Today Stuart and I went out for a bit of a 'Twitch' that is knowing a certain bird is there and going to that place to get it for our list.  At this time of year if you miss a wintering bird you then have to wait till November or December to try again and if it is a mild winter they may be late in coming in then you will not have it for your list.  The bird we went out today to see was a Smew. The picture in not mine just borrowed but I just had to let you see this wonderful duck. This is the male the female is not called a Smew she is known as a Redhead and looks totally different from the drake.  It took us a while from the heated observation lounge but we did see him eventually. It has been a very cold day with a very cold wind so we were glad of the shelter.   Some of you will remember that in August I posted pictures if a field of sunflowers out the back road where we stay.  I can't remember if I said at the time that we thought it would be great for the finches in the winter. Today we called round and we were right there must have been about 300 finches there were Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Brambling to name but a few. The light was terrible so we will go back on a brighter day and see what's what. Not a bad outing for such a horrible day but it does keep you occupied for a few hours as we tend to go a bit stir crazy if we are kept in for too long.  That's it for today. The yearly total is now 54. It's hard going just now.  Love

     Joan.