Sutton Bingham - Tue 17 Mar

No sign of last night's Great White Egret this morning but three Mute Swans were new in and fifteen Wigeon were still present.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 16 Mar

I was late leaving work due to a meeting but still decided a quick stop at the reservoir on the way home may produce a scarce gull (especially in light of the gulls turning up in north Somerset). Anyway, I failed to find any gulls but a drake Tufted Duck was new in. However, the unexpected highlight was a Great White Egret feeding on West Pool!

This is now the third year in a row I've had a Great White Egret on the patch list, but it's still a great bird to see.
Sutton Bingham list for 2020 now at 74 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 15 Mar

A visit late afternoon failed to produce any early hirundines after the heavy rain all morning. The southern end hosted sixteen Wigeon and a pair of Mandarin flew in from the north. A single Reed Bunting was noted and that was pretty much it until I noticed a distant flock of birds. Quickly getting them in the 'scope I was pleased to count a total of one hundred and fifty Golden Plover. A bird I see rarely on patch, so this was a real bonus year tick. The flock circled over the northern end of the reservoir for about five minutes before heading east.
Sutton Bingham list for 2020 now at 73 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 12 Mar

Not much sign of Spring today with the only summer migrant being a single Chiffchaff, though a dozen or so Redwing were noted. Just eight Wigeon remain at the reservoir and surely they will be moving on soon. A Marsh Tit was seen at the southern end of the reservoir and three Reed Bunting were near the car park.

A patch record count, by quite some margin, of Great Black-backed Gulls today with a first-winter and two adults off the Sailing Club and a further six adult birds over the extreme southern end of the reservoir.
A single Stock Dove and two Mistle Thrushes were the only other bird of note today.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 8 Mar

A quick stop on my way in to work this morning produced my first patch Chiffchaff of the year and what's more it was singing, a real sign of Spring. No time to look for anything else.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 2 Mar

A text from James meant a lunchtime twitch today as I raced up to the reservoir to add Stonechat to the year list. James had seen three (two males and a female) in the field opposite the Canoe Club, exactly where I had found a pair back in mid-October. I had been checking that area during most of my visits to the patch this year, but had drawn a blank! After a bit of a search I finally located a male and female on the fence line near the barn, so Stonechat safely on the patch year list and then straight back to work!
Sutton Bingham list for 2020 now at 72 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 1 Mar

Well March started with a whimper just as February had ended with a groan. It's been really quiet at Sutton Bingham over the past week or so, I guess the weather hasn't helped and the water level is very high. All the Wigeon seem to have moved on and a male Kestrel last Thursday was about the only bird of note over the past week. Today was not much better and if it were not for a total of twelve Mediterranean Gulls passing through it would have been a dead loss. Three Meadow Pipits were put up from the field between the Canoe Club and car park, but that's all folks!