Maybe I should have gone and fought with the crowds last weekend to see the Western sandpiper as I managed to dip the bird at the weekend!!

It was a mixed start to the weekend as all of our nets were frozen due to afternoon rain and the an overnight frost so we headed to Kevin's mums garden in Titchwell village. Despite is being bloody freezing we managed to get 21 new birds including a young male sparrowhawk. I opened the nets in the garden in the afternoon (the only still day this month so far) but didn't catch much.

Sunday was earmarked for the trip to Cley but it didn't get started very early. By the time we got there the bird hadn't been seen for a couple of hours. We spent a load of time in the hides (probably the worst in the Western Paleartic) but there was no sign of the dunlin flock. It did drop in briefly when we were in another hide and then flew towards Arnolds Marsh. We walked around to check but the was only 4 dunlin. 4 snow buntings east was a bonus but didn't really make up for missing the sandpiper. Hopefully it will stay around until the festive break.

Had my first 1st winter Caspian gull in the fresh marsh roost this evening. A cracking bird and the head/bill profile was much more distinct than I was expecting. It was also seen on Monday so hopefully it will put in a regular appearance.