Saturday 1st December 2012
	The highlight of the day was the arrival of a Black-throated Thrush on the Shetland Isles at Loch of Benston, Mainland. Elsewhere, discoveries included a Gyr on North Uist, Western Isles, Blue-winged Teal in County Clare at Ballyalla Lake, a Ferruginous Duck in Staffordshire at Dosthill, and a White-rumped Sandpiper identified at Longham Lakes, Dorset. Lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the American Coot in County Galway, Subalpine Warbler in Cornwall, Little Bunting in Cornwall, four Hornemann's Arctic Redpolls on the Shetland Isles, Red-breasted Goose in Cumbria and Hampshire, two Richardson's Canada Geese in Argyll, Long-billed Dowitchers in both Gloucestershire and Lincolnshire, Lesser Yellowlegs in Devon, Lesser Scaup in County Clare, and Glossy Ibis in Pembrokeshire. Scarcities included American Wigeon (West Yorkshire), Surf Scoter (Fife, County Waterford and Western Isles), Ring-necked Duck (Cornwall, County Galway, Leicestershire and County Mayo), Lesser Snow Goose (Highland) and Sabine's Gull (County Cork). Waxwings were logged across 56 counties between the Western Isles, Aberdeenshire, Kent and the Isles of Scilly, where maximum flocks included 315 in Kent, 300 Clyde, 150 Glamorgan and Nottinghamshire, 120 South Yorkshire, and 100 each in Denbighshire, Gloucestershire, Gwent and Leicestershire.
-  Chris Batty, RBA