Sutton Bingham - Sun 29 Jun

A morning at the reservoir produced two Common Sandpipers on the northern causeway, the first returning birds and a sign of Autumn Migration...in late June! A Kingfisher flew across the reservoir and was lost to view near the Sailing Club and a Little Egret was perched up on the water's edge.
I spent the most of the rest of my time on site concentrating on the southern end of the reservoir where on the water a couple of drake Tufted Ducks. Nine Stock Doves were feeding on one of the newly mown fields and around Cotton Bridge a Marsh Tit was seen alongside a fairly large family party of Blackcaps. At least one Treecreeper was heard and a Kingfisher put on a bit of a show.
I then returned to the car and drove round to the Water Treatment Works where a Grey Wagtail and a Little Egret were feeding in the outflow stream, my third Kingfisher of the day zoomed along the stream and rounded off a nice trip out on patch on the bird front. It was also a pretty good morning for insects with Banded Demoiselle and Broad-bodied Chaser seen at the outflow stream, whilst elsewhere on site both Azure Damselfly and Blue-tailed Damselfly. Butterflies were also present in good numbers with my first Ringlet of the year and a few Small Skippers alongside good numbers of Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and Small Tortoiseshells.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 22 Jun

My first proper visit to Sutton Bingham for about a month and a few things of interest, surprisingly given the fact it's mid-June. The southern end of the reservoir played host to a female Mandarin with one juvenile bird, so looks like they bred successfully at the reservoir this year. A drake Tufted Duck was also present and Great Crested Grebes seem to have had a good season with at least twenty young birds present. A Kingfisher also whizzed by as I was scanning the area from the southern causeway.
From the northern causeway it was pretty quiet, though a Hobby was soaring overhead before gathering pace and flying south. Also flying through a single Little Egret, again going south.
Lots of butterflies on the wing today, with my Marbled Whites of year alongside lots of Meadow Browns and a few Small Tortoiseshells. I also saw a single Small Skipper.

Fingringhoe Sand Quarry - Wed 18 Jun

This afternoon I stayed close to the cottage and popped along to the sand quarry. It was pretty quiet though there were a few bumblebees around, I could identify the White-tailed Bumblebee easily enough but the other species was a little more tricky and I think they were Red-shanked Bumblebees...but I'll happily stand corrected! Just round the corner from the sand quarry was the barn where I had seen the Little Owl a couple of days earlier, so I stopped off and within a few minutes two Little Owls put in an appearance.

 

Also from this site I saw a distant Marsh Harrier, a nice way to end the day.

Flatford - Wed 18 Jun

A trip in to Suffolk this morning and a visit to Flatford, the location of the mill in John Constable's painting "The Hay Wain". It was a lovely spot and unknown to me there was a small RSPB reserve, really just a wildlife garden, but very pretty if only home to commoner birds.
Whilst sat enjoying a coffee a Kingfisher flew down the river and a Lesser Whitethroat could be heard singing. I also noted a couple of Banded Demoiselles and a Broad-bodied Chaser. So not a lot to see on the bird front but a very interesting spot and a enjoyable morning out.

Fingringhoe Wick EWT - Tue 17 Jun

Back out after breakfast and another visit to Fingringhoe Wick, this time I concentrated on the eastern edge of the reserve and this paid dividends as I had some amazing views of purring Turtle Doves, at least two birds were singing and another two were seen in flight. Brilliant stuff! Unfortunately the pose for the camera (digi-binned today!) was limited to its tail end!

Walking round to overlook the estuary produced an Essex Skipper, a new butterfly for me, whilst on the estuary waders included Redshank, Curlew and a few Grey Plover. As I returned to the car a Cuckoo was singing, a Garden Warbler put in a brief appearance, and the small pond near the visitor centre held a Little Grebe feeding a youngster.

Abberton Reservoir - Tue 17 Jun

Our cottage was not far from the large Abberton Reservoir, and this morning I decided to pay the site a visit before breakfast. There are two causeways that cross the reservoir and I started on the eastern causeway where scoping across the water I could see several Common Terns feeding over the water. There were also good numbers of Greylag Geese, Canada Geese and Mute Swans. A Little Ringed Plover was sat on a shingle area and hardly moved during my stay, so I presume it was on eggs.

A Corn Bunting was a nice surprise as it perched on a barbed wire fence and a couple of Linnets flew over.
I then moved down to the western causeway, known locally as Layer Breton causeway. From here I could hear a purring Turtle Dove, but couldn't see it. I did see a very smart male Yellow Wagtail though feeding on the causeway and four Egyptian Geese were resting on one of the small islands.
A return visit at the end of the day produced two Green Sandpipers from Layer Breton causeway

Fingringhoe Wick EWT - Sun 15 Jun

Sure enough a day later I found myself back at Finringhoe Wick reserve. It was a lovely hot afternoon but my timing was off again as I arrived on site with a little under an hour before the reserve shut for the day! So it was a quick walk around the centre of the reserve today where I was treated to some wonderful views of a singing Lesser Whitethroat and heard another singing Nightingale.
The approach road had produced another Little Owl, this time hanging out around a barn, and a fly-over male Marsh Harrier.