Once again more people were out birding again today with rewards had in Brands Bay with 2 Tundra Bean Geese in Brands Bay. The Upton/Creekmoor birds weren’t there today, so could suggest it was two of the three. However some plumage characteristics suggest these could have been in fact be two different (new) individuals. Sadly they didn’t stay long and flew off SE and couldn’t be re-located. A Hen Harrier was hunting for over an hour at the back of Greenlands farm and over the salt marsh. It was accompanied by a Merlin, with the Merlin sat on a gorse bush as the Hen Harrier hunted all around it. This partnership is quite a regular occurrence each winter with Hen Harrier and Merlin often complementing each other with different hunting techniques, but often both rewarding one another with prizes! there was a Razorbill in Brands Bay with  7 Goldeneye, 2 Slavonian Grebe, 4 Scaup, 1 Common Scoter, approx  350 Common Gulls, 7 Turnstones, 400 Dunlin, 10+ Grey Plover and Sandwich Tern. Male White-tailed Eagle was in Middlebere again today and was beautifully captured on camera (see image below). Off Knoll beach this evening there was disappointingly only 12 Black-necked Grebe in the roost…..in Jan 2011 there were 80!!! Also 10 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Slavonian Grebe and 7 Common Scoter this evening.

White-tailed Eagle G461 – Middlebere – Pennhillman