29th December

Another icy dawn gave way to a beautiful day of unbroken sunshine. A few more new arrivals put in appearances, notable amongst which were 2 Velvet Scoters in Portland Harbour; the first Chiffchaff at the Obs for several weeks, 7 Brent Geese and a Shelduck through off Chesil Cove and the Bill respectively and 2 Wigeon in Portland Harbour were all likely to be responding to the chilly conditions, as were 2 Fieldfares amongst totals of 50 each of Blackbird and Song Thrush, and 2 Redwings around the centre and south of the island. Standard mid-winter fare included at least 1 of the Blackcaps still at the Obs, 15 Red-throated Divers through off the Bill where a Great Skua lingered, a Black Redstart at Chesil Cove and the Black Guillemot and Eider off Portland Castle.