Sutton Bingham - Sun 11 May

I'd not had the opportunity to visit the reservoir over the past week other than an hour on Thursday morning, where I had two singing Reed Warblers, one off the jetty at the end of the northern causeway, which seems to have present for a while and is holding territory, plus a second bird at the extreme south of the patch. I also saw three Red Kites during that visit.

This evening I had a message from Pete telling me that a Lesser Whitethroat was singing opposite the southern causeway, so I popped down and met up with Pete and after listening to it sing for a while, finally clapped my eyes on the Lesser Whitethroat, my first for the year.

As Pete wandered off I returned to the car and noticed a falcon in the top of a tree, the light was dreadful as it was directly behind the bird, however, it was clear to see it was a Kestrel, my second of the year and a tough bird to see at Sutton Bingham these days. As you can see, the light was s poor I could only get silhouettes of the bird, but you can still tell it's a bird!

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 97 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 4 May

A late afternoon visit today and there wasn't a huge amount to report, however, as I was stood at the northern causeway I had a bit of a shock as an Osprey appeared and successfully caught a fish, albeit a rather small one! I then lost it as it gradually gained height and drifted south. Here's a distant record shot!

I then went down the arm and had a look around, the pick of the birds being a pair of Teal. Then, to my surprise, the Osprey reappeared and took another fish, circled the reservoir and headed off to the south-west, not to be seen again, although it was closer, enabling slightly better record shots...slightly better!

So a pretty good visit in the end, with a decent year tick.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 96 species.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 23 Apr

Unlike the last couple of weeks, I didn't have time to spend long a the reservoir before work this morning, so a quick stop at the northern causeway only. This was worthwhile though with a Reed Warbler singing in the corner of West Pool, though it was deep in cover the whole time, affording just a brief view.

I had slightly more time available after work and this was also beneficial as I found six Egyptian Geese on the bank opposite the Sailing Club, rather distant but a good addition to the year list.

So two new birds for the year today (though it appears I missed a couple of Black-tailed Godwits which were flushed and flew south early morning, you can't get them all!).

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 95 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 19 Apr

I got a message this morning from one of the Rangers at Sutton Bingham saying he had a strange bird outside the Fishing Lodge but that it had flown to the northern bank and was lost to view. Unfortunately, I knew it would be a little while before I could get to site. Fortunately, when I did arrive I managed to relocate the bird in question and it was a Whimbrel!

I've not seen many Whimbrel at Sutton Bingham, they are a scarce visitor and it's been many years since the last one I saw on the patch, so this was a real bonus, and the fact it was pretty settled for the duration of my visit made it all the more rewarding.

The only other bird of note this morning was a lone Common Sandpiper but an afternoon visit did yield brief views of the singing Cetti's Warbler which is still hanging around near Cotton Bridge.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 93 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 17 Apr

Another early morning visit before work, as has been the norm over the last couple of weeks, and today I connected with my first Whitethroat of the year with a singing male below the railway embankment on West Pool.
However, there was nothing else until I heard and then located a Greylag Goose that was between the car park and the Canoe Club. I managed much better photos than those of the Greylag Goose that was present a month ago.

Another addition to the list this week was House Martin with a small number present at the northern end yesterday.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 92 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 13 Apr

Pete found a singing Cetti's Warbler in a private area of the reservoir yesterday, which I tried and fail to find, but today I got lucky and had a burst of song during a brief visit. A very scarce bird at Sutton Bingham, hopefully this one will hang around for a while. I also managed to connect with a Spring Willow Warbler that was half-heartedly singing in the car park a couple of days ago.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 90 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 10 Apr

The recent run of productive visits today (though I did miss a Wheatear yesterday) although at one stage a pair of Tufted Duck on West Pool looked like they were going to be the highlight. However, a trip round to the northeast corner turned up trumps as a Green Sandpiper was present with a Common Sandpiper.

Scanning the margin I then found another wader, this time a very smart Little Ringed Plover, a species that is pretty rare in Spring.

So a couple of quality patch year ticks today.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 88 species.