26th - 28th December 2024

Saturday, 28th December: The settled spell of high pressure continues, bringing anti-cyclonic gloom and grey overcast skies with it, though it remains generally mild. Wind very light N/NW 1-2, with murky conditions, though thankfully not foggy along the coast locally today.

I should mention here that yesterday I abandoned the local area to go twitching, making an early-morning start and heading to Ham Hill WTW, New Hythe GPs, Kent. It was mainly foggy and cold all day and after arrival a long wait of nearly five hours ensued, before the star rarity - an American Yellow Warbler - eventually showed itself briefly just a few times, before disappearing again. Never mind, mission accomplished and I set off for home on a high, with a warm and happy glow. That was to change when I reached the M20/M26/M25 - a really massive traffic jam and my expected journey time of about two hours took about four. I was still happy but completely knackered when I got back.

Part of the crowd trying to see the rare warbler mentioned above, near a sewage works....which may be a bit of a shock to any non-birders reading this! Such is the attraction of a top-class rarity, known in birding circles as a 'mega'. It was a bit of a scramble at times, but the crowd was well behaved.

Elmer Rocks: After yesterday's exertions I took it a bit easy this morning, not arriving at the local beach much before 09:00 and planning a gentle stroll to blow away the cobwebs, so to speak. As it turned out, it was a much better and busier morning than expected, with the high tide and flat calm sea assisting observations...

Gannet - 3E, 7W

Great Crested Grebe - 8 o/s

Red-throated Diver - a peak of at least 16 o/s, 20E & 5W

Wigeon - 3 o/s

Velvet Scoter - 1W

Red-breasted Merganser - 45 o/s at various ranges from close to quite distant; some males displaying

Razorbill - c.100 W and/or o/s

Auk sp - c.100 W, more distant but probably most or all also Razorbills

Turnstone - 65 in two flocks dropped onto rock islands

Sanderling - 10 with Turnstones

Ringed Plover - 25 on rock islands

Pied Wagtail - two behind beach

Chiffchaff - 1 in tamarisk bushes along path

Gloomy conditions for photos, but (above) Red-throated Diver, (below) Turnstones and a few Sanderling arriving and (bottom two) Red-breasted Mergansers offshore

Boxing Day, Thursday, 26th December 2024: A fairly calm but dismally grey and very mild day, with high pressure dominating and producing persistent damp conditions with low drizzly cloud throughout.

Bilsham farm: I didn't venture out until I needed to get some fresh air by early afternoon, making only a visit to the reservoir area and adjoining fields. There wasn't much change since my last visit - hardly surprising give the mild conditions - and I logged only 21 Tufted Ducks, two Shoveler, three Little Grebes and 65 Coots. Gull numbers were average and consisted of the regular species, including four Mediterranean and 40 Common Gulls.

Around the periphery were just a couple of Pied Wagtails and Meadow Pipits. A flock of c.70 Linnets and a few Skylarks flew up from a crop field before flying off and a single Stonechat completed a rather dreary outing.

Tufted Ducks were the only highlight on a dreary afternoon at Bilsham reservoir; note also the two Little Grebes in the background.