A walk to the Mere this morning in light snow was rewarded by good views of the drake Long-tailed Duck that has been seen there recently. They are smashing birds!
Chatting to a fellow birder I see regularly at the Mere, he said there was a female Velvet Scoter over the far side of the Mere but as I only had my bins I couldn't see it. After a little searching he got it in his scope and although I could see it was probably a Velvet Scoter by size and bill and there was a quick view of the white wing patch that is sometimes seen on swimming birds I wouldn't have id'd it as a Velvet Scoter unless it had been picked out for me as it was a distant view, even through the scope. A walk around the South side of the Mere tomorrow morning will hopefully afford better views if the bird is still there.
We travelled up to Bempton last night for the Stargazing Live event, but although we heard a couple of interesting presentations from astronomers inside the visitor centre, the sky was overcast and there was no chance of seeing anything through the murk and drizzle.
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