Wednesday 2nd July 2008
	The 'midsummer quiet period' was broken today by the discovery of a Little Swift at Old Moor RSPB reserve in South Yorkshire. The bird was found at 7.47am but was only present for about 20 minutes before disappearing. But, to the delight of many, it re-appeared in the early afternoon and remained around the wader scrape until soon after 5pm when it disappeared as rain came in. Another excellent find was a summer-plumaged White-billed Diver on South Ronaldsay in the Orkney Islands. This bird, which was first seen yesterday, remained all day and gave some excellent views at times. The only other new rarity found was a Black Stork which circled over an industrial estate near Stow Longa in Cambridgeshire. Long staying rarities included the Hooded Merganser in Dorset and the Lesser Yellowlegs in Norfolk. Three Rose-coloured Starlings remained today: two in the Orkneys and one in Aberdeenshire, and a number of Spoonbills remained around the country. A Temminck's Stint was at Loch of Strathbeg in Aberdeenshire and the Short-toed Lark was still on North Ronaldsay in Orkney.
-  Pete Hayman, RBA