Avalon Marshes - Sun 28 Jan

A day out with friends today and a trip to the Avalon Marshes, or Somerset Levels as I've always called them!

We started off with a stop at Wetmoor where there were loads of birds and amongst the gathered wildfowl we found four Bewick's Swans, a great start to the morning, but that paled to insignificance when a stunning male Hen Harrier flew across the moor in front of us...things don't get much better than that. A lone Cattle Egret was also noted as well as around thirty Common Cranes.

We then headed off to the West Sedgemoor RSPB reserve where the pick of the birds were at least two Marsh Harriers and around nine of so Great White Egrets but generally speaking not the numbers of birds we saw at Wetmoor, though a large flock of Golden Plover did take to the air at one point with a loads of Lapwings, a pretty impressive site.

Off then to Ashcott Corner, via a slight diversion that did produce five Scaup on Long Drove and a party of Siskin feeding in a small clump of alders. Parking at Ham Wall RSPB we walked out to Meare Heath to check Noah's Lake where three Whooper Swans had been present all morning in, but it turns out we missed them by 20 minutes and were unable to relocate them at their other favoured site, so a disappointing miss.

Not a lot else to add to the list of birds as the day progressed, but a wonderful time out with friends and some decent birds to boot.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 21 Jan

A decent stomp around various parts of the reservoir this afternoon and it did produce some decent patch birds. A Woodcock was put up from a private area towards the south of the reservoir, an area that has produced Woodcock in the past so I'll be keeping my eye on that particular patch.

I the had a look around parts of West Pool flushing some twenty or so Snipe and, to my delight, a single Jack Snipe.

To be honest there was nothing else of note to be seen as the water continues to attract much in, though there were around 130 Wigeon at the southern end.

Sutton Bingham year list for 21024 now at 63 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 20 Jan

A late afternoon visit produced the highest gull numbers that I've seen at the reservoir for many weeks with the pick being an impressive count of thirty-three Mediterranean Gulls. Three Tufted Ducks were present off the northern causeway.
It's also worth noting that I successfully twitched a Coot on patch earlier in the month, but didn't feel it quite warranted a separate blog posting!
Sutton Bingham year list for 2024 now at 59 species.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 1 Jan

So another year starts and I spent a couple of hours at the reservoir this morning where I made a fairly good start to the new year list. Starting new the Fishing Lodge I noticed a duck out in the middle of the reservoir on its own, it was a female Pintail, a species I missed in 2023 so was thrilled to pick one up on the first day of the year. A total of thirty-nine Wigeon were present, still significantly down on usual winter numbers. At the southern end I picked up around fifty Teal and a pair of Mandarin whilst overhead a Stock Dove flew by. A Marsh Tit was heard calling, but I couldn't pin it down, likewise with a calling Siskin. Along the arm a pair of Stonechats were present. All in all an enjoyable visit this morning, made all the better with it being the first day of a new year.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2024 now at 47 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 31 Dec

Well having not visited the reservoir much recently due to other commitments, moving house and work taking up far too much time, I did pop up to Sutton Bingham today to see if I could add any last minute year ticks, I couldn't. The "best" birds on offer were a pair of Gadwall off the northern causeway, nothing else of note at all today. The Wigeon flock was at the southern end and numbered just thirty-two birds, I guess floods on the Somerset Levels mean there are less wildfowl elsewhere.

So 2023 finishes with a whimper, it's been a terribly poor Autumn and early Winter on the patch with just eight species added in the second half of the year, my worst ever return for that time period. That being said, I added a new bird to the patch list, with the Forster's Tern back in April and also had just my second Pied Flycatcher and Wood Warbler for the patch, throw in a couple of rare raptors with Honey Buzzard and Goshawk and it makes for a decent year in parts. I did have some gaping holes in the list this year having missed Kestrel, Whinchat and Yellow Wagtail amongst others (eleven species missed in total this year that other observers had seen).

So that's it for another year, and it will all start again tomorrow. Happy New Year to you all and I wish you a prosperous and joy-filled 2024.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2023 now at 116 species.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 11 Dec

A quick stop on the way home form work in what now seems to be typically dismal weather produced two Cattle Egrets roosting in trees below the car park and viewable form the northern causeway. Amazing that what was once a very rare visitor to the school (my first was only in 2020) is now becoming fairly regular, but I guess it's not that surprising given the massive increase in numbers in Somerset over recent years.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 7 Dec

I suppose I should apologise for the lack of Blog postings over the past month, but it's simply down to the fact that I've not had much opportunity to visit the reservoir and when I have there has been nothing of note to see. November was a terribly quiet month for me, with occasional sightings of a Common Sandpiper and the long-staying pair of Egyptian Geese being about it.
My first December visit, in pouring rain, did turn up a real patch scarcity today though, with a drake Goldeneye present at the northern end. Get this for a record photo:

I've seen very few Goldeneye at Sutton Bingham, this being just my fourth (and second drake), so it was a real joy to find it.
Sutton Bingham year for 2023 now at 116 species.