Sunday 30th December - Where to go?

A Good forcast for today, I wanted to try the new camera, wanted to try the new lense, wanted to find one more new species for the year, so where do I go.

Set off for the Waxwings at Eastbourne and on arrival  a couple of birders gave me the news I had dipped, haven't been seen today. So without wasting time headed for the Lewes Waxwings. On arival 20 - 25 people were on Mayhew Drive Lewes watching the flock of 11. After taking 200 plus pics it was apparent the new lense wasn't working so changed to the old one and got a few shots.

 After hanging around on the opposite side of the road they flew down to feed right infront of me.

Happy with what I had seen I set off to Shoreham to catchup with a couple of birds I hadn't seen up close for some time.

Although up to 12 have been reported I could only find two. In the harbour a dozen or so people where standing watching something, a couple with cameras, eventually I realised they were watching a Porpoise or Dolphin ( I think a Dolphin)

Close by a juvenile Cormorant posed.

Fro here I went to Widewater Lagoon to get a close view of the Red-breasted Mergansers which were having a bad hair day. In Chichester Harbour they are always at distance.

Female

Male

From here it was still only 12.30 so I thought I would try for my 240th specie of the year. The only possible was a Red breasted Goose, one had been seen recently on Beeding Brooks but I don't know that area very well, and then there was the one at Farlington Marshes that I missed out on recently and it was seen yesterday. So off  I headed. arriving at 1.30pm I walked around the eastern bank searching through the thousand or so Brent Geese picking up the odd Curlew rabbit and Oyk and even crossbred canadas but no sign of the RBG. by 3.15 I decided to head back to the car but try looking from the western bank. I saw a suitable place to set up the scope and bingo there it was along way out, almost the middle of the marsh Number 240.

 A perfect end to a great day out. What will 2013 bring? I think I will be lucky to achieve what I have this year. But who knows ?