third time i've seen dunlin on this spot. went to twitch the 4 black-necked grebes at binstead in the avo, cant have been a flock bigger than this on the iow? i'd only seen singles before. c.300 herring gulls roosting at ryde but too distant.

3 gadwall at the canoe lake. east winds do seem to be kicking the gulls into gear this time, big final push of hg's at dusk which i couldnt get any purchase on, when conditions are like this i hate being at work.

Glossy Ibis

about as cooperative as rarities get - choosing to feed right beside the entrance track when there's the whole of brading marsh to get lost in. nice red tones on the under body and marginal wing coverts and glossy green scaps and median/lesser coverts makes this at least a 2nd-winter?

lewington has done some work on his website http://www.ian-lewington.co.uk/index.htm

y'day peak of 65 herring gulls at canoe lake but nothing with them. peak of 17 shoveler.

long awaited east winds failed to deliver. started the day looking at the sea off ventnor but couldn't even stay an hour. with thousands of auks off portland and dunge why not in between? 21 brent geese were making the most of the easterlies and 10 rtd's went east. three visits to the canoe lake didn't produce anything of note but this was my first slr photo of an iow lesser black-back.