Find Birds by Location

🔍 Overview Ghostly and ethereal, the Barn Owl is one of Sussex’s most iconic nocturnal hunters. Often glimpsed at dusk, silently quartering open fields and meadows. 🪶 Key Identification Features…

🔍 Overview A true summer migrant, the Barn Swallow brings the Sussex countryside to life with its graceful flight and cheerful chirping. It nests in barns and outbuildings, often returning…

🔍 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…

🕊️ Blackcap 🔍 Overview A sweet-singing warbler, the Blackcap is both a breeding bird and winter visitor in Sussex. Males are known for their rich, fluting song and distinctive cap….

🔍 Overview A colourful and acrobatic garden favourite across Sussex. Found in almost any habitat with trees and shrubs, especially fond of garden feeders. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small…

🔍 Overview The Brambling is a winter finch visitor from Scandinavia, adding colour and excitement to Sussex flocks. Most often seen in beech woods or mixed with Chaffinches in farmland….

🔍 Overview Quiet and striking, the Bullfinch is a shy woodland resident in Sussex. Often seen in pairs, it’s more often heard by its soft call than seen clearly. 🪶…

🔍 Overview A large, familiar goose introduced from North America. Now widespread across Sussex, especially near lakes, ponds, and parklands. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large (90–100 cm) Plumage: Brown…

🔍 Overview Intelligent, all-black crow commonly seen in fields, parks, and towns across Sussex. Wary but often curious, it adapts well to both rural and urban habitats. 🪶 Key Identification…

🔍 Overview One of the most colourful and common finches in Sussex. Males are especially bright in spring. Found in gardens, woodlands, and farmland year-round. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size:…

🔍 Overview A small, agile woodland bird that often joins mixed flocks in Sussex woodlands and gardens. Less bold than the blue tit but just as active and vocal. 🪶…

🔍 Overview Once rare, the Common Buzzard is now Sussex’s most widespread raptor. Often seen circling high above woodland and farmland, especially in spring. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium-large…

🔍 Overview A small, greenish warbler, arriving in Sussex each spring. Known for its rhythmic, onomatopoeic “chiff-chaff” song. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Very small (10–12 cm) Plumage: Olive-grey above,…

🔍 Overview Harbinger of spring, the Common Cuckoo is famous for its call and brood parasitism. A declining summer visitor to Sussex heathlands and open woodland. 🪶 Key Identification Features…

Very common introduced resident. Population augmented annually by captive bred stock.

📍 Local Expert Tip “The Snipe is a winter visitor from October to April with a peak in January and February. Often difficult to see but on high tides flocks of…

🔍 Overview Shiny and social, the Starling is a brilliant presence in Sussex fields and gardens. Known for its iridescent plumage and murmuring flocks. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium…

🔍 Overview The quintessential summer sky-dweller in Sussex, Swifts arrive in May and leave by August. Spend nearly all daylight hours on the wing. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium…

🔍 Overview A lively warbler of Sussex hedgerows and scrub, the Whitethroat is known for its chattering song and concealed habitat preference. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small (13–14 cm)…

🔍 Overview A shy, understated passerine of Sussex gardens and shrubberies. Often mistaken for a sparrow, but with a skittish, furtive nature. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small (14 cm)…

🔍 Overview Tiny and camouflaged, the Treecreeper is a specialist of Sussex woodland—often climbing up tree trunks hunting for insects. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small (12–13 cm) Plumage: Brown…

🔍 Overview One of Britain’s tiniest birds, the Firecrest is a gem of Sussex woodlands, especially in winter. Brilliant head markings and fast movement make it a joy to spot….

🔍 Overview A shy and secretive summer breeder in Sussex woodlands. Common in May–July, it’s more often heard than seen, with a rich, beautiful song. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size:…

🔍 Overview Britain’s smallest bird, flitting restlessly in Sussex conifer and mixed woodlands year‑round. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Tiny (8–9 cm) Plumage: Olive‑green above, buff below Distinctive Marks: Bright orange…

🔍 Overview Bright, musical, and common, the Goldfinch is one of Sussex’s most recognisable garden and countryside finches. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small (12–13 cm)Plumage: Red face, gold wing…

🔍 Overview A bold and familiar woodpecker in Sussex, frequenting woodlands, parks, and gardens throughout the year. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (23 cm) Plumage: Black and white pattern, red…

🔍 Overview A large, vocal tit common in Sussex gardens, woodlands, and parks year-round. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (14 cm) Plumage: Yellow belly and green back Distinctive Marks: Black…

🔍 Overview A colourful, ground-feeding woodpecker, frequently seen on lawns in Sussex, known locally as the “yaffle.” 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large (31 cm) Plumage: Green body, red crown, black…

🔍 Overview A familiar, statuesque wader, the Grey Heron patrols Sussex waters year-round. Often seen standing motionless, waiting to strike. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large (90–100 cm)Plumage: Grey body, white…

🔍 Overview A farmland bird once common across Sussex, now very scarce due to habitat loss and agricultural changes. Much declined but benefiting locally through conservation effort. 🪶 Key Identification…

🔍 Overview The ancestor of domestic geese, the Greylag Goose is common in Sussex pastures, lakes, and coastal marshes, often in large flocks. (Native population in UK is Amber listed…

🔍 Overview A large and familiar gull, breeding on Sussex coast and present year-round on coastal and inland water bodies. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large (55–66 cm) Plumage: Light grey…

🔍 Overview A dashing summer falcon, superb aerial hunter of dragonflies and hirundines. Increasingly regular breeder in Sussex. 🪶 Key Identification Features Slim, falcon-shaped Slate-grey above, orange ‘trousers’ below Striking…

🔍 Overview A familiar and widespread resident in Sussex, often associated with human settlements. Numbers declined but remain strong in many towns. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small (14–15 cm)…

🔍 Overview A familiar falcon, the Kestrel hovers vigilantly over Sussex fields and roadsides, searching for small prey. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium raptor (34–38 cm)Plumage: Reddish-brown back, grey head…

🔍 Overview A flash of electric blue by Sussex waters — the Kingfisher is small but striking, and the emblem of healthy rivers. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Tiny (16–17 cm)Plumage:…

📍 Local Expert Tip “The Lapwing is a regular but much declined winter visitor. The island by the Toll Bridge is a regular feeding area. At high tide, birds roost on…

🔍 Overview A powerful gull with dark slate-grey back, the Lesser Black-backed Gull winters along Sussex coast and inland waters. Scarce breeder. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large gull (55–60 cm)Plumage:…

📍 Local Expert Tip “The Lesser Whitethroat locally, is far less common than Common Whitethroat and much more elusive. Best found by learning its song and then patiently waiting for a…

  🔍 Overview Common but decreasing resident and partial migrant. A finch of open countryside and coastal scrub, Linnets are declining in parts of Sussex but remain in farmland and…

🔍 Overview A charming, stocky owl introduced to Britain in the 19th century. Now widespread in Sussex farmland and parkland. 🪶 Key Identification Features Small, rounded body Yellow eyes with…

🔍 Overview A delightful and highly social garden and woodland bird. Easily recognisable by its fluffy body and very long tail. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small (14 cm including…

🔍 Overview A familiar black-and-white bird in Sussex gardens and fields, with a reputation for intelligence and bold behaviour. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium-large (44–46 cm) Plumage: Black and…

🔍 Overview The UK’s most familiar duck, the Mallard is a common sight on Sussex’s lakes, rivers, ponds, and even urban parks year-round. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large (58…

🔍 Overview A quiet, elusive resident of mature Sussex woodlands. Easily confused with the Willow Tit, though rarer locally. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small (11.5 cm) Plumage: Pale underparts,…

🔍 Overview A slender, streaky bird of open habitats. Common across Sussex heathlands, downs, and coastal marshes. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small (15 cm) Plumage: Streaky brown above, pale…

🔍 Overview Larger and bolder than the Song Thrush, Mistle Thrushes are widespread across Sussex in woodland edges, parks, and open countryside. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large (27 cm)…

🔍 Overview Common in Sussex wetlands, the Moorhen is a dark, duck-sized waterbird with a red bill and a quirky personality. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (30–35 cm)Plumage: Dark brown-black…

🔍 Overview An acrobatic woodland resident that creeps down tree trunks headfirst. Widespread in Sussex’s mature broadleaf woodlands. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium-small (14 cm) Plumage: Blue-grey upperparts, buff…

🔍 Overview The world’s fastest bird, this powerful falcon is now a regular breeder on cliffs and urban buildings in Sussex. 🪶 Key Identification Features Slate-grey upperparts Heavy black moustache…

🔍 Overview A soaring success story, the Red Kite is increasingly spotted across Sussex, often gliding effortlessly with a forked tail. Fairly common breeding resident (first bred in 2004) and…

Common introduced resident. Population augmented annually by captive bred stock.

🔍 Overview A tiny finch with a crimson cap, the Redpoll is a winter visitor to Sussex, occasionally forming flocks in birch woods and weedy patches. 🪶 Key Identification Features…

🔍 Overview A winter thrush from Scandinavia. Redwings arrive in Sussex around October and often form flocks with Fieldfares. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (21 cm) Plumage: Brown back,…

🔍 Overview Often overlooked, the Reed Bunting is a hardy year-round resident of Sussex wetlands, with striking plumage in spring. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Sparrow-sized (13–15 cm)Plumage: Males have black…

🔍 Overview A secretive, common  summer visitor to Sussex reedbeds, the Reed Warbler is best located by its repetitive, rhythmic song during breeding season. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small…

🔍 Overview The most social of UK crows, Rooks are widespread in rural Sussex and identifiable by their bare greyish face and shaggy thigh feathers. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size:…

🔍 Overview A classic voice of Sussex’s open fields and downs. Known for its beautiful, sustained song flight over farmland and heath. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (18 cm)…

🔍 Overview A sweet-voiced garden and woodland thrush with a stronghold in Sussex. Known for repeating phrases in its rich song. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (23 cm) Plumage:…

🔍 Overview A swift, agile predator of small birds, the Sparrowhawk is a regular visitor to Sussex gardens, especially near bird feeders. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small raptor (males…

🔍 Overview Often overlooked, the Stock Dove is a quieter cousin of the Woodpigeon. Common across Sussex farmland and parkland. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (30–33 cm) Plumage: Blue-grey…

🔍 Overview The classic “twit-twoo” owl of British woodlands, Tawny Owls are widespread across Sussex but mostly heard rather than seen. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (37–39 cm) Plumage:…

🔍 Overview A symbol of summer, now sadly rare in Sussex due to habitat loss and hunting on migration routes. 🪶 Key Identification Features Mottled chestnut and black back Delicate…

🔍 Overview A sweet-voiced migrant warbler, the Willow Warbler breeds in Sussex’s open scrub and young woodland during spring and summer. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small (11 cm) Plumage:…

🔍 OverviewA mysterious and well-camouflaged woodland wader, mostly encountered at dusk or flushed from dense cover. Winters widely in Sussex. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium-large (33–38 cm) Plumage: Mottled…

🔍 Overview A rare but locally breeding songbird of open heath and forestry rides in Sussex. Scarce resident and very scarce passage migrant. 🪶 Key Identification Features Short tail, broad…

🔍 Overview The most widespread and abundant pigeon in Sussex and across the UK. Common in gardens, farmland, parks, and woodlands. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large pigeon (38–44 cm)…

🔍 Overview Britain’s most widespread breeding bird, the Wren is tiny but loud, often found in tangled undergrowth across Sussex. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Tiny (9 cm) Plumage: Brown…

🔍 Overview A striking farmland bunting with a memorable song, Yellowhammers remain locally common across Sussex countryside. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (16 cm) Male: Bright yellow head, chestnut…