"Cream Tea" Birding...UK (30 Dec)

Spent the day with the "Cream Tea Birder" (cream teas are a big feature  of the cuisine in the southwest of England), Chris Townend, scouring East Devon for birds. With news of a first year Iceland Gull we checked the shore for it mid-morning, did not find it, so went on a "Cirl hunt" instead, picking up 3 Cirl Buntings, a bit of a Devon specialty. Nice to see after THREE years of not visiting this area. The news came through that somehow we had managed to miss the Iceland Gull and it was indeed there. Returning with a grudge burning deep inside  we found it this time, although the harsh light made it tough to shoot. This was the best I could manage. However, we were less fortunate with a flock of "jedwoods" or (Bohemian) Waxwings at Exeter which had departed before we got there. All we saw was a bird-less berry tree just begging for a waxwing to be present. We finished with a brief Eurasian Woodcock and a flock of Fieldfares heading to roost on a windtorn heathland.

Some final East Devon birding beckons tomorrow before I head back to "Big Smoke" (i.e. London), where I really hope I connect with some of those blasted waxwings!