28th March - mod-strong gusty westerly, rain until late morning, sunny spells pm, max 10C

Storm 'Katie' passed through over night and this morning bring strong winds and lots of rain from the SW, cool too.  Ideal for birds turning up inland that are not usually seen.

A small flock of Redwing were feeding along a hedge in the rain and wind first thing.

Late morning when the weather had eased I decided to pop-out to Shawell lagoons to see if the injured Iceland Gull had survived, it had and looked quite healthy.  On scanning one pool closer I spotted two dark small ducks, these were a male and female Common Scoter, probably here due to the weather, I managed a couple of record photos.

Other birds present included a single lapwing, a Great-crested Grebe, 3 Little Grebes, 2 singing Chiffchaff, 2 Green Woodpecker and a Bullfinch pair.

The bird highlights of an afternoon visit to the local reservoir included my first Swallow and House Martin of the year, and a single Sand Martin.  There were 12 Goldeneye and 3 Goosander on the very choppy water. I counted 40 Mute Swans, most are non breeding immatures and 41 Greylag Geese.  A small number of Redwing were feeding under the hedge for shelter, a Bullfinch pair, a single Goldfinch, 3 Stock Doves and single Grey Heron flew over.  A kestrel was battling the wind to hunt.