MEGA RARITY: Brünnich's Guillemot in Portland Harbour!

While settling into a nice, calm Boxing Day morning, I decided to check Bird News Extra, just to make sure I wasn't missing anything special on this sunny day. I was missing something. A Brünnich's Guillemot (first for Dorset- actually first for Britain south of Lancashire and fourth for England) had been found off Osprey Quay. Within forty minutes, we were standing at Osprey Quay enjoying great (if rather distant) views of this mega rare Arctic vagrant as it swum among the boats:

Brünnich's Guillemot, Portland Harbour, 26/12/13

What a great first time to use my new camera that I got for Christmas. Nearby, the Black Guillemot was still off Portland Castle (but sadly still too distant for photography) and two Black-throated Divers and one Great Northern Diver were there too. Feeling very much content, we then headed to Hamm Beach, where two more Black-throated Divers and a Red-necked Grebe were present. What a winter Portland Harbour is having!

As if the day could get any better, we decided to stop off at the Weymouth Glossy Ibis, my second in the UK, showing very well in a flooded football field near Radipole Lake:

Glossy Ibis, Weymouth, 26/12/13

What a great day!