Ross's Gull.

23rd February .I've only ever seen one Ross's GUll before and thay was way back in 2002, an adult bird in Plymouth, so wnen this 1st winter bird was found in the Penzance / Newlyn area I thought I'd better go a take a look. ( and my jealousy was getting the better of me again , seeing other people's photos! ) . The weather was not kind to me , being mostly dull with a mist coming in off the sea. It was'nt seen for sometime but eventually came into Newlyn harbour, showing very well as it dipped into the water and flying closeby the admiring birders. My photos all seemed a little noisy and almost looked mono but still excited to see this bird from the high arctic up close. A Gret Northern Diver was close in the harbour and watched a Great Egret at nearby Marazion marsh.

Winter birds

A couple of days of snowy weather is quite unusual down here in West Devon, so I took the time to sit in my hide and see what common birds were visiting my feeding station and pool. Lots visiting and I managed to get a few nice shots of Marsh Tit, Robins, Chaffinch and Starlings. I do like to just sit and watch the common birds coming and going, and you never know what might drop in one day.

Annual trip to Slimbridge.

Late 2025 saw me take my annual visit to Slimbridge, Joyce goes shopping with her sister who lives nearby and I have a day wandering around the WWT reserve. This year the weather was not too bad with sunny periods, no rare or scarce birds around but great views of the usual wildlife and waders etc. Got some nice photos of PIntail,Shelduck. Mallard,Tufted Ducks etc.

Lesser Crested Tern

12th December 2025. 2025 ended with a new bird for me, with a rare Lesser Crested Tern on the Exe estuary in Devon. Found a few days before, it had been showing at different viewpoints around the area untill it settled at Turf, where it was being a little more reliable as it rested on the bouys and occasionally made some flybys, A lovely sunny day , although I did ( rather foolishly) have to negotiate some fair old floods on the road in . The Tern was present ,sat on a bouy preening not too far out. I stuck around and was thrilled when it took to the air and flew close by, allowing for some great views and some nice photos. Cracking bird.