Sutton Bingham - Sun 13 Apr

Pete found a singing Cetti's Warbler in a private area of the reservoir yesterday, which I tried and fail to find, but today I got lucky and had a burst of song during a brief visit. A very scarce bird at Sutton Bingham, hopefully this one will hang around for a while. I also managed to connect with a Spring Willow Warbler that was half-heartedly singing in the car park a couple of days ago.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 90 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 10 Apr

The recent run of productive visits today (though I did miss a Wheatear yesterday) although at one stage a pair of Tufted Duck on West Pool looked like they were going to be the highlight. However, a trip round to the northeast corner turned up trumps as a Green Sandpiper was present with a Common Sandpiper.

Scanning the margin I then found another wader, this time a very smart Little Ringed Plover, a species that is pretty rare in Spring.

So a couple of quality patch year ticks today.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 88 species.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 8 Apr

Yesterday I managed to bag my first Common Sandpiper of the year and a Coot was present along the arm. Today I found not one, but two pairs of Reed Buntings. The first at the southern end and the second at the northern end...although I suppose it's not beyond the realms of possibility that they could have rapidly moved up the reservoir! There were also three Common Sandpipers today and four Tufted Duck (there have been a few over a recent days).
Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 86 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 5 Apr

A fairly productive visit today with a few additions to the year list, the first of which was Mandarin Duck with three drakes displaying to a rather uninterested looking duck on West Pool. In the car park a Blackcap was in full song and my third, and final, addition of the day was a Skylark heard singing up high somewhere near the Canoe Club (despite my best efforts I was unable to spot it).
A few Sand Martins passed through and a pair of Swallows seemed to be back on territory at the church.
Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 84 species.

Bowling Green Marsh RSPB - Fri 4 Apr

I had to go down to Exeter for an appointment this afternoon, so when I was all done I popped down to Topsham for a visit to Bowling Green Marsh RSPB, the first time I'd been to this reserve for a couple of years. Unfortunately, my timing was off as it was low tide so there were not many birds present, especially with regard to waders (I was hoping that the Long-billed Dowitcher would be present...it wasn't!).

However, it was a nice visit and I did have good views of four very sleepy Spoonbills.

On the pool a lone female Scaup was actively diving and was much more active than the Tufted Ducks that were also present. There wasn't much else of note, all routine fair really but nice to visit somewhere different.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 2 Apr

A pair of Shoveler were in the company of a drake Tufted Duck off the bottom of the car park this morning.

Having failed to see any Shoveler at Sutton Bingham last year, this is the second pair on the patch this year. The only other bird of note this morning was a fly-over Red Kite.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 1 Apr

I had the morning off work but still needed to get to the office for the afternoon, however, that did give me the opportunity to spend about an hour or so at the reservoir just after midday. It was a lovely sunny day, and out of the wind it was really warm, and this led me to think it may be a good day for raptors, and so it was with a single Red Kite seen and a bonus in the form of Goshawk (an increasingly regular visitor to the patch).
Over the water I saw a small number of Sand Martins and at least one Swallow, the latter being my first of the year. A lone Wigeon was at the southern end whilst a drake Tufted Duck was on West Pool.
A quick stop on the way home from work in the evening turned up another surprise, with a Dunlin on the northern causeway.

The Dunlin was extremely obliging and another welcome addition to the patch year list.
Sutton Bingham year list for 2025 now at 81 species.