26th December

We've been absent or otherwise engaged quite a lot just lately so a brief catch-up this evening. Today's odds and ends included 3 Fieldfares and singles of Grey Heron, Shelduck, Short-eared Owl and Redwing at the Bill, 20 Common Scoter still settled offshore there and 3 Black-necked Grebes, 2 Great Northern Divers and a Slavonian Grebe in Portland Harbour. It's otherwise been very samey for the last week, with the only notables being 6 Golden Plover at Ferrybridge on 25th and up to 30 Greenfinches there daily.

Yesterday's little group of Golden Plovers that dropped in at Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:



Settled Greenfinches have been all but absent around the island in recent weeks (...and in fact for long periods of the year as a whole) so up to 30 that have appeared at Ferrybridge have been a welcome sight © Debby Saunders: