I spent less than an hour at the reservoir this morning due to time constraints and I spent the entire time around the southern causeway, parking just past the causeway itself and walking back as far as the hide.
The main area of interest was the hedgerow opposite where I parked where I could see a few birds flitting around. To my surprise one of these was a Common Redstart, only the second time I have seen this species at SBR. If you look really closely at the "record shot" below you may just be able to see the orangey tail of the bird!
Also present a Spotted Flycatcher (another bird I don't see every year on patch) and a Lesser Whitethroat amongst commoner fair. A couple of Sand Martins were keeping the local Swallows company. So some new migrants passing through the site this morning.
A couple of Common Sandpipers were flushed from the water's edge and yesterday's Little Grebes were still present in the far southern corner, today alongside a couple of Tufted Ducks.
Near the hide there was plenty of bird activity, although I must have seen nearly twenty birds they were all either Chiffchaffs or Long-tailed Tits.
Other activity today included my first Silver-washed Fritillary that I'd ever seen at Sutton Bingham.
I spent a couple of hours at my local patch this morning, something I've not done for quite some time. I walked pretty much the length of the reservoir and whilst there was nothing scarce around a Common Sandpiper was on the northern causeway before flying south (I later heard it at the southern end of the reservoir but didn't see it again). The only other slightly less common birds seen today were two Little Egrets near the Sailing Club.
Whilst there may not have been anything much on the rarity front, I did see plenty of evidence of successful breeding this year at SBR. A small family of Reed Warblers was a pleasant sight whilst a juvenile Green Woodpecker put on a nice show near the hide.
Near the car park a female Reed Bunting was seen with a couple of fledglings, a Coot was present with one youngster, and Great Crested Grebes seem to have faired much better this year with a good number of young present, ranging in ages too with some almost as large as the adults and another pair with young still on their backs, and a couple of Little Grebes were also seen. A Sparrowhawk zoomed low over the water and was the only raptor I saw.
One of the Herring Gulls present spent about ten minutes yawning whilst perched on one of the buoys...it's a hard life loafing around being a gull!
On the butterfly front I finally saw my first Common Blues of the year, though there were just two seen. Small Coppers were slightly more numerous and I also saw a couple of Gatekeepers amongst more routine fair. It was certainly an enjoyable time "on patch" today.
A morning in south Dorset and a visit to the RSPB reserve of Radipole in Weymouth. Arriving at 9.30am almost the first birds I saw were a couple of juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls in the car park, present briefly before taking flight.
I then set off for a walk around the reserve. Part way along the paths towards the North Hide I heard a Green Sandpiper calling and looked up to see it fly south. There was little of note from the hide itself, though I did hear a Water Rail call and a Reed Warbler showed well.
Retracing my steps I then walked around the "Buddleia Loop" where there were good numbers of butterflies with the pick being a Painted Lady. I also saw a couple of Jersey Tiger moths.
The eclipse drake Red-crested Pochard was showing well from the small viewpoint along the path alongside some of the more usual duck species and a few Sand Martins passed through.
Back to the Visitor Centre for a well-deserved cup of coffee and a Little Egret perched on one of the wooden bars opposite the centre. And that was that for a nice morning out.
Back to the Levels this afternoon and Ham Wall this time. A brief look failed to produce any Little Bitterns, but I didn't really linger at the viewpoint but rather made straight for the second viewing platform. Dodging the thunder storms I did pick out a few waders including two Dunlin, at least two Green Sandpipers, three Snipe and a Black-tailed Godwit of the islandica race. I also had a distant view of a juvenile Yellow Wagtail and another Garganey.
As the rain set in I decided to make it quickly back to the car and on the way saw a female Marsh Harrier...as it happened this was the final decent bird I saw of the day. A pretty good day on the levels today.
A morning visit to the Somerset Levels and rather than a walk out across Ham Wall I headed east on to Meare Heath. Almost the first bird I saw was a fly-over Great White Egret, closely followed by a female Marsh Harrier soaring high in the sky. Continuing onwards a Bittern flew over the path ahead of me, affording wonderful views.
The "drained" lagoon had quite a bit of water in it and as a result there were no waders other than several Lapwing. A look out over Noah's Lake produced nothing apart from a couple more Great White Egrets so I retraced my steps and returned to the car.
Another Bittern fly-by was appreciated, especially as this bird was calling in flight, quite a different sound from the usual booming. A male Marsh Harrier was quartering the reeds, and another female type was also seen. The latter flushing the duck gathered on the lagoon and a Garganey was amongst the masses and rounded the morning off nicely.
The start of a new month saw me make a trip to Devon and a visit to Black Hole Marsh near Seaton. I arrived just before 9.00am and took a walk out to the Island Hide where I was told that the Pectoral Sandpiper which was present on Tuesday night was still about (the last I heard it had flown after being spooked by a Sparrowhawk). So luck was with me this morning and a collected a nice year tick with this smart Trans-Atlantic wader.
There were plenty of birds about today and waders were obviously the most notable. I counted at least six Common Sandpipers, an adult Ringed Plover, twenty or so Dunlin (including a very distinct individual with a bill almost as long as that of a Curlew Sandpiper), a Snipe, several Redshank and Black-tailed Godwits, and a minimum of seven Green Sandpipers.
I then took a walk across to the Tower Hide. I didn't loiter here too long and didn't really see anything different, but as I left the hide a Kingfisher flew across the path over my head and skimmed across the scrapes.
I also saw a lot of butterflies this morning, with loads of Green-veined Whites and a smaller number of Gatekeepers and a couple of Commas and Red Admirals.
It took me an age to get to Ham Wall this morning due to a traffic accident at Ashcott village. After two U-turns due to traffic congestion and another because of a road closure, it was a case of fourth time lucky and eventually I was parked at the Sharpham end of the RSPB reserve and was able to get out for a walk.
I made straight for the second viewing platform, but did stop at one point as I could hear some Bearded Tits calling from the reeds, and I did manage to see one bird as it flitted across the reeds.
On arriving at the viewing platform I had a good scan across and was surprised by the number of waders. A flock of around one hundred Black-tailed Godwits were present and Lapwings numbered around fifty birds. Slightly more unusual, two Greenshank and two Dunlin, and a couple of Green Sandpipers rounded off the wader contingent.
A Garganey flew in from the left and dropped on to the water before vanishing behind some vegetation and rounded off a good morning out despite the traffic issues!
