Brent geese

Mr U&L and I went to Shoreham today to blow away some of the Christmas cobwebs. The  tide was halfway out and the Adur estuary  mud flats had loads of birds feeding on them, sadly most were juvenile Herring gulls in various states of moult, from speckled right through to the grey and white adult plumage. 
Amongst all these Herring gulls were a couple of interesting others, a pair of Greater black-backed gulls (see extra) and a pair of Brent geese.
The Brent goose Brenta bernicla is a small goose about the size of a Mallard that can be found in coastal waters throughout the winter.It is not a species I have seen before, so I was delighted.