3rd January

Chillier but eventually brighter today after a weather front had passed through overnight. Merlin, Snipe and Great Skua all put in first appearances of the year at the Bill, where 10 Red-throated Divers and a Great Northern Diver also passed by on the sea and 10 Purple Sandpipers, the 2 Firecrests and the Blackcap were about on the land.

Although mild for a good part of the night it was way too windy to have expected much in the moth-traps - a lone Rusty-dot Pearl was all that made it into the Obs traps.

Long-tailed Tits seem to really numerous everywhere this winter, with it being suggested by some of the locals that there may well be more than 100 across the island as a whole; this group were visiting a feeder at Wakeham this afternoon © Martin Cade: