This phalarope must be one of the most photographed birds in the UK this week

Hove Lagoon, West Sussex: Blown off-course by storms, this small, slender, white and grey water bird has found shelter among the blue mosaic tiles

The traffic splashes along the glistening sea front at Hove. The black rain clouds move east, and the sun rises up into the sky. Light reaches around the walls surrounding the children's paddling pool, where the grey phalarope is already feeding when I arrive. Blown off-course by recent storms, this small, slender, white and grey water bird, about the size of a starling, has found shelter among the blue mosaic tiles.

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