Sutton Bingham - Fri 2 Dec

A quick lunchtime visit today and there were two Coot off the northern causeway, the highest count on patch for months! A pair of Tufted Duck were new in at the southern end where there was also a single Wigeon and well over a hundred Teal.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 30 Nov

After a couple of days of clear skies and freezing temperatures I was relieved that rain hadn't come in this afternoon and I was able to enjoy a couple of hours in the sun at Sutton Bingham (though the cold eventually got to my toes by the end of my visit).
I started off at the Fishing Lodge and dam where a flock of fifty-eight Wigeon and amongst them a single drake Gadwall and a single drake Shoveler.

 

 

Also from the Fishing Lodge a single Meadow Pipit and a good number of "garden" birds around the feeders. On the lawn in front of the Fishing Lodge a single Redwing was feeding, and it looked darker than the "normal" Redwings but nowhere near dark enough to be of the Icelandic race, and the undertail coverts certainly didn't appear dark enough! Nevertheless, a very smart little thrush.

 

 

 

I then drove down to the southern end of the reservoir where there were good numbers of Teal present, I counted at least 127 birds, but there were surely more tucked up in the vegetation along the water's edge. A further eleven Wigeon were also present and Mallard numbered at least forty birds. Another Meadow Pipit flew over and a Peregrine was perched atop a pylon tucking in to something.
I stopped quickly at the northern end as I left the patch, a couple of Common Gulls amongst the gathering masses were the only things of note though.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 28 Nov

On a whim I popped up to the reservoir during my lunch break, mainly because a pair of Egyptian Geese had been seen flying in the general direction of the reservoir earlier in the day...anyway, they never showed up at Sutton Bingham!
That being said I did find a drake Goosander which looked pretty settled near the Canoe Club. I didn't have time to get any closer so had to make do with distant 'scope views.

This was my third Goosander of the autumn, not bad considering this a bird that is not guaranteed annually.
Also present today a pair of Shoveler opposite the "hide", though both were fast asleep. The extreme southern end hosted thirteen Teal and eight Wigeon, before a further thirty-six Wigeon flew in from the north and joined them. Three first-winter Mute Swans were also new in. At the northern end of the reservoir a first-winter Common Gull was the only bird of note. There was no sign of the Coot that was on West Pool late yesterday afternoon.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 23 Nov

A fleeting visit on Sunday was uneventful with the only bird of note being the Barnacle Goose. Returning 48 hours later for an equally brief visit on Tuesday afternoon and the water levels had risen dramatically, a testament to the amount of rain that had fallen! A pair of Mandrain were at the southern end but all the Teal and Wigeon had left.
On Wednesday afternoon I spent a couple of hours on patch and it was painfully quiet. Other than a Mute Swan there was nothing on the water. A Stonechat was halfway down the southern arm, and showed well.

 

 

 

 

Other than the Stonechat, the only birds of note this afternoon were two Skylarks that flew over heading north, a total of four Meadow Pipits, including three in the field north of the Canoe Club, and a single Redwing.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 13 Nov

A pre-breakfast visit this morning turned out to be pretty productive (though nothing new added to the patch year list). I started off at the northern causeway and there was a load of activity along the railway embankment with a couple of hundred Redwing (and a few Fieldfare) feeding in the various berry bushes. At least three Chiffchaff were also noted along side a small party of Long-tailed Tits and a Goldcrest. Two Reed Buntings were also present on the edge of West pool along with a Grey Wagtail.
Off then to the southern end of the reservoir where the Teal flock had grown to 198 birds, though Wigeon numbers were down to just twenty-six and these were off the dam, none at the southern end at all this morning. Over head four Meadow Pipits flew through.
Round to the Fishing Lodge and the only things added here were a couple of Mistle Thrushes and a Kingfisher.
I ended the morning in the car park, where despite finding another flock of tits, there was nothing scarcer amongst them, though a Treecreeper was a nice sight. A quick count of the Cormorants gathered produced a personal patch record count with 114 birds noted. Finally, a Peregrine flew through heading west.
A return visit later in the afternoon was a little less productive though the southern end of the reservoir now held seventy-six Mallard and Wigeon kept dropping in until I had counted 134 birds. Teal numbers were about the same, but I didn't spend long totalling them up. A (maybe this morning's) Peregrine was on one of the pylons and as I walked back to the car a large flock of around 120 Jackdaw flew over.
A large number of gulls were gathering off the Fishing Lodge as the light started to fade, but I was unable to get round to that side of the reservoir to check them out.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 9 Nov

After being at a conference all morning I had some time to myself this afternoon so put in a shift at the reservoir. A quick stop at the northern causeway to check what was about produced the Barnacle Goose as it flew over my head with a flock of Canada Geese and headed south, a really great bird to watch in flight. Numbers of Wigeon had increased with 120 birds off the Sailing Club.
I then popped down to the southern end where I was surprised to find a redhead Goosander. Less than a fortnight since the fly-through drake this particular bird was slightly more obliging!

 

Unfortunately, it didn't hang around that long and flew off to the north soon after I arrived. The Teal flock numbered some 138 birds, an increase on recent visits. Before heading back round to the dam and Fishing Lodge, I noticed a Little Grebe and a fly-past Kingfisher.
From the Fishing Lodge I checked the Wigeon flock again, but nothing more unusual amongst them however I did notice three duck together on the water. Quickly setting up my 'scope I was rewarded with good views of a first-winter drake Gadwall and two Pintail (a female and a first-winter male). As I was checking out these duck a drake Mallard flew by in the company of a female Shoveler, so a really good assortment of wildfowl at the reservoir this afternoon.
There were plenty of gulls dropping in as I left, but I didn't have time to check them out.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 6 Nov

A late morning visit to the patch today and I headed straight for the southern end of the reservoir in the hope that something may have dropped in overnight. There were plenty of duck about today with counts of 150 Teal, 75 Wigeon and 60 Mallard. Amongst these a single female Pintail (presumably the bird that has been seen on and off over the past few weeks).
I then headed off for the northern end and after a quick scan of West Pool, where a Stonechat was still present, I made for the dam. A drake Tufted Duck was new in and amongst the Canada Goose flock the Barnacle Goose was still present.

 

Other than three Kingfishers there was not much else around today, though a late afternoon visit did produce a flock of around thirty Fieldfare.