Sunday 5th August 2012
	A more exciting day today, with some quality rarities discovered. Top of the draw was an adult Stilt Sandpiper in Northumberland. Found mid evening, it remained until dusk on the scrape at Low Newton-by-the-Sea. This first for the county will undoubtedly prove popular, if it lingers. A smart male Black-headed Bunting was present for a couple of hours on North Ronaldsay, Orkney, whilst an adult Bonaparte's Gull in Eastbourne, Sussex has been present for a couple of days. An adult Spotted Sandpiper was another late in the day find, at Clonea Strand, County Waterford. Lingering rarities included the Black-winged Pratincole on the Western Isles, Alpine Swift and White-rumped Sandpiper in Norfolk (another of the latter still in County Waterford), Long-billed Dowitcher in Gloucestershire, Bonaparte's Gull in Argyll, Ferruginous Duck in Suffolk and single Glossy Ibises in Essex, Pembrokeshire and County Wexford. Scarcity highlights included a Night Heron (Hampshire), a Dotterel (Western Isles), a Surf Scoter (Aberdeenshire), two Purple Herons (Cambridgeshire and Kent), two Pectoral Sandpipers (West Midlands and Kent), three Long-tailed Skuas (Yorkshire and Norfolk), a single Sabine's Gull (Sussex then Kent) and a single Cory's Shearwater (Dorset).
-  Will Soar, RBA