Goldeneye

adult female Hen Harrier

a well marked adult female but are there any features that identify adult female Northern Harrriers? from looking at photos it would appear not?

Snow Buntings on the Humber

still a few birds appearing on the upper estuary with 2 at Barton yesterday and these 2 at a different location today

Woodcock

incoming

Bewick's Swans

after many years a notable east coast arrival with the all the geese --

murky day on the patch

four Red-breasted Mergansers was probably a local record flock; a Swallow flew south-west, 2 juvenile skuas that appeared to be Long-tailed Skuas flew west in the murk over the bridge, 5 Bewick's Swans dropped in briefly before heading off south-west but no sign of any eastern vagrants

White-fronted Geese

following on from last winter's super geese show there seems to be a particularly unusual influx of European White-fronts and Tundra Beans down the REast coast at the moment; what is causing it? these are some of the 16 White-fronts at Donna Nook yesterday where there were also 2 Tundra Beans --

a few additional Lesser Whitethroat images

again taken in very dull conditions on 11th -- it would seem to meet all? of the criteria proposed by Colin Bradshaw in his 2009 paper see below -- in some of the images there is an out of focus branch across the bird's wing -- the feathers on the forecrown were wet due to foraging in the marram grass

• Field-only claims if ever acceptable would require :

• Watched for a protracted period of time with close views

• Brown on nape

• Lack of contrast between crown and mantle

• White throat contrasting with peachy or buffy flanks and breast

• Lack of clear dark mask

• Lores paler than usual

• Sandy or pale to mid-brown upperparts

• Short-winged/long-tailed jizz

• Tit-like call

• Preferably tail noted as lots of white in outer tail and centre not contrasting with mantle