The second half of February

A walk around Grune point got the period off to a good start with the Snow Bunting still present, as were the 2 wintering Little Stints, the 2 Long Tailed Ducks, a distant Short Eared Owl, a Raven and a Greenshank. The Snow Bunting seems to have moved on though as it has not been seen this fortnight.

The next day saw a nice suprise just before work with 5 Waxwings in a tree at my road end in Carlisle, they were then reported from Annetwell St in Carlisle city centre and 2 others were seen in Lowry Hill, Carlisle.

A Little Egret was again seen on Easton Marsh on the 26/2 and on the 22/2 Darren Robson found a Ross's goose/Pinkfeet hybrid amongst large numbers of Geese at Easton, this bird had been present in Norfolk and Lancashire earlier this year.

Away from the coast 2 drake Smew were reported from Tindale Tarn in the north-east of the County although when I visited on the 23/2 only 1 was present. Very few other ducks were present on the 23/2 only a drake Pochard and a single goosander

Carr Beds continued to get the odd good bird with green Sandpiper regularly present and a Jack Snipe flushed on the 23/2. Up to 60 Whooper Swans were still around and the injured bird present for 4 years is still hanging on, up to 40 goldeneye have also been on the river Eden.

A Glaucous Gull was seen at Sandsfield in the gull roost at high tide on the 25/02 and then an Iceland Gull (initially reported as a Glaucous Gull) was found nearby in St Annes, Carlisle on the 27/2 where it remained for a few days at least. Unusually this was the 3rd Iceland Gull for North Cumbria in the last month