🔍 Overview One of the most familiar garden birds in Sussex. Males are sleek black with a bright yellow bill, while females are dark brown. Common across gardens, woodlands, and parks. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (24–25 cm) Plumage: Black (male), brown (female) Distinctive Marks: Yellow bill and eye-ring (male) Bill: Strong and pointed...
Image Attribution: Jan Ebr & Ivana Ebrová, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview A scarce winter visitor to Sussex seas. Less frequently recorded than Red-throated Diver, but regular offshore. 🪶 Key Identification Features Winter: Sleek grey head, dark back, clean white underparts Breeding: Striking black throat, white-striped sides Size: Larger than a gull,...
🔍 Overview The most familiar gull in Sussex, especially around coastal towns, wetlands, and inland reservoirs. Not truly black-headed – its breeding plumage features a chocolate-brown hood. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (35–39 cm) Plumage: White with grey wings, dark head in summer Distinctive Marks: Red bill and legs, white wing tips Bill: Slim,...
Image Attribution: Cephas, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview A graceful marsh tern seen on migration in spring and autumn. Not a regular breeder in the UK. 🪶 Key Identification Features Breeding: Smoky-black body, grey wings Non-breeding: Pale grey above, white below, dusky breast sides Other: Slender, buoyant flyer 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution...
📍 Local Expert Tip ” Black Redstarts are passage birds, especially in Autumn can be seen along the tops of the Downs especially where there are farm buildings. A few individuals may winter with Shoreham Fort and around the beach huts and groynes at Widewater being favoured locations.” 🔍 Overview A scarce migrant and winter visitor...
🔍 Overview Fairly common winter visitor and passage migrant. Elegant and slender, the Bar-tailed Godwit is a regular passage and winter visitor to Sussex’s coastal mudflats, especially around Goring Gap, Widewater, Worthing Beaches and Lower Adur Valley. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large wader (37–41 cm)Plumage: Warm brown and buff; breeding males show rich chestnut underpartsDistinctive...
🔍 Overview Striking and elegant, the Avocet is a rare but iconic wader in Sussex, most commonly spotted at coastal wetlands and saltmarshes. With its upturned bill and bold black-and-white plumage, it’s a conservation success story in the UK. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (43–45 cm) Plumage: Clean black and white Distinctive Marks: Black...
🔍 Overview Delicate and graceful, the Arctic Tern is a long-distance migrant famous for its epic pole-to-pole journey. Every year, Arctic Terns migrate from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle—a round-trip journey of about 30,000 kilometers. It is known as the ‘sea swallow’ because of its long tail streamers. In Sussex, it’s mainly seen...
Brighton Marina, perched on the eastern edge of the city, is a striking fusion of coastal engineering and seaside vibrancy. Built between 1971 and 1979, it’s one of the largest artificial marinas in Europe, with over 1,200 berths, a working harbour, residential apartments, and a lively mix of restaurants, shops, and entertainment venues. The marina’s...
