlin, my first of the year!

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 112 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 3 Oct

I appreciate there has been a lack on content posted over the past couple of weeks, that's simply because I've not really had much to report. September went out with a whimper, with little of note seen at the reservoir.

I thought that today was going to be the same, but a pair of Egyptian Geese off the northern causeway just about warranted a blog entry.

Nothing else today, but one lives in hope.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 13 Sep

My monthly WeBS count today so I spent about an hour on patch checking and recording things of note...there were not many! A Little Grebe at the southern end was the pick of the birds, just the second record at the reservoir this year.

Just two Common Sandpipers were seen and a lone Teal was noted, and that was pretty much it.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 12 Sep

A flying visit late afternoon today to try and connect with a Spotted Flycatcher that Pete had located earlier in the day, in fact he had found two and a Redstart! Whereas I failed to locate the Redstart I did manage to see one of the Spotted Flycatchers.

Always a decent bird to get on the year list and some great views, even if the photo does not suggest it.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now on 111 species.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 11 Sep

A quick stop on the way home from work produced nothing of note other than a Whinchat which was favouring an area of vegetation on the southern fringe of West Pool. Herewith an excellent record shot:

A scan of the exposed mud at the southern end failed to produce anything.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 10 Sep

Not much opportunity to visit the patch over the last week, and the brief visits I have made have been unproductive, despite a continuation in the drop in water levels. I spent some time at the reservoir this afternoon and to my surprise there was a flock of eight Ringed Plover at the southern end, along with half a dozen Common Sandpipers. Despite showing very well, the flock was always a little distant, but a much welcome year tick.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 110 species.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 3 Sep

Recent visits have failed to deliver much of interest, with consistent numbers of Common Sandpipers, reaching up to fifteen birds, and a small group of five Teal. A drake Gadwall has been with the Mallard flock off the northern causeway.

A Wheatear was feeding on the southern fringe of West Pool this evening.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 27 Aug

A late morning visit today was somewhat productive with three Whinchat showing well along the hedgerow on the opposite side of the road to the Canoe Club.

Also in the same area a couple of mobile Yellow Wagtails and five Skylarks.

The other significant bird of note today was a Greenshank that was heard passing through but it didn't make landfall, simply carrying straight on. Still a few Common Sandpipers around and also today, a Gadwall and Tufted Duck.

So, some good birds but no year ticks today.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 25 Aug

I missed a flock of eight Avocet yesterday morning that Pete discovered, they were present very briefly but still a painful dip. Today Dave found a Redstart and it was more heartache as I missed it during a lunchtime visit and after work, another one missed, until I got a call from Pete later in the evening to say he had relocated it. Fortunately, I was able to get back out to the reservoir and connected with the Redstart, a scarce bird on patch and my first for a few years.

I've not had much else of note to report over the past few days,

Sutton Bingham year list now on 107 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 20 Aug

The highlight of an early morning visit were three Common Terns over the northern end which eventually passed over the northern causeway and West Pool and simply kept going. At the southern end there were still nine Common Sandpipers and a Sedge Warbler was in the marginal vegetation. Three juvenile Stonechats (which have been present for a few days) were still present and the only other bird of note was a Marsh Tit near the southern entrance.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 19 Aug

Overnight rain meant I arrived on site this morning with a slight hope that something interesting may have dropped in. I was sort of right as a Black-tailed Godwit was off the northern causeway.

However, there was nothing else of note other than a Mute Swan which flew in from the north, did a circuit of the southern end and then flew back the way it had come.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 18 Aug

There has been very little of note over the past week, with a Green Sandpiper on West Pool last Friday and a couple of Teal at the southern end on Saturday (there as also a single Teal on Sunday). I also saw the Cuckoo again on Saturday morning, somewhat surprised it's still around.

This morning a quick look before work failed to turn up anything different other than a Mute Swan, but just after I had left the patch I got a call from Dave to say that he and Pete had just found a Grasshopper Warbler! I had time to rush back and, thanks to Dave and Pete, I managed three decent flight views over the next 40 minutes. Probably the most wanted bird on my patch list, especially after missing one a few years back.

We also had a Cetti's Warbler calling and a fly-through Oystercatcher, so not a bad morning in the end.

Sutton Bingham year list now at 108 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 13 Aug

A quick visit before work, as has been the norm of late, and things were looking rather tame with a count of seven Common Sandpipers seeming to be the highlight. I did decide that a quick visit to the Fishing Lodge may be worthwhile, and as it happens it was. There were two Egyptian Geese loitering with a number of Canada Geese. Rather distant on the pit of land opposite the Sailing Club, but always worth a record shot.

With nothing else of note to be seen, it was off to the office.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 107 species.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 11 Aug

Another quick pre-work visit this morning and it was very quiet other than a total of nine Common Sandpipers, eight of which were at the southern end. I then had a look at the dam and found a Wheatear, a rather nice surprise.

I'd been in the office for about two hours when I got a message from Pete to say that he and Dave had just found a juvenile Cuckoo feeding at the southern end. After a couple of hours, I managed to get out during my lunch break and was lucky enough to connect with the Cuckoo.

I enjoyed watching the bird for about ten minutes before I had to head back to the office. My first patch Cuckoo for a few years and the first I've actually seen for as long as I can remember.

Sutton Bingham year list now at 106 species.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 10 Aug

A little bit of interest today with two Redshank present below the car park, though a little distant and the light was awful, but I felt I had to get a record shot anyway.

I was hoping for a bit more wader passage, but whereas it was nice to see the Redshank I was hoping for something new for the year list.

There was also a very smart juvenile Yellow-legged Gull on the northern causeway.

The southern end is showing more mud now, but still very little variety with half a dozen Common Sandpipers present this morning and another was on West Pool.