no sign of any dotterels on 22nd but a further single juvenile there last nite, seen in flight only.

yday: 4 dotterels (3ad and juv) were at balsdean briefly last nite. i didnt have a tripod so the vids are a bit wobbly.

yday: 3rd cal year caspian gull, 25 common terns, 10 barwits and ringed plover at arlington briefly.

17 common terns (including a 2nd cal year bird) and juv yellow legged gull at arlington this afternoon and a juv black tern at shinewater.

first juv med gull of the year at the marina tonite.

one of the best things ive ever seen at sheepcote, awesome and bizarre. it does take off.

today: perhaps the quietest day with 2 egyptian geese, greenshank and 2 common sands at arlington early morning. at dusk the little gull and common tern were still present.

sunday: a vocal male garganey, greenshank, 2 green sand, 5 common sand and whimbrel at arlington early morning. off newhaven, poms and black throats were the highlights tho the bushes were very quiet. the original pevensey pool held 7 hobbies with another single nearby. best site however was the midrips where highlights were 3 summer plumage curlew sandpipers and about 1000 barwits. one of the curlew sands was awesome! also present: avocets, greenshanks, knot, turnstones, dunlins, whimbrels, grey plover, 2 little terns, spotted redshank and a drake garganey flew east.

saturday: a wader fest at arlington early morning with 3 greenshank, 4 common sand, oystercatcher, 2 green sand and 6 whimbrel.

at a private and sensitive site up to 5 wood sands recently.

a red kite flew over west rise marsh. also tree pipit and 2 cuckoo in area. 3 hobbies pevensey levels.

not really that much to shout about lately tho this weekend produced a couple of interesting birds. yday, a stone curlew was found at west rise marsh flying around for a minute before heading north. today, a wood warbler was singing at arlington res in trees by the start of the dam with 2 ravens overhead. a marsh harrier flew north over newhaven. plenty of summer migrants about now esp. whitethroat and blackcap but also cuckoo and lesser white. the only other reports from the month were single summer plumaged 'icelandic' blackwit and oystercatcher at an inland site.

red kite very close overhead at work today near hove park.

started off around lewes brooks where 10 egyptian geese and 3 garganey were seen. a male ring ouzel and 4 wheatears where at newhaven and a further 9 wheatears were at the tidemills. a willow warbler was at west rise marsh along with 3 jack snipes and 4 wheatears. plenty of chiffs around most places.

8 waxwings still present in hove at the junction of fonthill road and newtown road late morning.

luck was certainly on my side today with the chance finding of two waxwing flocks in brighton. 8 were found this morning on a visit to the plumb centre in hove by the junction of fonthill road and newtown road. they were still present after work and having dropped the van off located 13 more in elm grove by the junction of howard road but flew off low. i then remembered that 13 were seen by the level a while back so were presumably the same and not a find. only shame was not having bins or camera.

late news: a 2nd winter caspian gull was at the marina on monday 17th.

yday: 3 bitterns together at willingdon levels.

today: 2 slavs on the drink between the marina and pier and the remains of a woodcock, presumably from a peregrine kill was found under st peters church, brighton.

more late news: 2 bitterns shinewater, rh goosander piddinghoe pond, 53 barnacle geese and 69 whitefronts just north of the golden galleon on 31 dec.

spent the xmas oop north again just outside manchester. temporary local patch was dovestone res, a pretty but birdless tourist spot. i'd never even seen a large gull on it before. however on the first visit(23rd) 3 ad whooper swans were present briefly before flying off over the snow capped hilltops surrounding the area. later in the day 10 goosanders (5 males) were present and became the focus of interest during visits peaking at 17 (4 males) on 28th. also on this date 4 waxwings were found but only stayed a few seconds before being chased off by mistle thrushes. the surrounding moorland and streams held red grouse and dippers. highlight of the trip was a visit to audenshaw res in manchester on the 29th. it was a bit of a shot in the dark, not knowing whether it was private and anticipated them being frozen over. they were frozen over except for a tiny patch close to the path and on arrival was greeted with 15 goosanders (9 male) and 20 goldeneye (14 males) all showing very well. there was a massive gull roost on the ice but thick mist over the res made it impossible to work. i decided to go back and video the goosanders staying until dusk when an amazing 85!! (33 males) had gathered, an awesome sight and a great end to the holiday.