30th October

A pleasant surprise this morning came in the reappearance of the Red-breasted Flycatcher ringed on Wednesday; given the inclement weather we hadn't had high hopes for this tiny migrant on the lookout for insects but the Obs garden has obviously offered just enough shelter from the howling gales and seemingly permanent drizzle. Other highlights were hard to come by, but the wintering Purple Sandpiper flock has upped to five and a lone Red-throated Diver was the only bird of note on the morning's sea watch. Away from the Bill, a Grey Phalarope was briefly at Ferrybridge with 245 Dark-bellied Brents and seven Pale-bellied Brent Geese; 3 Great Northern Divers were back in Portland Harbour, the Rosy Starling once again graced the rooftops of Easton, whilst a Firecrest was new at Avalanche Road and a Black Redstart appeared in Southwell.