Saturday 31st December 2011
	The highlight of the day was breaking news of Dark-eyed Junco present yesterday at Hawkhill Inclosure in the New Forest, Hampshire, having first been noted there on 24th December. Also found yesterday was a Gyr on Hoy, Orkney Isles, with rarities discovered today comprising a Lesser Yellowlegs at Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, and a Lesser Scaup at Lough Gill, County Kerry. Lingering rarities confirmed as still present today were the Western Sandpiper, Lesser White-fronted Goose and Coues's Arctic Redpoll in Norfolk, Greater Yellowlegs in Highland, Bufflehead in Cornwall, Desert Wheatears in both East Yorkshire and Northumberland, Red-breasted Goose in Essex, Spotted Sandpiper and Blue-winged Teal in Dorset, King Eider in County Kerry, Spotted Sandpiper and Glossy Ibis in Devon, Blue-winged Teal in County Dublin, House Crow in County Cork, Lesser Scaups in both Glamorgan and Gloucestershire, Ferruginous Duck in Hampshire, and Glossy Ibises in Kent (2), Lancashire and the Isles of Scilly. Scarcities included Bluethroat (County Waterford), Hoopoe (Suffolk), Yellow-browed Warbler (Devon), Pectoral Sandpiper (Ayrshire), Surf Scoter (Cornwall), American Wigeon (West Yorkshire), Ring-necked Duck (Cleveland, Cornwall, Dorset and Norfolk), Snow Goose (County Donegal) and Cattle Egret (Hampshire). A total of 95 Tundra Bean Geese was recorded across ten counties between the Shetland Isles, Western Isles and Suffolk.
-  Chris Batty, RBA