Sutton Bingham - Sun 1 Feb

I managed an hour at the reservoir this morning and I started off with a walk around the southern end, where a total of 160 Teal were present alongside four Wigeon. With little else here I moved up to the Water Treatment Works and dam. A further 86 Wigeon were off the dam where my first patch Grey Wagtail of the year was also present with half a dozen Meadow Pipits. Another patch year tick came in the form of a Goldcrest at the Water Treatment Works as it fed with a small party of tits. A Kingfisher whizzed up the outflow stream and was the only other bird of note.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 31 Jan

My final trip to the patch this month and I failed to add anything else to the year list. The three Barnacle Geese were still present (and with the birds still at Catcott Lows these are actually different birds and not potential wanderers as I thought they may have been).

 

A small flock of just eight Wigeon were off the dam, but Great Crested Grebe numbers seem to have increased with over thirty birds present, including at least two pairs displaying. A Kingfisher put in a typically brief fly-past and a first winter Mediterranean Gull was also noted.
Four Meadow Pipits were in the field between the car park and the Canoe Club and a Buzzard flushed four Snipe from West Pool. I didn't have time to linger for the gull roost tonight, but still had an enjoyable hour at the reservoir.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 28 Jan

A bit of a surprise at Sutton Bingham today when I found three Barnacle Geese amongst a flock of one hundred Canada Geese off the dam. It's been a few years since I'd seen a Barnacle Goose at the reservoir, and the last one was almost certainly a feral bird. Of course, it's possible these three were as well, but with sightings of apparent wild birds (un-ringed adults) on the Levels in the past few days it could be these are the same birds.
I wasn't able to stay too late tonight due to other commitments so many gulls were still arriving when I left, but amongst those gathered to roost I failed to locate any Mediterranean Gulls tonight, but there were at least fifty Common Gulls. A single Kingfisher was the only other bird of note.
Sutton Bingham year list for 2015 now at 51 species.

Radipole RSPB - Sat 24 Jan

An afternoon trip to Weymouth and walk around Radipole in the winter sun was enjoyable if slightly marred by the fact I missed the Greenland White-fronted Goose that had been present for a couple of days. That being said I was treated to some amazing views of Bearded Tits today, with three males and a female all putting on splendid shows feeding on the reed heads despite a bit of a breeze. The drake Hooded Merganser was also rather obliging by the Discovery Centre. Two Mediterranean Gulls were also noted.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 23 Jan

As I was able to get away from work a little early I popped in to check the gull roost tonight, and it was a good job I did! There was an amazing count of sixty-one Mediterranean Gulls present amongst the roost, a site and county record count. Most of the birds were adults, but a few first winter and second winter birds were mixed in for variety. The gull roost also comprised of 1700 Herring Gulls, 1000 Black-headed Gulls and twenty Lesser Black-backed Gulls...not a bad gathering and birds were still arriving when I left.
Also present tonight a total of fourteen Tufted Ducks, the highest count for a while, and ninety-five Wigeon off the dam. Three Kingfishers were seen and a couple of Snipe flew out from West Pool as the light started to fade. A small flock of nine Redwing also passed through.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 21 Jan

I managed a little bit of time at the reservoir this afternoon, but it was still pretty quiet. There were about 120 Teal on the water at the southern end, with twenty-six Wigeon, a further eighty-nine Wigeon were off the dam. A single Meadow Pipit flew over whilst a Treecreeper was feeding away on one of the gravestones at the church. I finally added Fieldfare to the patch year list, with six birds present on trees opposite the car park. A few Common Gulls passed through but there was little else going on. Finally, two Kingfishers were seen chasing each other and a couple of Bullfinches were noted.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 18 Jan

A flying visit on yesterday lunchtime on my way home from work paid dividends as I found a Stonechat flitting around on the left hand side of West Pool. A pair of Wigeon were resting on West Pool itself, but I did not have time to look for anything else.
However, today I was able to spend a little more time on the patch. A morning visit and a wander around the car park added a fly-over Skylark and a Treecreeper to the patch year list. Half a dozen Meadow Pipits were in the grass in the field to the south of the car park and a Kingfisher whizzed by.
Returning later in the day I had a good walk around Cotton Bridge, but failed to see the small flock of Lesser Redpolls that had been present earlier in the week. I did see a Bullfinch though and flushed ten Snipe from the water's edge. Around forty Teal and thirty Wigeon were tucked away at the southern end of the reservoir, with another fourteen Wigeon off the dam. A pair of Bullfinches were at the Water Treatment Works and five Tufted Ducks had appeared on West Pool.
With the daylight drawing out I had to head home before the gull roost really got going, and despite adding a few more species to the patch year list I left feeling that the day had not really delivered.
Sutton Bingham year list for 2015 now at 46 species.