A rare bird at Pagham; Katie on the telly; frozen neighbours; The King’s Head, Hursley; news – good and bad – about Pennington Marshes; “a very fine man indeed”; a lovely experience at the Junior School, and a historic election.
A bird new to the British List has been at Pagham Harbour during December 1978 and Barry and Geoff, who have already seen it, are keen for Gran to enjoy it too. She writes on Christmas Eve:
Barry, Geoff and I rose at six-thirty and set out optimistically for Pagham to see the very rare avian visitor, which the two had seen earlier… we went straight to the area which our special bird had been frequenting and Barry soon located the Greater Sand Plover which, even now, in winter plumage is a beautiful bird. It is larger than a Ringed Plover, which we also saw, sandy-buff above, white below, with black ear-coverts and band across the forehead. It is an Asian bird and is accidental in Greece, Sweden and Germany. Barry got it focused in his scope and told me to look, and I was so excited that I lay flat in a puddle to reach the telescope.