I found December hard going, lack of motivation due to having returned from Argentina and a combination of miserable weather and it being fairly uninspiring in Sussex/locally. My highlights were: Greenshank and Kingfisher on the Adur on 1st. Eider, Black Redstart and Rock Pipit at the Fort on 2nd. Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Stonechats and 6 Greenfinches along the Beeding Hill Triangle with Otis on 3rd. Greenshank, Kingfisher and a pair of Stonechats at Adur Saltings/Rec on 6th. Colour-ringed Great Black-back and adult Yellow-legged Gull on the Adur on 8th. Kingfisher at Widewater and 91 Great Black-back and a brief first-winter Caspian Gull on the Adur on 10th. Great Spotted Woodpecker, 6 Long-tailed Tits and a Goldcrest N of Dacres Gardens on 11th. A pair of Stonechats at Widewater and both female Lord Derby's and male Ring-necked Parakeets at Middle Road on 13th. Red Kite, 30 Skylarks, Stonechat, 40 House Sparrows and 80 Corn and a Reed Bunting at Steepdown on 15th. Water Rail (heard), 67 Common Snipe, Greenshank, Sparrowhawk and the pair of Stonechats at Adur Saltings/Rec and both parakeets at Middle Road on 15th. Two Purple Sandpipers, Mediterranean Gull, Kingfisher and Rock Pipit at Shoreham Fort. Coal Tit and 5 Nuthatches at Tottington Woods on 20th. Two Red-breasted Mergansers, 8 Kittiwakes, 40 auks including at least 2 Razorbills, 6 Red-throated, a Black-throated and 2 unidentified Divers and 188 Gannets mostly W at Widewater on 21st. 2 Kingfishers by the Adur on 23rd. Both parakeets at Middle Road on 24th. Forty-three Ringed Plover and 148 Dunlin on the beach at Eastern Sands on 26th. Firecrest and Treecreeper at Tottington Woods on 27th. Twenty-seven Meadow Pipits at New Monks Park on 28th. Red Kite, 2 Ravens and 2 Chaffinches at Mill Hill and both parakeets at Middle Road on 30th. Finally on 31st Mute Swans on Widewater with 3 Brent Geese, 6 Great Crested Grebes, 15 Kittiwakes, 3 Red-throated and an unidentified Diver, 179 auks including at least 23 Guillemots and 29 Razorbills and 136 Gannets mostly flying west and 700 Common, 1000+ Herring and a first-winter Caspian Gull on the Adur at dusk, a nice way to finish the year.
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| long staying male Eider from Shoreham Fort on 02 December |
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| adult Yellow-legged Gull on the Adur on 08 December |
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| Great Black-backed Gull A26 on the Adur on 08 December. It was ringed as a chick in Normandie in June 2007. It was the ninth time I've read it, all but one on the Adur, although only the third since 2013. |
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| first-winter Caspian Gull on the Adur on 10 December |
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| a quick preen |
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| I looked away and it had gone |
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| colour-ringed Great Black-backed Gull on the Adur, almost certainly from Southern Norway but just too far away for a readable photo |
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| The changing face of Shoreham from the Adur Saltings |
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female Stonechat on Adur Rec on 15 December
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| roosting Purple Sandpiper at Shoreham Fort on 17 December |
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| male Ring-necked Parakeet in Middle Road on 30 December |
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Lord Derby's Parakeet in Middle Road on 30 December
 | first-winter Caspian Gull on the Adur at dusk on 31 December
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| quite likely one of the two seen by Matt P the previous evening |
