Junco in Hants

I had a really enjoyable, chilled out day with Karen and my parents in Hampshire today - got some decent enough views of the 1st-winter male Dark-eyed Junco that has been mooching around a car park and clear fell area near Beaulieu in the New Forest for the last week or so. The bird was associating with a few Reed Buntings, feeding continuously and pretty restless in its behaviour.

A hungry Junco

Remarkably this is only the second Dark-eyed Junco that I've seen in Britain and Ireland; the previous one being in Chester in 1998 that kept me busy feeding it; good memories of going to see it during free lessons and lunchtimes while in sixth form. They've been rather thin on the ground though recently, so this one seemed to be well appreciated. Plenty of Crossbills around this area too, but a late afternoon visit to Walpole Boating Lake, Gosport, failed to produce the hoped for Ring-billed Gull.

Hawkhill Inclosure, New Forest