SLRS 16 Dec

South of Sawbo. Cold, bright, frosty but difficult with the low sun. The scrape was frozen round the edges but melting in the mddle.

Probably the worst list this year. The heaving hedgerows and flocks of finches in the field have all gone, leaving just a basic list.

Kevin was out with his new scope, so we wandered slowly round the fields, putting it to the test on distant trees with some success. We found two mussel shells in the middle of the field. A peruse of my guide book at home indicated Swan Mussel as the most likely candidate

Slowly some decent sightings were assembled, and on the way back we came across a Bullfinch. A common enough bird round here, but usually all you get is a call and a white rump disappearing into the distance; today we had a pristine plump vision of jet black, battleship grey, shocking pink and brilliant-white. For a moment I was a transported back to a snowy garden in Leeds, and an eight-year old boy gazing in awe at a male Bullfinch sat in a tree just a few feet away.

Lowlights: Snipe 5, Herring Gull 8 N over, LBB Gull 2 incl 1 on SLRS, Common Gull 4, BH gull 23, Kestrel 2, GSW 2, Green Woodpecker 1, Jackdaw c20 in plughed field, Wood Pigeon c50+ over towards the Gibberd Garden, Song thrush 2, Blackbird 5, Redwing 2, Goldfinch 8, Chaffinch 4, Bullfinch 2, Greenfinch 5.