8th December

Unbroken sunshine made for much more enjoyable birding today and there were a couple of surprises in the form of a Yellow-browed Warbler at Pennsylvania Castle and an overflying Goosander at Easton; a Lapwing was also new at the Bill where the first skua of the month - inevitably a Bonxie - was lingering offshore and another 10 Red-throated Divers passed by. As usual, the Rosy Starling at Easton was easily the best of the long-stayers, with the 2 Redpolls and the Merlin still at the Bill, at least 4 Black Redstarts scattered about and the Red-necked Grebe and 2 Black-throated Divers still amongst the mix in Portland Harbour.

Although the last sighting of one there was more than three weeks ago, there's always a chance that the Yellow-browed Warbler at Pennsylvania Castle was a resurfacing lingerer; however, the Penn's watched nearly every day and the bird was very vocal so it seems much more likely that it was a new arrival © Martin Adlam Port and Wey: