Lyme Regis - Wed 29 Jan

A trip to the seaside this afternoon and a visit to Lyme Regis, not a birding excursion today though I was lucky enough to pick up a couple of year ticks! On arrival a walk upstream along the River Lim for about half a mile finally got me some cracking views of a Dipper and a Grey Wagtail before returning to the seafront and a walk along the promenade and out to the end of The Cobb. From here three Purple Sandpipers were feeding on the rocks and showed really well in the afternoon sunshine and several Rock Pipits were milling about. Back then to the beach for a well deserved portion of chips before heading back home after a lovely couple of hours out with the family.
Year list for 2014 now at 111 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 26 Jan

A visit late in the afternoon today after rain for most of the day had kept me indoors (I had attempted a visit late morning but ended up staying in the car and seeing nothing!). Starting with a  walk around the southern end of the reservoir I could hear a few Teal calling and about half a dozen were present. A very smart male Mandarin Duck swam between the trees in the "flooded forest" area. Eight Wigeon took to the air and were later seen settled off the dam and completing the wildfowl present, a pair of Gadwall were also seen.
There were loads of Woodpigeons seen today so I was not overly surprised to locate a single Stock Dove, another new tick for the SBR year list, and I'm sure it was the presence of all the pigeons that attracted a Peregrine which alighted on one of the pylons. The fourth SBR year tick came in the form of a Raven that passed over. A walk along the water's edge flushed just a single Snipe so I drove up to the northern end of the reservoir to see if any gulls dropped in.
At least 250 Common Gulls passed through but failed to settle and other gulls present were just Black-headed Gulls and Herring Gulls...nothing else tonight. It was getting too dark to worry about checking the car park so I didn't bother but good numbers of Redwings passed overhead along with just three Fieldfares and the Pied Wagtail roost attracted at least two hundred birds again.
Sutton Bingham year list for 2014 now at 58 species.

Dawlish Warren, Cockwood & Starcross - Sat 25 Jan

A morning off work so I managed to get in some birding instead and headed off to south Devon with my mate Steve. Arriving at Dawlish Warren at about 8.45am we went straight to the seafront for a bit of seawatching. A bit of gen from a few other gathered birders soon got us on a Velvet Scoter. Scanning the calm sea I had soon got well in to double figures with regard to Red-throated Divers and Great Crested Grebes but that was about it. We then bumped in to the Chard Posse and after a good natter Steve and I headed up towards The Bight. A few Turnstones were seen on the groynes and then another spell seawatching. Before too long I managed to pick out a Long-tailed Duck and Steve's Gannet was a new year tick for me. At least three more Velvet Scoters were hanging out with half a dozen or so Common Scoters. A large flock of Linnets were feeding on the mudflat behind the hide but waders were limited to a few Dunlin, Curlew and Redshank with a large number of Oystercatchers. A call from Andy of aforementioned Chard Posse informed us of a Black Brant at Cockwood, so we walked back to the car adding Stonechat to my year list and ending a pleasant couple of hours at Dawlish Warren.
Five minutes down the road we parked at Cockwood and scanned the field of Dark-bellied Brents. After about ten minutes I finally located the Black Brant. This field also held a few Canada Geese and several Curlew and Common Gulls. We then crossed the railway line hoping to see some waders, but the tide was right in. No waders then but a cracking Slavonian Grebe instead.

 

 

 

Another message, this time from Dave, had us continuing north and stopping at Starcross. After pulling in to the car park we scanned the small pool on the opposite side of the road and soon found the Spotted Redshank amongst the other waders. Seven Greenshank were also present as well as a small flock of Teal.
It was then time to head back home as I had promised to be home in time for lunch. This meant skipping a few other sites we had considered visiting, but it had been a good morning out and in dry weather for a change.
Year list for 2014 now at 106 species.

Radipole RSPB - Sun 19 Jan

A trip down to Weymouth this afternoon and a walk around Radipole RPSB reserve. With path to North Hide being closed due to flooding it ended up being a shorter walk than I was expecting and I was restricted to the Buddleia Loop. As it happened it was a pretty quiet afternoon on the bird front with not much variety on offer. I heard several Water Rails squealing, though only one showed itself, and Cetti's Warblers were equally vocal and even more elusive to see!
A female-type Marsh Harrier was seen perched on a distant tree in the middle of the reed beds somewhere over towards north hide and on returning to the car park around half a dozen Mediterranean Gulls were seen (but most gulls simply passed by overhead without dropping in).
In fact, it was such a poor afternoon on the bird front I didn't even see the now resident Hooded Merganser! That being said it was great to get out and have a walk in the sun rather than having to dodge the rain.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 18 Jan

A quick visit on my way home from work at lunchtime had me concentrating on the car park, I stopped off for about fifteen minutes and managed to connect with the Yellow-browed Warbler within the first few minutes of my arrival. Again the bird showed really well until chased by a Robin after which it vanished and I failed to relocate it. A drake Teal at the southern end of the reservoir and a flock of seventeen Wigeon off the dam were the only other birds of note.
I returned later in the afternoon for a little over an hour before dark. A Little Grebe on West Pool was a new bird for the year list as were three Gadwall off the northern causeway, two drakes and a duck:

At least two hundred Pied Wagtails must have come in to roost tonight with a couple of large flocks passing over and loads settling in to the small trees. There were also a few smaller flocks of Redwing and Starling passing through and four Fieldfares were also seen. Other than that it was another pretty quiet day at the reservoir.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2014 now at 54 species.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 15 Jan

Back to the patch again this afternoon and within minutes of my arrival the heavens opened and I was stuck in the car for nearly an hour! Parking at the southern end of the reservoir I did pick out half a dozen Teal but that was it so it was back to the northern causeway.
Eventually the rain eased off so I took a walk around the car park, but there was nothing much about at all. With the daylight starting to fade some fifty Pied Wagtails came in to roost and there were good numbers of both Fieldfare and Redwing passing overhead. A flock of twenty or so Goldfinch also flew over.
Just as I decided to leave and head for home a flock of duck flew south, but at distance and in drizzle and near darkness I could not positively identify them...and that pretty much summed up a dismal afternoon out!

Sutton Bingham - Sun 12 Jan

A couple of hours on patch this morning and I concentrated my efforts on the southern end of the reservoir for the most of it. There were a good number of Teal present today, with at least seventy birds present and being typically skittish. At least a dozen Mallard were also present along with a pair of Mute Swans. There were very few passerines present but a flock of nineteen Lapwings passed over heading south.
I then popped up to the car park area and had a search for the Yellow-browed Warbler, no sign today but a Chiffchaff was seen. From the car park I noticed a drake Tufted Duck fly in to West Pool where it settled for the duration of my stay. A flock of thirty-two Wigeon flew south and another flock of Lapwing passed over, this time a total of fifty-seven birds. The final bit of action came in the form of a flock of twenty-four Snipe that took off from the vegetation around West Pool, I can only think they were spooked by the remote controlled boat enthusiasts who started "sailing"!
So a few more ticks on the SBR year list and a pleasant morning out, a complete contrast to a brief visit at dusk to check out the gull roost proved fruitless with only a very small number of Herring Gulls and an even smaller number of Black-headed Gulls and I got pretty wet in pouring rain!