Sutton Bingham - Mon 15 Aug

A pre-work stop was worthwhile as Pete messaged me to say he had found a Sedge Warbler, a bird he knew I needed for the year. Fortunately he helped me stake it out and after a thirty minute search it finally gave itself up and afforded excellent views.
Ten Teal were at the southern end with a single Green Sandpiper and eight Common Sandpipers plus a Snipe was seen in flight. Yesterday's Wood Sandpiper was still on West Pool.
A return lunchtime trip produced two Whinchat south of Cotton Bridge, another great find by Pete.

Two Wood Sandpipers were present on opposite sides of the northern causeway (I missed the second one earlier in the day) and a couple of Green Sandpipers were seen. what appears to be a "new" Ringed Plover was seen flying in by Ash mid-morning and was still at there during my visit.

So another profitable day today and another two additions to the year list, thanks to Pete's help.

Sutton Bingham patch list for 2022 now at 113 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 14 Aug

Another early morning visit today and again it paid off with a Ringed Plover at the southern end of the reservoir, another new bird for the year list.

A little more interest with a Black-tailed Godwit viewable, albeit a little distant, from the northern causeway.

There were also seven Common Sandpipers scattered across the site.
A message later in the day meant a return visit in the evening to see a Wood Sandpiper that Pete had found on West pool, so my second new wader today. Despite some wonderful views the light was always a little poor to get the type of top quality images you are used to.

Another look at the southern end whilst on site produced two Green Sandpipers and two Teal (a third dropped in at the north end for about ten seconds before flying west). This morning's Ringed Plover was still present.
So another decent day on the patch today.
Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 111 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 13 Aug

An early morning visit turned up trumps with a patch lifer in the form of a Pied Flycatcher! Number One on my most wanted list for Sutton Bingham I have finally nailed one of these beauties. It was associating with a Spotted Flycatcher at the southern end along the hedgerow opposite the gateway past the southern causeway, but was always rather distant...nevertheless I grabbed a couple of photos for posterity.

After the excitement of the Pied Flycatcher everything else was going to pale in comparison and all I could find was a single Green Sandpiper and six Common Sandpipers.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 109 species.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 12 Aug

I went back for more White Stork action this morning, it seemed rude not to.

A quick look around the rest of the reservoir failed to turn up anything else of note.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 11 Aug

A quick stop on my way home last night at 9.00pm produced a Greenshank at the southern end but this evening there was a lot more excitement as a flock of thirty-one White Storks appeared at the back of West Pool, so I simply had to pop over and take a look.

Unfortunately these were not genuine "wild" birds but were part of the release scheme based at the Knepp Estate in West Sussex and were captive bred for the project. All the birds were colour ringed, though they were too distant to read. So not a year tick but a wonderful sight nonetheless.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 8 Aug

A stop before work this morning produced a very smart Dunlin feeding on the water's edge at the southern end, however, it didn't hang around and soon took to the air and flew strongly south.

There were still seven Common Sandpipers across the site and a return visit in the afternoon turned up a Snipe at the southern end.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 6 Aug

The two Little Ringed Plover lingered until the 1 August but since then there have been very few birds at the reservoir. A mid-morning visit today produced a Greenshank that was present at the northern end for a while before it took flight and was lost to view. Other than that just half a dozen or so Common Sandpipers were seen today.