Sutton Bingham - Tue 16 Jul

The same Osprey I had seen yesterday morning was present again this morning over the southern end of the reservoir before it flew off to the north and I was unable to relocate it. A Common Sandpiper was present near the Fishing Lodge.
A return visit in the afternoon produced a Great White Egret on West Pool plus the first juvenile Yellow-legged Gull of the year. Two female type Mandarin were off the northern causeway.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 15 Jul

I was lucky enough to see an Osprey at the reservoir again this morning, it was interacting with a Buzzard over the northern end of the reservoir.

A single Great White Egret was again seen with five Little Egrets around the site. Two Swift were over the Fishing Lodge and a couple of Linnet were noted. A drake Tufted Duck was on the main reservoir, somewhat unseasonal, and a single Great Black-backed Gull was seen.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 13 Jul

A walk along the reservoir mid-morning failed to produce anything of note though West Pool played host to one of the long-staying Great White Egrets, the second bird was present on the dam. My first Sand Martins of the "autumn" were seen over the dam with at least ten birds flying around.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 10 Jul

One Great White Egret was present this morning alongside five Little Egrets. At the southern end of the reservoir a total of ten Mandarin were seen and four Linnet were near the dam where four Common Sandpipers were also present.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 9 Jul

An amazing visit to the reservoir pre-work this morning with two Great White Egrets seen, one on West Pool and the second opposite the Sailing Club. An Osprey, presumably one of the birds that was seen last week whilst I was in Cornwall, was present near the Canoe Club.

The highlight had to be a Greenshank, simply because it was an addition to the patch year list. Viewable from the Fishing Lodge initially it flew south calling at around 8.30am.
There were also five Little Egrets present this morning and singles of Kingfisher and Common Sandpiper. Two Great Black-backed Gulls were still around.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 8 Jul

A quick morning visit produced a Great White Egret on West Pool. There were also three Little Egret and a Common Sandpiper. An adult Great Black-backed Gull was present.

Martin Down & Salisbury Plain - Sun 7 Jul

A day out with friends today and we started off with a visit to Martin Down nature reserve where we were lucky enough to see a total of six Turtle Doves, including a flock of five flying around together. The supporting case consisted of Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer and Skylark. A great start to the day so off we headed to a couple of sites on Salisbury Plain.
Our first stop on Salisbury Plain produced a couple of singing Quail and also two Stone Curlew. I also picked up a rather Great Bustard...OK, so it's from the reintroduction scheme, but what a bird. A single Curlew was also seen at this site.

We then moved off to try another area and saw hundreds of butterflies plus a bonus Tree Pipit and a Stonechat.
Our final stop of the day was pretty amazing as we were fortunate to see a female Montague's Harrier.

A couple of Red Kite were also noted and then the male Montague's Harrier appeared to harass a Red Kite and so we were treated to great views of both harriers. This rounded off an absolutely brilliant day of birding.