Thursday 13th December 2012
	The highlight of the day was the identification of an American Buff-bellied Pipit in Berkshire at Queen Mother Reservoir. First glimpsed yesterday, the bird showed well today, and mirrored previous occurences of this species in Lincolnshire at Wyberton between 5th December 2005 and 29th January 2006, and at Farmoor Reservoir, Oxfordshire on 8th-10th October 2007. Elsewhere, new rarities found today were a Gyr on the Orkney Isles in Deerness, and an American Golden Plover at Burnfoot, County Donegal. Meanwhile, lingering rarities confirmed as still present were the Pacific Diver in Cornwall, Desert Wheatear in Aberdeenshire, Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll in Suffolk, two Penduline Tits together in Cambridgeshire, Falcated Duck in Oxfordshire, Lesser Scaups in Cornwall, County Kerry and Somerset, Ferruginous Duck in Somerset and Glossy Ibis in Hampshire. Scarcities comprised Red-breasted Flycatcher (Cornwall), Rose-coloured Starling (Devon), Surf Scoter (Suffolk), American Wigeon (West Yorkshire), Ring-necked Duck (Devon, County Kerry and Norfolk), Ring-billed Gull (West Yorkshire), and Grey Phalarope (Bedfordshire and Dorset). Waxwings were recorded across 47 counties between Forth, Fife, Devon and Kent, with maximum flocks of 300 in Cumbria, 150 in Leicestershire, and 100 each in both Nottinghamshire and Shropshire.
-  Chris Batty, RBA