Just back from an enjoyable Christmas and New Year break on my native Isle of Wight. We were lucky with the weather with plenty of bright, crisp days to get out and about in. There were some windy interludes which were used for some winter seawatching effort from St Catherines Point at the Southern tip of the Island. This wasn't too bad considering the time of year with an unseasonal Arctic Skua and a couple of Bonxies the highlights amongst more expected winter species such as Kittiwake, Guillemot, Razorbill, Fulmar and Red-throated Diver.
The most unusual record was a wintering Common Whitethroat at Hersey Nature Reserve on December 29th. This bird had been located in late November and had remained into early December but hadn't been reported for a while, so it was a real surprise when me and the Bro emerged from the hide at dusk to hear it giving alarm calls from brambles by the path. It was giving those scolding 'charr' alarm calls you associate with the summer time often given when you have accidentally got close to a nest, not something you expect to hear in December. Other highlights noted around the Island during our stay were 4 Black-necked Grebe, a fem/Juv Hen Harrier and a probable Siberian Chiffchaff (amongst an impressive winter gathering of at least 25 Common Chiffchaff).
Something of a tradition on New Years day when I was living on the Island was to get out for a bird race and see how many species could be recorded. The Island is a good place to do this because of it's compact nature and variety of habitats, something that is very useful when daylight hours are short. The magic number is 100 or more species but this is far from easy in a day, particularly if the weather is against you. Although not pouring with rain the weather wasn't great with a gusty South-west wind making locating small birds hard work. Carina and I didn't take it too seriously(we stopped for lunch at Tesco Costa!) but had an enjoyable day ending up with a reasonable 87 species.

After a calm clear night, a very hard frost created this scene at a place called Southford (Not too far from the site of the famous breeding Bee-eaters). The icy conditions were probably responsible for the gathering of at least 25 Common Chiffchaff(and a probable Siberian) at a nearby sewage works.

A milder, windier day looking out over the English Channel from St Catherines Point.

One of a group of 3 Ravens hanging in the wind at St Catherines Point. When I first started birding in the 1980"s this honorary raptor was something of a local scarcity on the Island with a handful of pairs restricted to coastal cliffs. Now it is much more frequently encountered and increasingly seen inland.

The hide at Hersey Reserve, Seaview on the Islands North (Solent) coast provides good photo opportunities. Little Egrets and a wintering Greenshank are often present. This locality also turned up the most notable sighting during my stay with a wintering Common Whitethroat.

Another highlight were 4 Black-necked Grebe in the Solent at Ryde West Sands.