I ventured quite far out of the National Park this afternoon to spend an hour at Pett Level, which has been great for winter geese recently. Pink-footed Goose can be found in large numbers further north, but it's a very scarce bird in Sussex. This particular bird has been hanging around with a flock of Russian White-fronted Geese on the west side of the level for some time. As well as spotting the Pink-foot, it was amazing to count some 43 Russian White-fronts, a rather respectable number anywhere in Britain these days.
A couple of Marsh Harriers quartered the marshes, putting up hundreds of Golden Plovers and Lapwings, as well as a flock of 10 Ruff. A scan offshore revealed several Red-throated Divers and Great Crested Grebes, with some of the divers quite close in.
