Pre-Christmas Ho-Ho-Ho visit to Minsmere allowed a few hours birding amongst fighting with the boys and trying to keep them entertained.

The Levels was the area and the bean goose flock was the target seeing as Adam hand't managed to get down to see them yet. Unfortunatly they were nowhere to be seen so we had to make do with 68 white-fronts, peregrine, bittern and 2 fly-over Bewick's swans. A quick look at the Scrape at dusk produced an adult Caspian gull.

Two future BBRC chairmen checking the finer plumage details on a peregrine!

Caspian gull on the Scrape taken at nearly 4pm

Konik ponies used to graze the Minsmere reedbed - always great to see up-close

Our hen harrier roost count this afternoon produced the goods despite the poor weather conditions. Standing in the rain for 2 hours is not really my idea of fun but it was worth it. The count ended with 2 ringtail hens (only 1 roosted), 25 marsh harrier, peregrine and 9 white-fronted geese on the Gypsy Lane grazing marsh.