On the 22nd December 2021, David Miller found a Rustic Bunting in his garden in Bangor, Co Down. This was a second for NI with one previous record from Rathlin on the 19th - 25th October 1997.
Despite been in a private garden, David went out of his way to facilitate the many birders who visited and it was one of the most twitched birds ever in NI. The bird was believed to be a first winter and was last reported on the 31st December 2021 so unfortunately it did not make it in 2022.
Special thanks go to David for both finding the bird but also facilitating everyone.
Rustic Bunting, Clifford Sharpe:
