Sutton Bingham - Sun 12 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.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 8 Aug

It's been very quiet on the patch over the last week or so, though a Great White Egret was present last Wednesday and a Green Sandpiper hung around for a few days.
There wasn't much of note today either, but a Yellow Wagtail, epic photo below, was present today.

It's always nice to see a Yellow Wagtail on the patch, just a shame the image doesn't do it justice.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 3 Aug

A few fleeting visits over the past few days have not produced anything new, though a couple of Sedge Warblers were present on Saturday.

A brief visit before work this morning did turn up something new, with a Whinchat present along the arm. However, just as I was about to get a photo it was flushed by a couple taking a walk and I was unable to relocate it.

Also this morning, there were four Common Sandpipers and two Green Sandpipers at the southern end, and another Common Sandpiper on West Pool.

The vegetation along the water's edge held a few birds, with at least one Sedge Warbler present along with a few Whitethroat and Chiffchaff.

Finally, the White-tailed Eagle which has been at the reservoir on and off for a few weeks was again present this morning in a willow opposite the southern causeway.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2026 now at 105 species.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 29 Jul

The Greenshank was still present at the back of West Pool, and I did manage a distant record shot of it today.

Also today, a small number of Common Sandpipers still and a Coot was off the northern causeway.

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.