Sutton Bingham - Thu 31 Aug

A quick visit this morning failed to produce an end of August surprise, but a single Common Sandpiper was noted on the northern causeway. A stop at the Fishing Lodge produced a second Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper whilst three Little Egrets and a Kingfisher were also noted.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 29 Aug

A flying visit this morning on the way to work and a patch lifer! A Marbled Teal was on the northern causeway, and what a cracking little duck. Unfortunately it had a yellow ring on the left leg, so an obvious escapee but lovely to see none the less.

The only other birds of note this morning were a single Common Sandpiper and two Little Egrets.
A return visit on the way home from work produced another year tick, this time in the form of three Yellow Wagtails in and around the horse paddock south of West Pool.

With good numbers of Yellow Wagtails being reported from the south coast over the past few days, I was hopeful that one would drop in to the reservoir. Always a nice bird to add to the patch year list.
The Marbled Teal was still present in the far corner of West Pool.
Sutton Bingham year list 2017 now at 105 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 27 Aug

A slightly earlier visit to the reservoir today as I arrived on site soon after 6.30am. Starting at the northern causeway I was treated to a couple of close views of two Kingfishers as they flew around. Two Common Sandpipers were also present but there was little else...until a flock of Mallard flew south from the north-east corner of the reservoir and in with them a medium sized wader. However, it was much too far away for me to have any chance of identifying it so what followed was a mad dash to the southern end of the reservoir in the unlikely hope it had found somewhere to settle, but it hadn't! One that got away and a rather frustrating start to the visit. However, a Sedge Warbler was a nice find and a Peregrine was on one of the pylons. Finally, a third Kingfisher was noted.
After a decent walk I drove back to the northern causeway to check the various fence lines, etc. for migrants (of which there were none) when I heard a tern calling, and then to my surprise two adult Sandwich Terns suddenly appeared and eventually settled on the northern causeway not far from the car.

After last year's adult bird it was a real treat to get this scarce Sutton Bingham visitor on the year list again so soon. The two Sandwich Terns were then joined by a Common Tern before all three were lost to view and I didn't see them again during my time on the patch.
NB: Both Sandwich Terns were ringed, but one (in heavier winter moult) bore a dark blue ring with EFS in white. I have logged this and it will be interesting to find out where the bird was from.
I then set off for the Fishing Lodge and a quick check of the dam where a further two Common Sandpipers were present. A Hobby then passed through heading east, my first at the reservoir since the early summer. One of the adult Great Black-backed Gulls was also seen this morning and a total of four Little Egrets were noted.
Sutton Bingham year list 2017 now at 104 species.

Update: The Sandwich Tern with the colour ring EFS was ringed on 13 June 2013 as a chick at Forvie NNR on the Ythan Estuary in NE Scotland, some 715km from Sutton Bingham, as the tern flies!

Sutton Bingham - Fri 25 Aug

After a very quiet visit yesterday morning, today was much better. Unbelievably I notched up the sixth Wheatear of the year, with a bird in fields behind the Canoe Club. Whilst watching the Wheatear, a Green Sandpiper flew over calling. So two decent patch birds in the space of a few minutes. There were still two Common Sandpipers around the northern causeway and West Pool, whilst a couple of Little Egrets were also noted. There was a good movement of hirundines with several Sand Martin mixed in with numerous Swallows. Finally, a Cormorant was having one mighty battle with a fish it caught.

I watched the contest for several minutes and it looked as if the bird gave up eventually, though whether the fish survived is anyone's guess.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 23 Aug

A morning visit before work today and I concentrated on the northern causeway simply because there was a fair bit going on. A juvenile Common Tern was present on the causeway and showed really well at times. It spent most of the time on the causeway itself with occasional jaunts over the main reservoir. After about half an hour or so a second juvenile Common Tern suddenly appeared and after "collecting" the original bird, they flew over West Pool and were lost to sight.

Also this morning, the first four Teal of the "winter" were present on West Pool and a total of five Common Sandpipers were seen.

Sutton Bingham - Tue 22 Aug

There's not been much happening at the reservoir over the past week, certainly nothing that warranted a blog posting. However, something a bit different today with a Green Sandpiper present on West Pool before it took to the air and flew off high to the west. A single Common Sandpiper was also on West Pool whilst three Little Egrets and a Kingfisher were seen on the main reservoir. There were also several Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers around this morning, though I couldn't find anything more unusual amidst them.
A check of the area around the dam on the way home from work this evening failed to produce much more than a few Linnet and a Common Sandpiper. However, driving round to the northern causeway I found a Wheatear just to the south of West Pool.

This is my fifth Wheatear of 2017, and the second bird this autumn. I think I have now seen more this year than in the last 15 years combined!

Sutton Bingham - Wed 16 Aug

A bit more interest today with the highlight being a Sedge Warbler in vegetation along the water's edge near the Canoe Club, a much welcome addition to the patch year list. Sedge Warblers bred on the site as recently as 2014, but over the past couple of years have been noted solely as a passage migrant.
Also this morning, another Common Tern initially seen at the southern end of the reservoir before it flew north. A total of seven Common Sandpipers were also about today and three Little Egrets were noted. Finally, a couple of Kingfishers were seen.
Sutton Bingham year list 2017 now at 103 species.