Following up a reported 300 finches on the outskirts of Brampton on the Lanercost road, I arrived to find a huge flock of Linnets which I estimated to be around 500...
Applying a grid to a section of the flock and the number turned out to be over 1,000 ... and a few Brambling lingered on the periphery ...
... on the Solway Ruff are always a good bird during the winter months and these at Campfield Marsh showed nicely ...
... while on the coastal side an interestingly dark- mantled Barnacle Goose swam ... partial melanism perhaps ?
... further afield and ceratinly qualifying for 'beyond' the lure of a Least Sandpiper in Somerset was just too tempting ... an early start, clear roads and the bird was right in front of the viewing screen of the Quantock hide as I arrived ... it fed, flew round and generally performed impeccably ...
... more clear roads on the way home and back in time for dinner ... sometimes things just work out perfectly and this long awaited British tick completed my set of all the 21 Calidrid Sandpipers on the British List ...
Long days apart and it's good to be back on the home patch with some nice Crossbill views in Spadeadam Forest ...
