Sutton Bingham - Fri 17 Jun

Two quick visits today (following an equally brief stop yesterday evening which produced a Red Kite and a Swift) starting with a morning stop where another Red Kite was noted low over the northern causeway heading south and a Skylark was heard in full song.

Returning after work two Common Terns were a welcome addition to the patch year list, which had been flagging over the past few weeks. The Common Terns were always a little distant as they hawked over the reservoir.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 96 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 12 Jun

No postings for a couple of weeks and that's simply because I've not seen anything to report (though I have missed three patch year ticks in that time!). I was able to spend three hours at the reservoir today, arriving late morning and staying in to the afternoon during which time I really worked hard but got very little reward. The pick of the birds was a Little Grebe which showed very well off the northern causeway.

Other than that there were five Little Egrets present and I reckon I counted five singing Reed Buntings, so that's an encouraging number for the site. A Reed Warbler was heard in song just briefly and three Skylarks were also singing away.

Tealham Moor - Sun 22 May

After our trip to Ham Wall we drove up to Tealham Moor seeing around five Cattle Egrets during our stop, some of which flew right past us. Another Cuckoo was heard singing and a Lapwing was carefully guarding her four well grown chicks. Both Meadow Pipits and Skylarks were noted and a Sedge Warbler was singing from a roadside ditch. The pick of the birds though were three Yellow Wagtails and a male Channel Wagtail.

So after a really enjoyable and profitable few hours out it was time to head back home. It certainly made a nice change to do some birding away from Sutton Bingham.

Ham Wall RSPB - Sun 22 May

A trip up to the Somerset Levels today and a chance to catch up with a couple of good friends as well as see a few birds. Arriving at Ham Wall I made straight for the first viewpoint and loitered there for about half an hour or so until the guys, who were with a local RSPB Group, came back. Whilst waiting I was treated to some pretty good birds. A Hobby soared overhead, a drake Garganey was sleeping in the reeds whilst several Great White Egrets flew around. I was also fortunate enough to locate three Glossy Ibis in the reeds before they took flight and passed almost directly over my head. Bitterns were also very active with five flight views, including some real close-up fly-bys. At least one Cuckoo was in song also.

After a quick lunch break we then headed out of Shapwick Heath where at least eight Hobbies were hawking dragonflies, more Great White Egrets were seen and I also saw more Marsh Harriers after a few were present at Ham Wall earlier in the day. With time ticking by we decided to head off and had the pleasure of seeing a Grass Snake cross the path before we arrived at the car park where a Garden Warbler was in full song and showed really well, rounding of a really nice couple of hours on site.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 21 May

A visit on Thursday produced nothing of note on the bird front but I did finds a Painted Lady. This morning a quick stop before work paid dividends as a Cuckoo was heard singing as I stood on the northern causeway. Cuckoo is a really difficult bird to get on the patch, I think that over the years I've only had a handful of records so I was thrilled to hear this one, a very unexpected addition to the patch year list.
Nothing else though this morning, but a Little Egret was present last night.
Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 95 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 15 May

I finally managed to get a patch year tick this morning with a Reed Warbler singing, albeit rather half-heartedly, in the corner of West Pool. A single Common Sandpiper was on the northern causeway and the Coot was still present.
A return visit later in the day produced five Common Sandpipers on the dam and my first Swifts of the year with at least three over the reservoir. A Hobby was a nice find at the southern end.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 94 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 8 May

After having no opportunity to visit the reservoir for the past ten days I finally got a little under an hour on patch this evening. It was not that productive! A total of four Common Sandpiper were scattered across the site and the long-staying Coot was still on West Pool. A Kingfisher was seen in flight from the outflow screen going up over the dam and the semi-tame Mandarin pair are still hanging around the northern causeway. But nothing of real interest.