this gorgeous fox was outside my front door at 5.30 this evening

one of those photos that looks like a painting, love these birds anyway http://www.surfbirds.com/gallery/share_photo.php?imgname=20131210150906783.jpg

from one extreme to the other - the long-tailed duck which had up to now given the impression of a wary bird always at the back of the lake seemed pretty unconcerned by my presence as it fed in the northeast arm today. close enough to hear the splosh as it dived. the drake smew first reported yesterday was still there. i dunno it just doesn't feel right to me seeing smew in mild weather.

muntjac washed up on camber sands

3 caspian gulls in the roost at camber sands and a ton of argentatus (outnumbering argenteus on the beaches i looked at on the dunge peninsula)

yesterday 2 new caspian gulls in the roost down the cuckmere and a water pipit was at west rise at midday.

gulls!

above 3: first-winter caspian 

below: a different first-winter 

 above 2: adult caspian 

below: both first-winters 

above: left to right adult yellow-legged gull, two first-winter caspian and adult argie

cuckmere this evening. loads of gulls, majority of them flew out to sea but in the portion of the flock i did get a look at there were 3 caspian and 2 yellow-legged. lots more gulls came down the valley at dusk, must be a big day roost somewhere inland, only place i've seen them is a field near sherman bridge. the spoonbill came into roost at 4pm, down on the meanders after doing a complete loop of the valley and making sure it flushed all the remainder of the gulls off, bloody thing! i even went to tidemills to have a look this morning and found it asleep in a tree ffs.

prince's park. missed it flying around the lake after it'd been flushed by model boats but saw it down on the stream by the kids play area. great to watch it swimming underwater, they're pretty quick on those big paddles!