Sutton Bingham - Thu 28 Apr

Two pairs of Shoveler were present yesterday evening but a little more interest today with a Hobby flying over the reservoir early afternoon and a welcome addition to the patch year list, especially as I only had a single Hobby sighting last year. A total of four Common Sandpipers were present this afternoon whilst other birds of interest included a pair of Mandarin on the northern causeway, a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls and a "new" singing Lesser Whitethroat on the railway embankment.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 92 species.

Sutton Bingham - Mon 25 Apr

Another scarce goose this evening at Sutton Bingham as I found a pair of Greylag Geese present off the dam, always rather distant, but a great addition to the patch year list and an inspired decision to stop off on my way home from work.

A single Common Sandpiper was on the northern causeway but there was nothing else of note during my brief stop.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 91 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 24 Apr

A message this morning just as I was getting ready to go to church meant a slight detour to the reservoir to see a Barnacle Goose that had arrived overnight and was hanging out with a couple of Canada Geese. Having missed a brief one last year it was nice to connect with this one, found by Pete Akers earlier in the day.

A lone Common Sandpiper was on the northern causeway but very little else around, not that I had much time to check.

A return visit later at lunchtime and the Barnacle Goose was still present and a Little Egret had appeared in the field at the back of West Pool, another year tick!

My third and final visit of the day in the evening failed to anything else to the day's tally.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 90 species.

Sutton Bingham - Sat 23 Apr

A very quick stop on the way to work this morning turned up an Osprey over the northern end of the reservoir. Initially over the water in front of the Fishing Lodge it made a couple of half-hearted and aborted fishing attempts before drifting towards me as I stood on the northern causeway and then flew off to the west where it was lost to view. I tried to get a few pictures through my binoculars but in the end had to settle for these!

Having missed an Osprey at the end of March whilst I was on holiday in Cornwall it was great to see one today. Always such a great bird to see.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 88 species.

Sutton Bingham - Thu Apr 21

A few brief visits over the past week have produced a few new birds for the patch year list. At lease two Tawny Owls were very vocal during a late night visit on 16 April, with my first Blackcap of the year seen earlier in the day. On 18 April I heard singing Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat and five Common Sandpipers were present.

Today I spent a couple of hours on site but saw very little. Just three Common Sandpipers were noted and there were singles of Great Black-backed Gull and Coot.

A pair of Mandarin were again on the northern causeway and several more Blackcaps have arrived on site.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 86 species.

Sutton Bingham - Wed 13 Apr

A few flying visits over the past couple of days have not really produced anything much of note, however, an evening visit on Monday at around 9.00pm did throw up a bit of interest with a very strange call coming from near the Canoe Club which sounded very much like it could have been a Barn Owl but I was unable to nail it down or get a recording, which was very frustrating.

Yesterday there was a Willow Warbler at the Fishing Lodge and around a hundred Sand Martins over the reservoir.

Today it was really quiet first thing with just a couple of Skylarks seen and a pair of Mandarin off the northern causeway.

The car park is still closed so access to the site is almost non-existent meaning no chance to check the scrub and bushes for migrants.

Sutton Bingham - Sun 10 Apr

After a very busy weekend I finally got a chance to visit Sutton Bingham early evening and it turned out to be a rather profitable visit. I started in the north-east corner where a flock of around fifty or so hirundines were feeding over the dam and whilst the majority were Sand Martins I also connected with my first Swallows and House Martins of the year. A lone Common Sandpiper was feeding along the water's edge (two more were present on the southern causeway). A Raven flew over and a pair of Linnets showed well and three Tufted Duck were on the main reservoir.

From the northern causeway a Little Grebe and a Coot were present whilst at the southern end a pair of Wigeon were still lingering and a pair of Mandarin flew north. A scan of the area from the Cane Club produced a Kestrel which was an unexpected surprise, this is a hard species to see at Sutton Bingham nowadays, especially as they bred on site only a few years ago.

Sutton Bingham year list for 2022 now at 84 species.