Sutton Bingham - Tue 30 Mar

The southern end of the reservoir was again the most productive during an early evening visit today. There had been heavy rain most of the day, so a visit just as the sun finally started to shine was well worth while. An initial look over the West Pool yielded thirteen Tufted Ducks and a small number of both Swallows and Sand Martins.
At the far southern end hirundine numbers were much higher, with over one hundred Swallows and at least thirty Sand Martins. A walk around the flooded wood resulted in several birds being seen. There appeared to have been a mini-fall of Chiffchaffs, with over ten seen, as well as a couple in song. I also saw at least two Willow Warblers and three Goldcrests. A single Treecreeper was seen, as was a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
On the water a pair of Mandarin were present, and three Teal were also seen. Two more Tufted Duck were also present.
A male Kestrel flew over and was later seen perched up on a telegraph pole. Finally, three Grey Herons were flushed from the water's edge.
On the mammal front, six Roe Deer were present and a Red Fox was seen.

Ham Wall RSPB and Meare Heath NR - Sun 28 Mar

Ellie and I popped out for an afternoon walk along the drove at Ham Wall RSPB. At least one Bittern was heard booming and a Blackcap was in full song alongside the path. We were also treated to a very close view of a singing Cetti's Warbler.
After reaching the tea rooms and having a well deserved tea and cake break, we walked back to the car and then on to the partially drained lagoon at Meare Heath.
On the lagoon there were a couple of Redshanks and Lapwings and about fifty Black-tailed Godwits. I could also hear another booming Bittern. A pair of Sparrowhawks drifted overhead.
UK list for 2010 now at 156 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 28 Mar

A mid morning trip produced the first Swallows of the year that I'd seen at the reservoir, with one over West Pool and another five at the southern end. The Dark-bellied Brent Goose that I saw ten days ago was again present, this time on the northern causeway.
Also on West Pool, five Tufted Ducks with a further ten at the far southern end of the reservoir where there were three Teal also. The first Willow Warbler of the year was a new arrival in the trees again at the south end with a couple of Chiffchaffs, a calling Nuthatch and a few Long-tailed Tits gathering nesting material. Four Snipe were flushed from the water's edge.
A female Reed Bunting was in the waterside willows.

Radipole RSPB, Lodmoor RSPB and Rodden Hive - Sat 27 Mar

As I didn't have to work today, Ellie and I took advantage of the nice weather and headed down to Weymouth. We drove straight down to Radipole RSPB and took a walk around the reserve. We were hoping to see a few migrants, but birds were thin on the ground. A few Cetti's Warblers were singing and we did manage a cracking view of one. As we were returning to the car we bumped in to a mate of mine who pointed out an Alpine Swift flying overhead!
After such a great find we drove round to Lodmoor RSPB and had our picnic lunch. A quick scout over the reserve failed to produce any much of note, and a passing birder told us there was little about. So we decided against a walk around the reserve and drove off to Langton Herring for a walk instead.
We parked up in the village and walked out to Rodden Hive, the site where I had successfully twitched the Bufflehead earlier in the month. As we neared the water's edge we met a couple of birders and asked if they had seen the Hoopoe that had been in the area for the last week or so. Fortunately, they had just seen it, but it had moved out of site. So we all walked on a few yards and luck was with us as the Hoopoe was feeding on the path right in front of us. We watched it for about fifteen minutes and whilst doing so a Swallow flew overhead. With time pressing on we decided to head on home.

Sutton Bingham - Thurs 25 Mar

A brief evening visit produced just ten Wigeon and ten Tufted Ducks plus a pair of Little Grebes on the West Pool.
A Peregrine was seen with prey at the southern end of the reservoir, and a female Sparrowhawk drifted over the reservoir.
There were no gulls coming in to bathe, but somewhere in the region of two hundred Herring Gulls passed south over the reservoir between 6.00pm and 6.30pm.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 22 Mar

A pre-work visit between 7.40am and 8.10am started off slowly with just six Wigeon seen feeding on the water's edge near the dam. West Pool still hosted the eight Tufted Duck that were present the night before, and another male Tufted Duck was on the main reservoir.
At the southern end a little bit more interest with what was probably a second Chiffchaff in territory near the hide, some distance from the bird that was singing last night. Both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard calling.
In the horse paddock opposite the pull-in south of the hide, a couple of late Redwings and a Fieldfare were feeding, and then a real surprise, a male Ring Ouzel joined them on the ground and spent a good five minutes or so feeding with the other thrushes.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 21 Mar

An early evening visit failed to produce anything major, and the gull numbers were well down on recent evenings. There were about one hundred Herring Gulls and twenty or so Lesser Black-backed Gulls present, the "white" gull seen last week has not been seen again.
On West Pool there were still just under thirty Wigeon and eight Tufted Ducks. A single Little Grebe was also on West Pool with another two on the main reservoir.
At the southern end of the reservoir a drake Mandarin was seen in the dense vegetation along with three Teal. A Chiffchaff was in full song, presumably a recently arrived migrant. Finally, a total of thirty-three Snipe were flushed from the waters edge as I walked along.