As this is the last update before 2008, we'd like to wish all of our BirdTrack recorders a very Happy New Year, and hope to see your records continuing to pour in during 2008.

It is continually suprising how many "summer migrants" are reported in December, and there have beens everal reports of Swallow in the last week. Slightly more appropriate are the large numbers of finches now building up. As the winter cools down, we are just starting to see much large numbers of species such as Siskin and Brambling, though interestingly, compare these two species to the far fewer Chaffinches.and Greenfinches being reported at the moment.

The last week has seen quite a few interesting, and unseasonal, birds turning up around the country. Perhaps most unusual was the influx of Cattle Egrets into southwest England. Small groups of birds numbering up to 13 have been seen, with two birds together in Ireland and Sussex. It has long been predicted that Cattle Egrets will settle down to breed, so maybe in 2008 we'll finally see this!

Other interest along the south coast came in the form of a colour-ringed White-tailed Eagle. There is still some dispute over the colour of one of the rings, but this one of 17 birds ringed in the nest in either northern Sweden or Finland in 2007.

As the weather turned slightly colder over the last week, we might expect to see more winter migrants arriving. This was perhaps true for some thrushes (large flocks of Fieldfare have been reported, including over 300 in several counties), but not for many finches. Reports of Chaffinch and particularly Greenfinch are still below the norm, and it will be interesting to see how this changes over the coming weeks.

We are also now seeing large numbers of Woodpigeons, and though some of these will just be winter gatherings, many will also be local migrants. We don't know much about their movements, but visible migration counts show very definite movements through late autumn. Compare the the proportion of lists submitted by week here, with the average count by month over the last three years below.

It is surprising how many summer migrants have been recorded in the last week. Some of the more expected records include several House Martins, which are often seen in late October or early November (peaking at 25 on the Isle of Wight last weekend), and a scattering of terns (12 Commons in Kent, single Arctic in North Yorkshire and single Sandwich in Co Dublin).

More unusual though were late records of Willow Warbler, including singletons in the West Midlands and Co Wicklow, and two at one Hampshire site. Other records of note were Pied Flycatcher (Greater London), Cuckoo (Bridgend), Garden Warbler (Co Cork), Hobby (South Gloucestershire) and a few Wheatears, including seven at a site in Cornwall.

On a more wintry note, good counts of Brent Geese have been coming in, including over 3,000 in Co Down (of the Light-bellied race), and 160 in Norfolk (of the Dark-bellied race). Pink-footed Geese are also being reported in good numbers, with 18,000 reported from East Lothian. It will be interesting to see if the numbers continue to build after a poor season last winter.

We seem to be well into autumn now, and the arrival of finches and thrushes continues unabated. Good numbers of Lesser Redpoll and Brambling are now arriving, and visible migration has been quite busy. Whilst the weather is still clear, most of these birds will head straight along the coasts or inland, so its a good time to refresh your memory on finch flight calls. Species to look out for in the next week or so are increasing numbers of Bullfinch and Chaffinch.

Research news: Fascinating new research may have identified how birds on migration can follow a compass direction. The findings of the research group show that birds use their visual system to perceive the actual compass direction in the earth's geomagnetic field. This suggests that bird really do 'see' a compass when migrating. Anyone wanting to know more (and willing to brave the complex biology of the subject) can read the full article here.

It looks like the weather has finally improved, and autumn should really start this weekend. The high pressure that was sat to the south of the country has finally edged northwards. As it moves out over Scandinavia, there will be a strong easterly airflow across northern Europe - perfect conditions for migration. This weather system will also produce north easterly winds over the weekend, which will carry all of these birds to the east coast (and inland). If you find yourself on the coast, then you should see large numbers of thrushes, finches and Goldcrests.

To follow migration in real time, check out the travels of Wallace here. Following the success story of Wally the Whimbrel, Wallace the Whimbrel was fitted with a satellite transmitter in April 2007. Wallace has since moved from Wheldrake Ings in North Yorkshire to breed in Iceland and is currently in Guinea Bissau. A map of Wallace's current position can be found here.

Ringing News: The BTO's Ringing Unit has recently reported two interesting migration stories from opposite ends of the country. Firstly came news of a colour-ringed Chough at the Power Station at Heysham Bird Observatory, Lancashire, on 18 September. This bird was ringed in the nest on Anglesey in May 2007, and is only the second time a ringed Chough has been found in northern England. The first was a bird from Caernarfon that was found dead on a Liverpool rubbish tip in 1976.

The second story was of a ringed Hobby seen in Suffolk on 20 September. This was traced back a bird that was originally found in poor condition in autumn 2006 and kept in care over the winter to recover. It was released at Andover, Hants, on 11 September, so had made quite a quick (if confused) journey north.

THE feature of the birding week has been the incredible passage of seabirds off the north and west coasts. Perhaps most notable have been the very large (probably record-breaking) numbers of Great Shearwaters. The highest day count was of 7,114 past the Butt of Lewis, Outer Hebrides, on the 8th, and elsewhere, counts included 4,473 past The Mullet in Co Mayo on the 10th and 3,071 past Tory Island, Co Donegal on the 9th. Even the east coast saw a few birds, including 31 past Flamborough Head, East Yorkshire, 13 past Newbiggin, Northumberland, and 16 past Sheringham, Norfolk.

Various other species are also being seen in good numbers, including Long-tailed and Pomarine Skuas, Little Gulls, Cory's Shearwaters and Sabine's Gulls. The latter has also been seen in record numbers in Iceland recently. With only 50 previous records, eight birds there in a week was quite exceptional.

Our first recorder over 5,000!
Just this last week we had our first recorder reaching the 5,000 submissions mark! This is a fantastic achievement, and hopefully many more will follow his lead!

Through autumn we perhaps tend to think of migrants as small passerines, but there are many other birds on passage now. Though we still have a while to wait for the big goose and swan flocks to arrive, numbers of some wildfowl are already building up. Numbers of Teal and Wigeon are now slowly increasing, and just arriving now are Pochard and Pintail. I also saw my first Brent Goose of the winter at the weekend, which is quite early, but a pleasant surprise.

Though the weather might appear quite bleak, with winds coming from the northeast a few early migrants are being reported. Scarce migrants include several Wrynecks around the country, Greenish Warblers (including five on Blakeney Point in Norfolk!) and Pied Flycatchers, though some commoner migrants are being seen In smaller numbers, including Whinchat. We should also soon be seeing large numbers of Meadow Pipits moving south. Many of these will be from our own breeding population (centred in northern England and Scotland), but we will also see some migrants from Scandinavia.

Species on the way out though include Swift, so do keep sending in lists and we can follow this departure.

The last week has seen quite a few hirundine roosts building up, and we wonder if this is the start of an early departure for some birds. The more records we receive into BirdTrack the more we are likely to pick up such changes in migration, so keep sending those lists in! To keep track of the departure, have a look at the results for Sand Martin, Swallow and House Martin.

Also ahead of schedule are some moulting birds. The BTO's Ringing Unit have received quite a few reports of Reed Warblers moulting their body feathers, which is very early indeed. Perhaps the breeding season has been so poor that birds whose nesting attempts have failed are moulting before an early departure as well.

Many of our resident species are also moulting now, and this may go part way to explain the obvious dip in the number of birds recorded of a few species: for example Dunnock and Blackbird. This is probably because these ground-feeding species will be lying low whilst they moult their flight feathers. Interestingly, note how the pattern isn't the same for canopy feeders such as Blue Tit and Bullfinch.

At a few sites, passage tern numbers are starting to build up now. The breeding season appears to have been quite varied, with high success rates in England, but a disastrous season in Scotland. Reports seem to show that Orkney has had its worst seabird breeding season on record!

Common Terns should now be filtering through the country, with Arctic Terns more restricted to coastal areas. Similarly, any Little Terns able to survive the poor weather will also be congregating.

We've also just started to hear of the first few migrant Redstarts. Quite a few of these have still been in juvenile plumage, so may be moving south earlier than expected. Interestingly, one missing migrant appears to be Snipe, with sightings well below the expected level.

Waders can turn up almost anywhere during the latter half of this month. Most will be adult birds. Some will have failed in their breeding attempt whilst others that started early will have left their young to fatten up ready for their journey south.

One of the most impressive waders to look out for is the Black-tailed Godwit, adding a splash of colour wherever they appear. The first birds to appear will be arriving from the breeding population in Iceland and will be mainly females, the males will still be watching over the young. In recent years birds from this increasing population have been colour-ringed. Any sightings of these birds can be reported via the BTO home page and by clicking on "report a ringed bird".

Roseate Terns are also a feature of the latter half of July with non-breeding birds turning up almost anywhere around our coastline. They are worth looking out for in groups of resting Common and Sandwich Terns.

Little Ringed and Ringed Plover survey
If you record any breeding Little Ringed or Ringed Plovers this spring, the BTO would like to hear from you. A new nationwide survey aims to assess the status of both species for the first time since 1984. For more details of the survey, click on the information pages here.

With the wind in the southwest for the last week, a lot of telescopes have been pointing out to sea. Along the south coast of Ireland the first 'big' shearwaters (Great and Cory's) should soon be passing through, and off the south coast of England, good numbers of Balearic Shearwaters are now being seen (including over 90 in one day past Portland Bird Observatory). Balearic Shearwaters appear on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered, so this is a species to really appreciate.

One other (rather unlikely) seabird has also been making the birding news recently. On 29 June, an immature Yellow-nosed Albatross was picked up exhausted on Bream beach in Somerset (read the full story and watch the video here). This is a species that at this time of year should be circling the southern oceans, not heading up the Bristol Channel! After a night in care though, it was released, but this wasn't the end of the story. Reports have since come in off presumably the same bird dive-bombing fishermen in Lincolnshire (3 and 4 July, photos here), heading inland at Malmo in southern Sweden, and this or another bird seen off the coast of Norway. So do keep an eye out for anything odd on your local gravel pit!

As early autumn approaches, a few early waders are starting to arrive. On the North Norfolk coast, small numbers of limosa Black-tailed Godwits have already been seen. This species occurs as two races, limosa which breeds in Britain and western Europe and islandica which, as its name suggests, breeds in Iceland. It is quite easy to tell the two apart in summer plumage, with islandica being much large, bright birds with short bills, also with much more rufous colour on their underparts.

Also just arriving now are small groups of Ruff, with many of these birds still in summer plumage. Some of these birds will have very dark heads, and some white or mottled heads. Head colour actually identifies birds as resident males or satellite males in what is a very complex breeding system. For more details, have a look here.

The weather does seem to be a continuing theme in these updates, but this really does dictate the birds we see (or don't see). Early nesting migrants such as Blackcap may have escaped the worst weather, but slightly later breeders such as Garden Warbler are now 'weathering the storm'. We have even heard of a female Blackbird trying to shelter her nest as the gutter she'd (perhaps stupidly) built in rapidly filled up!

To keep track of weather developments, check out the Met Office monthly summary pages here.

Sightings of a few other interesting species are picking up now as well. There is usually a small mid-summer peak in Hobby sightings, and this may well be due to birds being active finding and defending territories. We may also be starting to see the start of autumn migration for Whimbrels as well. These may well be failed breeders starting to return, and will be followed by many more successful birds soon.

Mid-summer can sometimes be a bit quiet, but the last week or so has seen good numbers of interesting birds still being reported. There are plenty of Spoonbills around the country, from as far afield as Flintshire, Lancashire and Kent. A couple of these birds are carrying coloured leg rings as well, which should allow us to identify their origins.

Other more Continental birds doing well this year include Firecrest, with a boom in the breeding population in the east (see the (soon to be updated) Atlas maps here). Other rare breeding birds still being reported include Cranes in East Anglia, Choughs in the south west and Eagle Owls in the north west. But don't worry, all locations are kept confidential for these birds!

On a slightly more wintry note, one BirdTrack recorder in the Cotswolds was rather surprised to see a lone Fieldfare in a field margin with local Blackbirds! It is quite rare for Fieldfares to spend the summer here, so this one observer really was quite lucky.

The incredibly wet weather recently will have caused quite a lot of problems for many of our breeding birds. Species brooding small chicks over this period (such as Whitethroat and Blackcap) will probably have suffered most, with tits and thrushes fledging chicks in time to avoid the downpours. For more information on the fortunes of nesbox birds in 2007, check out the BTO's Nest Box Challenge.

Along with the weather, many nestbox species will also face a whole different problem, in the form of nestbox predating woodpeckers. The photographs here are from one BirdTrack recorder, showing the damage caused to a tit nest box by a Great Spotted Woodpecker. Most of the chicks in this box were predated, with just one bird being left.

A few early autumn waders are now starting to turn up, and most of these will be either failed breeding birds or early returning adults. For species such as Greenshank, the females will leave territories early, with males and juveniles following up to six weeks later.

The recent run of high pressure has pushed a lot of 'over-shooting' spring migrants into the country. There have been good numbers of species such as Red-backed Shrike and Purple Heron and even a few Bee-eaters and Squacco Herons. With the high pressure come thunderstorms, and following a storm, its worth checking your local gravel pit for Black Terns. These storms can cause havoc with breeding birds though, and many nestbox birds have been flooded out over the last week.

Quail are also now singing at quite a few locations, so on a warm evening you might be lucky enough to hear their characteristic ‘Wet-My-Lips’ call.

Storm Petrels are worth looking out for from coastal headlands, as these enigmatic ocean wanderers make their way back to their breeding colonies.

Although most of our summer migrants have arrived now, there will still be large numbers of birds on the move. Swifts have arrived back in their breeding areas, but it seems there are still more to come. Birds are possibly being held up by bad weather further south.

Now is the best time to listen out for the ‘Wet-my-lips’ call of Quail as they proclaim their territories in and around cereal fields. On still warm evenings this liquid call can be heard more clearly. Corn Buntings will also be in full song now and often frequent the same field as Quail.

Storm Petrels are worth looking out for from coastal headlands, as these enigmatic ocean wanderers make their way back to their breeding colonies.

We often think that migration is mostly finished by late May, but some species are still just arriving. By now Nightjars should be back on territory, though they do still seem to be here in small numbers, and there is also a similar trend for Spotted Flycatcher as well. One species here in good numbers though are Turtle Doves, so keep an ear open for their characteristic purring call.

Recent easterly winds brought many new arrivals to southern and eastern counties, including large numbers of late Wheatears. A count of over 130 on Blakeney Point in North Norfolk was probably the highest spring count at this well known site. Also involved in this arrival were large numbers of Swifts; we also heard reports from Cap Gris Nez in France of over 7,000 birds moving north last week.

With so many migrants arriving early, many nesting attempts are now well progressed. We've even heard of the first hatching of a Swallow egg this last week! But with very wet and cold weather predicted in the next few days this may be very bad news for some early birds.

It now also seems that both Swifts and House Martins are coming back onto territories. There have been lots of birds around the country in general, but very few actually starting to nest yet. This timing of breeding is something that BirdTrack will be able to monitor now, as we are now collecting information on the breeding status of birds recorded.

This weekend: Don't forget the international celebration of migratory birds this weekend! World Migratory Bird Day is organised by the African Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), and will highlight bird migration around the world. For more information visit www.worldmigratorybirdday.org

A number of our summer migrants put in an early appearance this year, but the majority will arrive during the next few weeks. Reed Warblers will become more evident as more and more take up territories, and with the right weather conditions, Black Terns are a possibility over any inland water as they hawk for insects before continuing on their way.

Other birds to look out for are Turtle Doves and Hobbies, both of which peak on migration in the first weeks of May. At this time of the year with the absence of dragonflies, Hobbies can be seen chasing small birds such as Swallows and House Martins.

The next few weeks are also one of the best times to listen out for the newly arrived Nightingales as the singing males proclaim their territory.

Many of our migrants are in and settled now, with lots of reports coming in now of nest-building. For many resident species, there will already be plenty of chicks to be fed, and young of Blackbird and Robin will already be fully fledged.

This last week has seen the rapid arrival of Swifts and Cuckoos, and species such as these really do seem to arrive en masse out of the blue. This is quite different to the strategy of many of our warblers, which will slowly filter through the country. The last few species to arrive in the coming weeks will be Turtle Dove (first week of May) and Spotted Flycatcher (second week of May).

It is interesting to see the pattern of migration for some species, and looking at Wheatear we can see two peaks of migration. The first are 'our' returning birds, with the current peak being larger, brighter 'Greenland' Wheatears on their way to breed in Iceland and Greenland. One interesting piece of migration news from Iceland is the countries first record of Stock Dove was found a few days ago on the east coast - a quite unexpected migrant!

The perfect migration weather looks set to continue through the weekend, so do keep an eye out for fresh arrivals. The last week has seen some very large numbers of Ring Ouzels along the east coast, including 40 at one Norfolk site! Other migrants now here in larger numbers include Willow Warblers and Swallows.

In smaller numbers are the very recent arrivals, such as Sedge Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler. The next arrival to keep an eye (or ear) out for will be Whitethroat, and we've already had a few Lesser Whitethroats.

With the weekend predicted to be a hot and sunny one, it is prefect birding weather. Migration has really got going now, and several species are arriving early now. Single Hobbies in London and Gloucestershire were early and the first Common Terns have already been reported in Norfolk and Kent (where four were seen). Following the incredibly early Turtle Dove in Orkney, a bird in Derbyshire (2 April) was perhaps more expected.

The main arrivals in the next week or so should include Tree Pipits (listen out for their distinctive call) and Redstarts.

Do also remember to keep count of the commoner migrating species as well. The first few days of April saw some impressive migration counts along the south coast including 1,225 Chaffinch over Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory, Kent, on 2 April and 2,130 Meadow Pipits over Portland Bird Observatory in one hour on the same day. On 3 April Portland also recorded 80 Wheatear, 60 Willow Warbler, two Ring Ouzel and a Redstart.

As expected, the arrival of migrants has continued with the fine weather we've been having. Of the early arrivals, Sand Martins are now quite well spread through the country, though our Swallows do seem to be a little bit late this year. House Martins are normally the last of the 'hirundines' to arrive, but a few have already arrived in inland areas. Also slightly late are Wheatears, though we wonder if many have skipped over the south coast due to the good migration conditions recently. There have been a few early arrivals though, including Cuckoo in East Yorkshire and Sedge Warbler in Somerset.

As we follow the arrival and spread of Chiffchaffs, the first few birds are starting to make it up to southern Scotland now. After a gradual arrival in south east Ireland, birds are also now spreading north through the country.

Don't forget to keep recording our winter visitors as they depart as well. Just this morning a group of 9 Brambling were around the feeders here at The Nunnery in Norfolk, so it is worth keeping an eye out. A few large groups of Fieldfare are still around as well, including 150 in York.

To keep track of how the spring is going you can regularly check the results pages for updates on all the arriving species. You can find out which birds are arriving in your region and also how they are spreading through the country. This will vary quite a lot for most species, so for Chiffchaff, check how the national results here show an early arrival. This same pattern can be seen for many regions such as south west England and Wales, but recorders in southern Scotland are still waiting for their birds to arrive.

The results pages can also give you pointers as to when some of our winter visitors will be leaving. Looking at Fieldfare and Redwing it looks like most birds will be off in the next week or so.

For some species though there were never many birds here anyway, and Brambling and Siskin are both good examples.

One BirdTrack recorder was lucky enough recently to have a group of seven Smew fly into their binocular view whilst checking their local patch in Dorset. These birds are quite late and will be heading north soon. The only other recent report of Smew was of three in a more likely location in North Lanarkshire.

With the temperature picking up all week, its not surprising how many migrants have been turning up. The first big influx of the year was Chiffchaff throughout this last week, and they are now quite well spread throughout the country (even though I haven't heard one yet!)

Good numbers of Sand Martins are now also being seen, with the best counts being 18 in West Yorkshire and 16 in Gloucestershire. Smaller numbers of Swallows have been seen as far north as Cheshire (usually later arriving than Sand Martins), though our early Willow Warblers were pretty much confined to the south coast, arriving from 10 March. Other species now recorded include Lesser Whitethroat (though this could be a wintering bird) and Little Ringed Plover.

At the other end of the spectrum, a few wintry species are still being recorded, including counts of 450 Fieldfare (in York and East Lothian), 21 Brambling (East Sussex) and even a few late Glaucous and Iceland Gulls.

This weekend was an almost ideal one for migration, with clear skies and a southerly airflow. The warm temperature (up to 17 degrees in London) will also encourage birds to move north, and Sand Martins in particular have now reached northern England and Scotland. The highest count we've heard of was eight in Staffordshire, but can you beat this?

Other early spring migrants include a few Wheatears along the south coast, White Wagtails and the occasional Swallow. Quite a few Chiffchaffs have also been recorded, and it looks like they won't be as late arriving as in the past two years (check out the arrival pattern here).

March is really the start of spring, so it’s a good idea to now keep an eye on your local gravel pit. The first migrants to appear are species such as Sandwich Tern, Sand Martin and Wheatear, all of which can turn up out of the blue. We are now already receiving news of early migrants. The expected ones were Sand Martin (Devon and Avon) and Sandwich Tern (Dorset), though quite early were reports of Wheatear in Sussex and Osprey in Wales. Interestingly, we have also just heard of 91 Sandwich Terns wintering in Normandie, France, and this may explain our early arrivals.

Really cold days are now few and far between, and very soon our winter visitors will be starting to head off. Many are still around in good numbers though, with counts of 450 Fieldfare (Staffordshire) and 130 Redwing (Surrey). Other notable records submitted were 11 Smew in Kent , 40 Velvet Scoter in East Lothian, Eagle Owl in Derbyshire and Water Pipits in Kent, Lancashire and Stockton-on-Tees.

As the winter turns to spring, we should soon be seeing small flocks of finches gathering before breeding. This is a good time to look out for a few interesting species, and we have recently received several records of Common Redpoll (from as far apart as Greater Manchester, Dublin, Lothian and Suffolk). These are often incorrectly called Mealy Redpolls, and if you want to find out why this is wrong, have a look here. Part of the confusion is that Lesser Redpolls are much more common than Common Redpolls here!

Other things to keep an eye out for include flocks of Linnets (with the occasional Twite) and Reed Buntings (with the very occasional Little Bunting).

We all must wonder where a lot of the birds we see actually come from, and often we can often only guess. Last weekend though I did see two birds in Norfolk where I now know a little more about them. Both of these were colour-ringed, and I know that my Snow Bunting was ringed the previous winter in Suffolk, and my Brent Goose was ringed as a moulting bird in 1995 on the Taimyr Peninsula in Arctic Russia! So if you do see any colour-ringed birds whilst out birdwatching, report them online at www.ring.ac

Other interesting news this week included perhaps our first real spring Sandwich Terns of the year, as three were seen in Hampshire on 10 February. These are often the first birds to return in the spring, but were these the only early arrivals?...

More migrants on their way! After a couple of days of snow, spring may seem far off for most people, but in southern Europe migrants are already on their way. One of our regular contributors in Lisbon, Portugal, recorded her first Swallow of the year on 7 February. This is three days later than in 2005, but four days earlier than in 2004. By today, this bird had been joined by three more, so things are definitely moving. It will still be some time before they arrive here, but I have heard of a few reports already!

Far more at home in the snow are our remaining winter visitors. Numbers of many species have increased now, and Redwing do now seem to be everywhere! To see how numbers have increased through the winter, have a look here. Other good winter counts submitted recently included 200 Great-crested Grebes in Warwickshire, 800 Wigeon in Gloucestershire, 425 Teal in Lancashire and 24 Marsh Harrier and 6 Hen Harrier at one roost in Norfolk.

We are also now receiving a few more reports of some of our commoner wintering warblers (including 12 Chiffchaff at one site in Cornwall). It is interesting to look at the pattern of occurrence as well, with Chiffchaffs restricted to the south of the country whilst Blackcaps are spread more evenly, with records in Scotland.

It appears that many of our gulls are having quite a good winter, perhaps benefiting from the mild weather. Both Black-headed Gull and Common Gull are being reported in good numbers, with maximum counts of the latter of 1,000 in Edinburgh, and further south 350 in West Yorkshire. Also still around are a few Little Gulls, though 100 at Titchwell, Norfolk was exceptional. Another species almost certainly benefiting from the mild weather is Woodpigeon, with progressively more people seeing them through the winter.

A few winter specialities are still being reported, including several inland Great Northern Divers (in Wiltshire, Essex and Norfolk) and small numbers of Water Pipit (including birds in Greater London and up to 15 in Hampshire).

One bird to look out for in the coming weeks is Waxwing. Small numbers have been arriving into northern Scotland recently, with peak counts of 32 in Dundee last week. As winter progresses, birds tend to head south through the Midlands, so keep an eye on ornamental trees in city centres near you!

The last week has seen some increases in counts of familiar (and perhaps not so familiar) winter species, and with cold weather predicted these may continue to increase. Some notable counts included 50 Little Egrets (Hampshire), 74 Taiga Bean Geese (Norfolk), 6000 Barnacle Goose (Dumfries and Galloway), 5 Jack Snipe (with 45 Snipe in Nottinghamshire), 10 Spotted Redshank (Gloucestershire), 60 Mediterranean Gull (Kent) and 100 Corn Bunting (Hertfordshire).

Perhaps more unusual were a Sandwich Tern in Hampshire (late or early?), single Firecrests in several southern counties and wintering Black Redstarts in Cornwall and Kent.

So far, 2007 looks to be the year of the goose! Perhaps not in numbers, but definitely in popularity! We have received good numbers of records of species such as Pink-footed Goose, even though the actual size of the flocks is slightly down on previous years. It is estimated that around 190,000 Pink-footed Geese winter in the UK, which is a sizeable proportion of the world population. Other waterbirds being reported in good numbers include Coot and Black-headed Gull, both of which are winter visitors from eastern Europe.

On the down side, we have received very few reports of Smew this winter, but they are a very hardy duck, so perhaps haven’t been forced inland yet.

As we pass into 2007, the very mild unseasonal weather continues, so many of our winter migrants (such as thrushes and finches) are still elsewhere. With the local weather conditions still favourable closer to home (7 degrees Celsius in Stockholm), few birds will need to make the hazardous sea crossing to winter here.

Its amazing what can turn up in mid-winter though, and we are continuing to receive reports of vultures along the south coast. Most of these appear to be Eurasian Griffon Vultures, though some are apparently quite approachable.

If we do have a cold snap, its worth keeping an eye on your garden, as many farmland species will move into gardens for extra food. So do keep feeding and keep recording.