It’s a time-honoured tradition to get up before dawn on New Year’s Day and go racing around trying to build up a good early total on the year list.

Another option is to relax and spread that over a few more leisurely days. Guess which we chose?

Highlights were the five snow buntings still resident on Southport beach and a drake Common Scoter showing off on the Marine Lake. It’s nice to see one as an individual rather than an anonymous black dot amongst thousands of others out to sea.