Elvis lives!

He certainly does. Not in his younger quondam days but in his later life when he was bloated and blinged up in his white suits.

We saw him to day on Unst. Filling his face on pineapple mayweed seeds on a drive.

As Mr Garner says ' Boom'.

Hornemann's Arctic Redpoll! What a stunner.

What a start to the day. The weather was kinder today. Yes it was windy and rained at times but the sun came out and we saw some cracking birds. A small flock of Greenland 'rostrata' Redpolls showing their distinctive 'cats claws' markings on their backs were seen  near the Hornemann's but thought better about landing near its preferred food supply - it looked like the kind of kid that would steal your dinner money. A monster of a Redpoll. Nearby a Snow Bunting strutted itself in the middle of the road and was only given a cursory glance.

Migrants were few and far between and there was no sign of the recent Pechora Pipit even though we gained permission from the land owner to check her fields which held a prize Suffolk ram and a flock of sheep.

Moving from Norwick to Clibberswick we searched the grounds of a derelict building after hearing a Barred Warbler had been seen there the previous day. Another car full of birders informed us they'd searched for the bird but there was no sign but we weren't prepared to give up so easily as Chris needed it as a lifer as he hadn't seen the bird on the Mainland yesterday. There was a likely looking crop field behind the farm so we knocked on the door and asked permission to walk the 'tatty' field. Boom. Out popped the Barred Warbler.

A search of other likely spots revealed nothing more exciting than the odd Willow Warbler, Blackcap and Goldcrests.