The reality of dark winter afternoons

After the madness of the Seahouses Ivory Gull fest, it's been a week of nightshift for me. Birding has been restricted to a daylight journey home from work today - with a female Merlin near Northumberlandia (Cramlington year tick) and a cycle later as dusk fell - West Hartford producing c20 teal, c30 lapwing and a smattering of pre roost gulls - bh, h and c.

The Horton Burn was traversed east to west on the way back and prove to be worthwhile with my first kingfisher of the winter near the middle bridge.