Thursday 1st March 2012
	The highlight of the day was the discovery of a female King Eider at Annagh Head, County Mayo, whilst in Moray, the male King Eider reappeared in Burghead Bay. Lingering rarities confirmed as still present today were the Common Yellowthroat in Gwent, Hooded Merganser in Kent, Spanish Sparrow and Dark-eyed Junco in Hampshire, Bufflehead in Cornwall, Paddyfield Warbler in West Sussex, Penduline Tit in Kent, Red-breasted Goose in Dumfries and Galloway, Blue-winged Teal on the Isles of Scilly, Spotted Sandpiper in Dorset, Lesser Yellowlegs in Cornwall, Lesser Scaup in Glamorgan, Coues's Arctic Redpoll in Norfolk, Richardson's Canada Geese in Argyll (2) and County Sligo (3), and Glossy Ibises in Dorset (2), Lancashire and Suffolk. The best of the rest comprised 10 Great Grey Shrikes, seven Kumlien's Gulls, four each of Rough-legged Buzzard, Green-winged Teal and Great White Egret, three each of Surf Scoter, American Wigeon and Ring-billed Gull, and single Rose-coloured Starling (Ayrshire), Yellow-browed Warbler (Somerset), Ring-necked Duck (Cornwall) and Black Brant (County Wexford). Early returning migrants included a Swallow in East Sussex, two Sand Martins in Pembrokeshire and a White Wagtail in Kent.
-  Chris Batty, RBA