General (county) update - 28th December 2010

• Many, many waxwings now all over Berkshire, but as I've now come down with the mother of all colds, I've not been up to go find any.
• Not only waxwings, but also today, a bittern has been seen at my local patch (where Mr.T and I saw the water rail recently).
• That bittern means this local patch, about a mile away from "Swift Half", now has a super list of things one can see there - bitterns, short eared owls, barn owls, tawny owls, muntjac deer, roe deer, otters, mink, foxes, snipe, woodcock, buzzards, kestrels, sparrowhawks, kingfishers, egrets, herons, water rails, little grebes, mandarin, duck, tufted duck, cormorants, herons, grey wagtails.... I could go on!
• All not two miles from one of the biggest towns in southern England!