Sutton Bingham - Mon 14 Dec

There was just about enough light to warrant a quick stop prior to work and this paid off with a drake Pintail viewable from the northern causeway. It was rather nervy and when I left it had moved in to the vegetation below the car park bank. Now I know my photos have never been that good, but I've a new phone and the camera on it is really pants through a 'scope...but here goes!

 

A couple of brief visits over the weekend produced a flock of ten Siskin in the car park on Saturday afternoon and a Reed Bunting near the Canoe Club on Sunday evening.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 9 Dec

An afternoon visit was not really that productive at all. Highlight was a flock of thirty-one Lapwing that flew through at 4pm, other than that the wintering Stonechat was still on the fence line between the car park and Canoe Club. Some thirty or so Wigeon were viewable from the northern causeway.

East Coker WTW - Sun 6 Dec

After my morning visit to the reservoir I quickly stopped off at East Coker WTW as I'd not visited the site for a long time. There were plenty of birds about, including three Chiffchaffs, but nothing that unusual. A couple of Goldcrests and Treecreepers were feeding with a mixed tit flock and the sewage beds held a few Chaffinches and Pied Wagtails but there was little else other than a lot of nettle stings...that will serve me right for wearing shorts in December!

Sutton Bingham - Sun 6 Dec

I spent a good couple of hours on the patch this morning and covered pretty much every area from the north right down to the southern end. Starting at the dam again there was no sign of yesterday's Scaup, but the Wigeon flock had increased slightly to 127 birds and there were two Meadow Pipits and a couple of Mistle Thrush in the horse paddock.
Round to the northern causeway and the male and female Stonechat were back on the fence line to the south of West Pool, I'd not seen them for a week or so. Another Meadow Pipit flew over and dropped in to the field.
A walk around the car park produced a flock of a dozen Siskin and they put on quite a show. There was nothing else of note around here though so I headed down to the southern end of the reservoir and checked out the area around Cotton Bridge. A total of fifty Teal were counted and a couple of Marsh Tits showed well.
On the water half a dozen Common Gulls dropped in.
A return visit mid-afternoon added a fly-over female Kestrel, my first on the patch for a couple of months, and the third wintering Stonechat was back on the fence line between the car park and the Canoe Club.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 5 Dec

With a little time on my hands I stopped off at the reservoir on my way home from work and decided that a view from the dam might be my best bet. As it happens this proved to be the correct decision. The Wigeon flock had increased to 125 birds and amongst the flock a single drake Teal. Further scrutiny located a aythya, but with the distance of the flock and the fierce winds getting anything on it proved tricky to say the least. I knew immediately that is was not a Tufted Duck as the head was big and round with no tuft present, so was it another weird hybrid? After some perseverance I finally managed better views and this clinched the identification, a first winter drake Scaup and not a hybrid of any sorts...my first at the reservoir for many years. Unfortunately, distance and conditions meant there was no chance of getting a record shot.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 22 Nov

Not even sure whether it's worth adding anything to my blog for today...three Lapwing and at least three Skylark passed overhead mid-morning and a Mute Swan was a new arrival...that's it!

Sutton Bingham - Sat 21 Nov

Another quiet day and a mid-afternoon visit today. Starting off at the dam a Kingfisher was rather obliging and there were still over a hundred (107 to be precise) Wigeon present. I also popped down to the southern end of the reservoir but only found a single Snipe. The highlight today was a flock of twenty Lapwing that flew north-west over the reservoir.