The common and ubiquitous Redshank in the dullness of a December morning at Bowling Green Marsh Exeter.

There are always Red breasted Merganser on the Exe in the winter.  This is a drake and it was actually feeding on small perch in the Exeter Ship Canal.

This is the UK's smallest goose, a Brent.  It's interesting to see how birders and photographers take this species for granted now but it's not all that long ago, perhaps 10 or 15 years that they were considered quite a celebrity bird. However they have become quite a success story and one that is hardly mentioned.  I am not 100% sure of the reasons for their success but I believe I read somewhere that it is due to their recently acquired habit of feeding from grass in adjoining fields rather than their reliance on eel grass in the estuaries.  This would certainly make sense as they are often seen feeding near to Canada Geese.