🔍 Overview A summer breeder on Sussex’s shingle beaches, the Little Tern is small, agile, and highly vocal. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Very small tern (22–24 cm)Plumage: Pale grey above, white belowDistinctive Marks: White forehead patch, yellow bill with black tipBill: Slender and pointedTail: ForkedFlight: Agile, hovers before diving 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Seen off...
🔍 Overview A tiny Arctic-breeding wader seen on passage, especially in autumn. One of the smallest shorebirds in Sussex. 🪶 Key Identification Features Small, delicate wader with fine bill and short legs Sandy brown above, white below Juveniles show neat scaly pattern 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Passage migrant at Pagham Harbour, Rye Harbour, and Medmerry...
🔍 Overview The smallest gull in the world, the Little Gull is a scarce but regular passage migrant along the Sussex coast. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Very small (25–29 cm)Plumage: Pale grey back, black underwings (adult), dark smudge on headDistinctive Marks: Short black bill, dainty buildBill: Thin and darkTail: SquareFlight: Buoyant, tern-like flight 🗺️ Habitat...
🔍 Overview A dainty wader that breeds on bare, stony ground. Summer visitor and breeder in parts of Sussex. 🪶 Key Identification Features Sandy brown upperparts, white belly Bright yellow eye-ring Smaller and darker than Ringed Plover 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Breeds at gravel pits, reservoirs, and quarries, including Arlington Reservoir and Rye Harbour. 🎶...
🔍 Overview Britain’s smallest and rarest woodpecker. Once more widespread in Sussex, now very scarce and local. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size of a sparrow Black and white barred back Male: Small red crown; Female: Lacks red 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Prefers mature deciduous woodland, especially West Sussex Weald and Ashdown Forest. Most active in...
🔍 Overview A gorgeous winter wader, the Knot in plumage can appear almost white or deep cinnamon in spring plumage along coastlines. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Stocky wader (23–26 cm)Plumage: Mottled grey/white, red-brown breeding plumageDistinctive Marks: Short, straight billBill: Short and straightTail: Short and roundFlight: Barking calls in low flocks 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Wintering...
🔍 Overview An elegant raptor of open country, once bred in Sussex but now mainly seen on passage or wintering on the Downs. 🪶 Key Identification Features Male: Pale grey with black wingtips Female/juvenile: Brown with white rump (“ringtail”) Long wings and tail, low buoyant flight 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Seen at Lancing Ring, Steep...
📍 Local Expert Tip “A handful of birds can be seen most winters around the Adur Estuary and Goring Gap and Worthing beaches. A distinctive white-headed individual returned for at least five years from 2020 to the Adur Estuary favouring the section north of the Railway Bridge.” 🔍 Overview A robust, medium-large wader known for...
📍 Local Expert Tip “The Greenshank is generally a passage migrant in small numbers along the edge of the Estuary. However since 2019 a bird has wintered being faithful to the Houseboat Channel where it regularly chases its smaller cousins, the Redshanks, making them drop food items.” 🔍 Overview Elegant and long-legged, the Greenshank is a...
🔍 Overview Scarce spring and autumn passage migrant; more frequent in autumn; scarce in winter. A secretive, bobbing wader of wet woodland edges and inland pools, usually seen on migration. 🪶 Key Identification Features Dark green-brown above, white belly Short straight bill, greenish legs Contrasting white rump in flight 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Spring and...
