A good day today for new species.  Alerts put out on the SOS message board indicated the possibility of a yellow-browed warbler showing well near Westhay NNR and a black-throated diver at Cheddar reservoir.  Also on offer were a red-crested pochard and a ring-necked duck at Cheddar and whooper swans on the Levels at Sharpham. I reckon two out of a possible five was a good result.  The warbler showed well in bright sunshine for ten minutes or so.  However, it was such a fast mover and was flitting about the brambles so quickly that I only had about ten useable shots out of two hundred or so taken.

The black-throated diver was amazingly close at the Cheddar end of the reservoir near the water tower and was coming within a few feet of the edge at times despite a crowd of photographers.

Last but not least, a carrion crow posed nicely for me and I couldn't resist a few shots.  The corvid family always seem to be so full of character and yet are a challenge to photograph and expose correctly.  I was quite pleased with this one even though it hardly rivalled the two stars of the day.

A well spent few hours on a bright but chilly December day.