It seems many decades ago since I last saw a Grey Phalarope and so I'm very happy to find this one along the shoreline at Dungeness. At sea and at first sight, it appeared as just another dull diminutive wader, until it dropped down on top of the swell, spun around searching for surface plankton to eat. And that's the clue to a Phalarope, no other wading bird will naturally behave like this.
My one hour's sea watch came in a little window of sunshine amongst many storms that never seem to be far off the coast at the moment. See pic below.
