26th December

Portland Bill Red-throated Diver 1e 1w, Common Scoter 4etc, Merlin 1, Black Redstart 1, Blackcap 1, Chiffchaff 1.

Ferrybridge Dark-bellied Brent 90, Pale-bellied Brent 4, Shelduck 2, Bar-tailed Godwit 6.

It looks rather like the four resident Bar-tailed Godwits at Ferrybridge still haven't taken to suddenly being joined by two of their congeners © Pete Saunders:


John Martin's kindly sent us through this photo of a Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly settled beside the 'new' pool in the Crown Estate Field back at the end of August. Although largely confined in Dorset to sites around the Poole Basin, this species has persisted at times at several sites around Weymouth and even once for a few years in the early 1990s at Yeolands Quarry. It seems to favour poorly vegetated ephemeral pools and wet flushes so it'll be interesting to see if it persists in this spot © John Martin: