Possible Mealy/Common Redpoll.

 These are some poor quality photos of a Redpoll, possibly 2 , that seems to have characteristics of Mealy.

 The bird on the left has a long primary projection. I wonder what the wing length is!

 These were the first distance views that drew them to my attention. More white than the 20 or so Lessers that are also visiting the feeder.

Closer views. Plenty of grey around the head that also seems rather chunky. I wonder what weight it is!

 One or two other people have seen these and feel they look good for Mealy. I would appreciate any other views and most of all I would like the wind to drop so that I can catch one and get some measurements!!

Garganey.

 A pair of Garganey were found during the blizzards today. They were first found off Wood bank feeding in the reeds.

 I have only had one previous record of this Summer visiting duck at Thornton.

 March 11th is an early record for this scarce county breeder.

 There is a past record of 19 Garganey at Thornton in March 1941.

Antarctica highlights.

I have recently made a visit to the Antarctic peninsula on board the Academic Sergey Vavilov. It was stunning and no words and certainly my photos cannot do the white continent justice.

 One highlight was a group of 4 Strap- toothed beaked whales in the south of the Drake passage, where we had the joy of having to' heave to' into a storm and spent an extra day fighting our way to the South Shetlands.

 We had 4 Penguin species including these porpoising Gentoos.

 Five Leopard seals were seen aswell as Crabeater and Weddell.

 I also managed to find two beautiful Snow Petrels amongst the icebergs of the Gerlache strait and the Lemaire channel.

 One undoubted treat was spending a night on the continent. A one man bivy and sleeping bag being the only comfort as we attempted to keep warm to the sound of calving glaciers and avalanches.

A morning in Tierra del Fuego N.P. produced a family of Magellenic Woodpeckers as well as 4 Andean Condors.

 A pod of 3 Peale's dolphins charged in to bow ride.

 A resting Leopard seal.

 At least 40 Humpbacks were seen over the course of the trip.

I am now definitely a fan of Icebergs!

Pintail.

A sleeping female Pintail. Easy to over look.

Dave Wright did very well to spot this female Pintail that was quietly resting with a pair of Mallard today. This species is not often recorded away from the larger reservoirs such as Rutland and Eyebrook so a good find. Other recent additions to the local patch list have included a female Brambling coming to next doors feeder and a Water Rail near the wooden bridge. A pair of Kingfishers and a pair of Little Owl are indications that the breeding cycle is commencing.

News at last!

This winter has seemed very quiet for birds around Thornton. 2012 ended with me on 114 species for the local patch. This is well down on last year and is probably due to the high water levels and a lack of waders. 2013 got off to a similar start with only 46 species recorded on the New Years day bird count. As the cold weather has arrived a trickle of species have been added to the list. The few highlights have included a flock of 48 Siskin, 34 Gadwall, 27 Pochard and a Woodcock. A pair of Little Owl have also been seen. A single Raven was a fly over on 19th. Surprise bird for today (21st) was a Little Egret that flew in from the Markfield inflow and perched in a Scots Pine by the car park. We did not record this species last year so perhaps things are looking up! Far more exciting are the posts on my daughters blog, see the link.

Sri Lanka.

 There has been little to report from Thornton recently so I am attempting to lift the gloom with some highlights of my trip to Sri Lanka. Above is Sloth Bear, and my first Leopard below.

 Whale watching was excellent with Pygmy Blue Whale and Spinner Dolphins on all three trips.

 We also had these two probable Sei Whales. However, at present I cannot rule out Brydes and hope to confirm this soon.

Back at home I did at last add Snipe to my Thornton year list.A Woodcock was also flushed at Browns' wood. As I write this the Beast from the East is on its way, so hopefully something interesting might appear before years end. Some Wild Swans, a Smew or some Waxwings would be nice!

Red-crested Pochard

 Two male Red-crested Pochard were off Wood bank on Sunday 18th

It was nice of these two gents to be present for the November Webs count. The only problem was that they had hidden behind the willows when I eventually returned with my camera. So these are record shots taken through the foliage. No sign of them on Monday am. Other highlights are 47 Lapwing on the dam, and a Chiffchaff with the tit flock on the 17th.