Do you know, as I was typing the words "I don't think I'll be posting anything more this side of Xmas" a little voice inside me said "don't tempt fate". Or maybe it should have been well done for tempting fate.
Because this morning, as we awaited the arrival of family for a pre-Xmas present exchange, my Whatsapp pinged to say there was a Scaup at Earlswood. I was of course stuck...for a few hours.
By early afternoon I was free to go, and thankfully the bird did not want to spoil Xmas.
This was only the sixth for Earlswood, the last being in 2017. I hadn't seen any of them. It is a female, and judging by the vermiculated grey feathers on the mantle, perhaps an adult. It just goes to show that, even in December, a burst of easterlies can blow in something special.
I just had time for a quick march around Engine Pool, and so was able to find a 1st w Common Gull and count 28 Snipe on one of the rafts.
Also, with the sun out at last, a Fieldfare posed for me (admittedly behind vegetation).
It's a bit better than trying to photograph a silhouetted dot at the top of a tree, which is what I usually end up doing at Morton Bagot.
Once again, Merry Xmas everyone.
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