Sutton Bingham - Wed 31 Aug

A half hour visit before work failed to produce much of note. Two Green Sandpipers were on West Pool with another at the southern end. Also from seen from the area in front of the hide, four Common Sandpipers and ten Teal. A single Sand Martin flew through heading south and a Stock Dove passed by overhead.

Meare Heath NNR - Sun 29 Aug

After a relaxing morning recovering from a late night at the local pub, Ellie and I set off to the Somerset Levels after lunch and took a walk out to Meare Heath. We sat on a bench overlooking the drained lagoon in the hope of seeing the very elusive Spotted Crake that had been present for a couple of days. However, the closest we got was a Water Rail. Also on the lagoon amongst large numbers of Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwings I saw both Redshank and Spotted Redshank, a Green Sandpiper, and a couple of Ruff. A female Garganey was also present.
I walked Ellie back to the car so that she could rest in a comfortable seat before walking back out to the hide overlooking Noah's Lake. I saw my target bird straight away, an Osprey perched on a dead tree. I had only been watching it for a short while when it took off, and I was then treated to three fishing attempts by the Osprey, though all three were unsuccessful.
Leaving the hide and walking back to the car I tried and failed again to see the Spotted Crake, but had enjoyed a pleasant afternoon out.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 28 Aug

After dropping Ellie off at church I spent an hour at the reservoir, making straight for the hide and scanning across the exposed mud. Three Green Sandpipers and six Common Sandpipers were present, and the juvenile Ringed Plover was still about. The adult Yellow-legged Gull was again seen briefly and a Little Egret was sat with the mass of Cormorants and Grey Herons. A total of eight Teal were seen, so a few more had arrived overnight. Several Chiffchaffs were flitting around in the various trees and bushes, though whether these are passage birds or local breeders is anyone's guess. Before I knew it my time was up and I had to head on back to pick up Ellie.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 27 Aug

After a morning in the supermarket followed by chilling out in front of the TV watching the Grand Prix qualifying I decided against a trip to the Somerset Levels and stayed close to home, popping up to the reservoir for an hour.
There was nothing of note on West Pool or from the northern causeway so I went on down to the south and set up my 'scope near the hide. There were a few waders about, with four Common Sandpipers, two Green Sandpipers and a juvenile Ringed Plover. But the surprise find was a Spotted Redshank.
As I watched the waders all hell broke lose as a Peregrine suddenly swooped in and sent everything flying. The Spotted Redshank took to the air calling and after starting off north gained height, banked round and vanished to the south.
The adult Yellow-legged Gull made a brief appearance and a female Sparrowhawk soared overhead. More excitment in the form of a Yellow Wagtail bathing on the water's edge. At least one more was heard calling as it flew overhead.
A small party of six Ruddy Ducks were also present, I have waited 24 hours before reporting these (they were not present the following day) as DEFRA would be sure to turn up and blast these delightful birds out of existence should they become aware of their presence.

I then drove round to the Water Treatment Works as I hadn't visited this part of the site for a while. A female Grey Wagtail was by the water outlet and a Chiffchaff was seen picking insects from the leaves of an Oak tree. Around the outflow stream there were a number of damselflies, with both Beautiful Demoiselle and Banded Demoiselle seen. With my stomach rumbling I headed on home for tea.

Sutton Bingham - Thu 25 Aug

A visit before work today as I was hoping that heavy overnight rain might have forced something to drop in. Yet again, it hadn't! On West Pool there was a single Green Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper whilst it was pretty much as you were at the southern end.
The Great Black-backed Gull was still present as were the adult and juvenile Ringed Plovers. The two Green Sandpipers hadn't gone anywhere and there were still five Common Sandpipers about. The single Wigeon was also seen.
One amazing bit of action this morning as about half a dozen House Martins had somehow got themselves "beached" in the mud on the water's edge and this left them completely powerless as both a Grey Heron and a Black-headed Gull saw them as an easy meal. I have no idea how or why the House Martins landed on this sticky mud, the only thing I can think is that they came down to drink and their feathers got caked up and water-logged leaving them unable to fly away.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 24 Aug

Having not visited the reservoir for five days I popped up after work and made straight for the southern end where there was quite a bit going on. There were still four Common Sandpipers and two Green Sandpipers present but an adult and juvenile Ringed Plover were new arrivals. The adult Yellow-legged Gull was still about but the real surprise was an adult Great Black-backed Gull, a very scarce visitor to Sutton Bingham. A sign that winter is on the way, with six Teal and a single Wigeon having turned up. Finally, a Little Egret was also at the southern end.
I drove back up to the northern causeway and a second Little Egret was seen as it flew over the car. Another Green Sandpiper was present on West Pool and was the only other bird of note this afternoon.

Sutton Bingham - Fri 19 Aug

I made a late visit to the reservoir this evening and made for the southern end where there were four Common Sandpipers, two Green Sandpipers and a Dunlin present. The adult Yellow-legged Gull was still about, as was the female Teal. A juvenile Little Egret flew in for a while before flying in to the trees presumably to roost.
At the northern end there were a further two Little Egrets and on West Pool another Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper. Just as I was leaving four Mandarin flew over heading north.
A new sighting for me at the reservoir tonight as I saw a Hare in one of the fields neighbouring the site. There were also several Roe Deer and a Grey Squirrel was attacking a hazel tree looking for nuts.