Matthew Deans

An enjoyable morning at Carlton Marshes, Suffolk, with the highlight the continuing drake American Wigeon. Also seen were a single Tundra Bean Goose and c150 White-fronted Geese.

Record shot of Slavonian Grebe at Hollesley Marshes, Suffolk, this afternoon. A rare bird in the county since the demise of the Stour wintering population in recent years.

Hume's Warbler at Lowestoft, Suffolk this morning. A very active bird which showed well. A very pale individual with a call similar to a Pied Wagtail.

A great thing to do, David, and a chance to escape the incessant rain here in the UK!

Aurora borealis from Hollesley, East Suffolk, this evening.

Some nice winter wildfowl around Alton Water reservoir, south Suffolk, today. A 'white nun' Smew and a flyover Bewick's Swan plus the two female Scaup still present.

One of my favourite wintering birds - Snow Buntings - in a snow blizzard today at Kessingland beach, Suffolk.

Shore Lark, Kessingland beach, Suffolk, in a snow blizzard this afternoon. One of four birds overwintering at this location.

A striking leucistic Blackbird in the North Bushes at Minsmere @RSPBMinsmere this morning. An influx of continental Blackbirds was evident here today with at least 20 - 30 seen.

Bewick's Swans

Tundra Bean Geese

Started the new year at Minsmere @RSPBMinsmere where the highlights were Temminck's Stint, Firecrest & Water Pipit. Then two Bewick's Swans and 12 Tundra Bean Geese at Gedgrave, Orford.

Happy New Year to all my friends and followers. Here is a Sri Lanka Blue-Magpie from Sinharaja earlier in December. One of my birds of the year.

The Black-winged Kite showed well at Ludham Bridge, Norfolk, this afternoon. Great views in the telescope, although rather distant for photographs.

The Black-bellied Dipper at Bintree Mill, Norfolk. Often elusive, going missing for days, the bird put on quite a show today.

Hump-nosed Lizard (Lyriocephalus scutatus) from Sinharaja. A completely unique genus and endemic to Sri Lanka. It was an exciting find in the wet zone rainforest.

The colourful White-throated Flowerpecker from Sinharaja earlier in December. An endemic resident breeder in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka Spurfowl (male), Sinharaja, Sri Lanka, earlier in December. Relatively easy to see nowadays, with the setup of feeding blinds.

I rarely see Smew in Suffolk nowadays. It's one of our declining winter visitors. This exquisite "white Nun" showed well today at @SWTCarltonMarsh in north-east Suffolk. Also present was a drake Goosander on Oulton Dyke.

Sri Lanka Bay-Owl, Sinharaja, Sri Lanka, in December 2025. This was an unexpected bonus - a very difficult bird to connect with, although in the past few years it has been slightly easier. Despite the name, it's not endemic to Sri Lanka and is also found in parts of India.

Serendib Scops-Owl from Sinharaja, Sri Lanka, November 2025. Two well-hidden birds were seen after a considerable trek in the rainforest.

Indian Pitta in the rain at Kitulgala, Sri Lanka, November 2025. I saw several here and found them to be one of the more showy of the pitta species.

Thanks, Paul. Shame you didn't have a camera to capture your Blacknor bird. They are certainly very distinctive.

The lovely Eastern Black Redstart at Sheringham, Norfolk, this afternoon. Although largely elusive, it does show very well on occasions. My first ever in East Anglia following one in Kent and two in Cleveland/Yorkshire.

I was pleased to find this Brown Fish Owl at Kitulgala, Sri Lanka, in November. I first detected it in my thermal imager.

Green-billed Coucal from Kitulgala, Sri Lanka, in November. Quite elusive and they can be slippery customers hiding away! I only saw a couple here and one at Sinharaja.

I saw Serendib at Sinharaja but not at Kitulgala (although they're still regularly seen there).

The rather endearing Chestnut-backed Owlet from Kitulgala, Sri Lanka, in November. An endemic, seen quite easily here on several days.

Banded Bay Cuckoo at Kitulgala, Sri Lanka, 25 November. I've seen this species a few times in Asia now but rarely as showy as this individual.

Indian Scops Owls from near Negombo, Sri Lanka, on 25 November. Recently split from Collared Scops Owl - great views were enjoyed of this pair.

Toque Macaque, Negombo Lagoon, Sri Lanka - 24 November. The name derives from the whorl of hair on the head resembling a cap. A widespread and common species.

My recent Sri Lankan adventure started in Colombo, where Spot-billed Pelican was seen very well at the nearby Negombo Lagoon on 24 November.