1st day of winter: SNOW ALREADY!

More on the snow in a bit...

Started the day back in Cleveland for what turned out to be a very quiet potter around Saltholme and Dormans Pool with Mark and John B. Plenty of birds but little of note...

This afternoon the pace quickened, with a couple of hours back at trusty West Hartford. No harrier today (tho GM did manage a marsh harrier elsewhere in Cramlington today), but a minimum of two short-eared owl hunted the fields. I fear it will be a tricky species to nail photographically speaking...

Every time I locked focus on one it did this...

Into the grass... again!

Still, they're a pleasure to watch. As the first night of winter encroached, one bird settled on a not too distant (but not as close as I'd like) post.

And it was while snapping away at this when the phone range - STH with some exciting news. MH had had a snow bunting on the road leading into the site - luckily West Hartford has a few "marker" points - in this case it was on the road next to the discarded bath! I expect the snow bunting find eclipsed MHs' 1999 short-toed eagle adrenalin rush.

I proceeded calmly to the aforementioned spot and within a minute or two found the snow bunting on the overgrown pathway near the bath - bingo, a Cramlington tick! Light was seriously fading now, so a few record shots were rattle off (albeit not as late in the day as GM ended up taking - check these out!

This is the second snow bunting at West Hartford - Brian aka Northumbrian Birder had one a winter or two back, but it was todays' bird that furnished the Cramlington (ir)regulars with this species. Great end to the first day of winter!

One

An "end of a week of early shift" was celebrated down the road at Teesside with Phil, catching up with the juv pallid harrier at Dormans Pool.

Only seen twice during our vigil, the first fly through was close but frustratingly quick, while the second was more distant.... though not as distant as the Norfolk bird a few winters' ago. Smashing local bird, could do with one in Northumberland!

With any luck this fab raptor will stick and I'll have another "go"... The image above was the only "uncompletelyoutoffocusbutnotquiteasinfocusasI'dlike" shot...