Firecrest Failure!

Myself and Dave went to Conwy RSPB on Tuesday 27th. December hoping to see the 3 Firecrests that have been showing most days for the past 2 weeks. Sadly it wasnt to be although every other birder we spoke to seemed to have seen it! Oh well there's always the next time. We didnt focus on much else at the reserve but did see some Snipe and Curlew. On the way home we had a look at Llanddulas beach. As well as plenty of gulls we saw thousands of Common Scoter and several Goosanders and a Red throated Diver

Glossy Ibis!

Went to Leighton Moss ( again!!)  and were straight onto the Glossy Ibis showing very well near the rail crossing. We then went onto Heysham and got decent views of the juvenile Glaucous Gull and got some useful tips from local birder Pete Cook about where to go for the best views of the harbour. Then it was onto Fleetwood marine lake for the Long Tailed Duck. We also had the best views of a pair of Red Breasted Mergansers I have ever had!
Before returning home myself and cousin Dave decided to check out Marton mere. There were plenty of Teal, Pochard, and Wigeon. We also glimpsed a distant Sparrowhawk. Talking to some local birders they mentioned that a pair of Bewick Swans had been seen in a field close by and sure enough we located them along with 2 Mute Swans.
Overall an excellent day out in good warm conditions and a total of 4 new species to add to our lists.

Castleshaw Great Northern Diver

Managed to get some decent pics of the Diver at Castleshaw upper reservoir in atrocious wet conditions. Had to chase it all round the reservoir at it would briefly surface and then diver for over a minute and appear 30m away! Also of note were Reed Buntings  at the feeders

Marsh Tit

Me and Dave went to Leighton Moss today hoping to see the Glossy Ibis. No such look but we were kept entertained by great views of the Marsh Tits around the feeders. Other highlights were  Red-breasted Mergansers , Black-tailed Godwits and a Peregrine which got all the lapwings up. We also saw a party of 4 otters.
We also saw a bizarre looking pheasant( Reeve's) in Heysham on our way up and also failing to see the Glaucous gull present in the harbour yesterday.

Vagrant Day East Coast

Brilliant day working up the East coast of England today in poor weather and light conditions. Started at Bempton cliffs for the Desert Wheatear. Took some finding tucked into the rocks. Next was the drake Ring Necked Duck  near Billington at Cowpen Bewley Park. Then onto the Lesser Scaup at Marden near Tynemouth. Finally we got very lucky and bagged the Greater Yellowlegs at Cresswell. It had not been seen for some time when we arrived at 3pm but we kept scanning the flooded field and after 30 mins it appeared. We got good views but it was too dark to get any pics. A great day despite all the rain and the crap light hampering my photographic skills!

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Drake Smew

After 2 failed journeys to Calder Wetlands looking for the drake Smew I finally connected with one today at Wintersett Reservoir. It remained distant so the pictures wont win any awards but it looked great through the scope. Very satisfying to have seen my first drake.

Yellow Browed Warbler

Over to Conwy RSPB today and managed to get some decent views and half decent pics of the yellow browed warbler that has been there for a few days. Flighty bugger, very goldcrest in behaviour. One of only 2 in the country at present. Probably one of the last of the year so great to see and well worth the cost of diesel!