Find Birds by Location
Find which birds you may see in your selected location. (Locations with an * are outside of our Recording Area). The month defaults to the current month. This function is continuing to be developed, any problems identified please email webmaster@sdos.org
(Bird data shown is for the 25 years 2000 to 2024 inclusive). When selecting a bird, months shown in Red are very small numbers(<10)
You have the option to produce a checklist if you wish.
Arctic Skua
🔍 Overview Powerful and agile, the Arctic Skua is a pirate of the skies, best known in Sussex as a scarce but thrilling passage migrant. Fairly common spring and scarce…
Arctic Tern
🔍 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…
Avocet
🔍 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…
Bar-tailed Godwit
🔍 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,…
Barn Swallow
🔍 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…
Black Tern
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. 🪶…
Black-headed 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…
Black-tailed Godwit
🔍 Overview Elegant and long-legged, the Black-tailed Godwit is a regular visitor to Sussex wetlands. Numbers peak during passage and winter, with flocks frequenting Pulborough Brooks and Adur Valley. 🪶…
Black-throated Diver
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…
Blackbird
🔍 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…
Blue Tit
🔍 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…
Brent Goose
🔍 Overview Small and dark, the Brent Goose is a winter visitor to Sussex’s coastal mudflats. Most common from October to March, often in large flocks feeding on eelgrass and…
Carrion Crow
🔍 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…
Common Eider
🔍 Overview Britain’s heaviest duck, more common in northern UK but occasionally seen off Sussex coasts. Scarce winter visitor and passage migrant; very scarce non-breeder in summer. 🪶 Key Identification…
Common Guillemot
🔍 Overview A sleek seabird, the Common Guillemot is mostly seen off Sussex during winter or on spring sea-watches, though breeding colonies lie further west. Last bred in 1904. 🪶…
Common Scoter
Image Attribution: Stephan Sprinz, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview The Common Scoter is a sea duck seen off the Sussex coast in winter or on spring migration….
Common Shelduck
🔍 Overview Large, bold, and elegant, the Common Shelduck is often seen on Sussex estuaries and coastal lagoons, particularly at low tide. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large duck (58–67…
Common Starling
🔍 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…
Common Swift
Image Attribution: Alexis Lours, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview The quintessential summer sky-dweller in Sussex, Swifts arrive in May and leave by August. Spend nearly all daylight…
Common Tern
🔍 Overview Nicknamed the “sea swallow,” the Common Tern is a graceful summer breeder in Sussex, nesting on shingle islands and lagoons. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (31–35 cm)Plumage:…
Dunlin
📍 Local Expert Tip “The Dunlin is much declined but a regular winter flock present on the mudflats opposite Coronation Green / Town Quay and between the Railway and Toll Bridges….
Eurasian Whimbrel
📍 Local Expert Tip “The Whimbrel is a regular Spring and Autumn passage migrant with a few birds likely present most days from mid-April to end of May and again from…
Eurasian Wigeon
Image Attribution: Photo by Laitche, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview A common and elegant winter duck, the Wigeon forms large flocks on Sussex wetlands. Easily identified by…
Fulmar
Image Attribution: Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview A stiff-winged seabird seen gliding along Sussex cliffs and offshore waters, especially during spring and summer. 🪶…
Gadwall
Image Attribution: Mykola Swarnyk, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview A subtly beautiful dabbling duck, found across Sussex wetlands in winter and breeding in select sites. Very scarce…
Gannet
🔍 Overview The UK’s largest seabird, the Gannet is a spectacular sight off Sussex coasts, plunge-diving with dramatic speed during migration. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large seabird (87–100 cm)Plumage:…
Garganey
🔍 Overview A scarce and elegant spring migrant, typically seen in Sussex from March to May. 🪶 Key Identification Features Male: Distinctive white eye-stripe, brown head, patterned flanks Female: Similar…
Golden Plover
Image Attribution: JJ Harrison (https://tiny.jjharrison.com.au/t/3CuTyj5LtxrKUxYI), CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview Scarce passage migrant in Sussex found in farmland or coastal fields. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (28–31 cm)…
Goldeneye
Image Attribution: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sbern/, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview A striking diving duck, found in Sussex on freshwater lakes and reservoirs in winter. 🪶 Key Identification Features Male:…
Great Crested Grebe
🔍 Overview Elegant and ornate, the Great Crested Grebe is a classic waterbird, known for its beautiful breeding display and slender profile. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium-large (46–51 cm)Plumage:…
Great Northern Diver
Image Attribution: John Picken from Chicago, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview A large, impressive diver, mostly seen off the Sussex coast in winter. Known for its…
Great Skua
🔍 Overview Bold, powerful and unmistakable, the Great Skua (often known as the Bonxie) is the largest skua regularly seen in Sussex. An uncommon but regular passage migrant, it is…
Grey Plover
📍 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…
Herring Gull
🔍 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…
Kittiwake
🔍 Overview A delicate, cliff-loving gull, the Kittiwake may be seen from Sussex headlands during passage or following ships. Common but very localised breeding species; fairly common or common winter…
Knot
🔍 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:…
Little Egret
🔍 Overview Now a familiar sight across Sussex wetlands. First bred in the UK in the 1990s and has spread rapidly. 🪶 Key Identification Features All white plumage Long black…
Little Gull
Image Attribution: Ekaterina Chernetsova (Papchinskaya) from Saint-Petersburg, Russia, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview The smallest gull in the world, the Little Gull is a scarce but regular…
Little Ringed Plover
🔍 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…
Little Stint
Image Attribution: El Golli Mohamed, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview A tiny Arctic-breeding wader seen on passage, especially in autumn. One of the smallest shorebirds in Sussex….
Little Tern
Image Attribution: El Golli Mohamed, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview A summer breeder on Sussex’s shingle beaches, the Little Tern is small, agile, and highly vocal. 🪶…
Manx Shearwater
🔍 Overview A true ocean wanderer, the Manx Shearwater is seen passing Sussex headlands on migration—graceful and fast over waves.Fairly common spring to autumn passage migrant. 🪶 Key Identification Features…
Mediterranean Gull
📍 Local Expert Tip “The Mediterranean Gull is a species undergoing a dramatic range expansion and now breeds in Sussex although not in the local area. However, in Spring the high…
Northern Wheatear
📍 Local Expert Tip “The Wheatear is a a regular passage migrant in Spring and Autumn. Shoreham Fort often records the first birds heading north in Spring from mid-March but can…
Pintail
The Pintail is a sleek and elegant winter duck in Sussex, known for its long tail and graceful posture. A regular visitor to floodplains and estuaries. 🪶 Key Identification Features…
Pomarine Skua
🔍 Overview A powerful seabird seen offshore during migration. Rare but regular in Sussex seawatches. Passage migrant in variable numbers in spring; usually scarce; very scarce in autumn; rare in…
Razorbill
🔍 Overview The Razorbill is a chunky seabird seen off Sussex in winter or during migration. Related to puffins and guillemots. Common winter visitor and fairly common passage migrant; last…
Red-breasted Merganser
🔍 Overview A winter coastal duck, the Red-breasted Merganser is slim, shaggy-headed, and a fast swimmer along the Sussex shoreline. Fairly common winter visitor and passage migrant along the coast….
Red-throated Diver
🔍 Overview A sleek, elegant diver seen off the Sussex coast in winter. The Red-throated Diver is the commonest diver here. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Large (55–67 cm)Plumage: Grey above,…
Redpoll
🔍 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…
Ringed Plover
📍 Local Expert Tip ” The Ringed Plover is much declined but still a regular sight in autumn and winter on the mudflats opposite Coronation Green / Town Quay and between…
Sanderling
🔍 Overview Hyperactive and snow-white in winter, Sanderlings run along Sussex beaches just ahead of the surf. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small (18–20 cm)Plumage: Pale grey-white in winterDistinctive Marks: No…
Sandwich Tern
🔍 Overview A smart, crested seabird with a harsh call, the Sandwich Tern is a common coastal summer visitor in Sussex. Localised breeding summer visitor and common passage migrant; very…
Shag
🔍 Overview A slim, green-glossed seabird often confused with the Cormorant, but favouring rockier coastal habitats. Scarce winter visitor and passage migrant; rare away from coast. 🪶 Key Identification Features…
Shoveler
🔍 Overview A distinctive dabbling duck with a comically large bill, found widely in Sussex in winter and during passage. 🪶 Key Identification Features Large spatula-shaped bill Male: green head,…
Siskin
🔍 OverviewA colourful finch often seen in Sussex during winter, especially in alder and conifer stands. Some breed locally, mostly in wooded uplands. Fairly common breeder. 🪶 Key Identification Features…
Slavonian Grebe
🔍 Overview A small and elegant grebe, mainly seen in winter along the Sussex coast and occasionally inland. Scarce winter visitor and passage migrant. 🪶 Key Identification Features Black and…
Spotted Redshank
🔍 Overview A sleek wader often found in Sussex on passage and in small numbers in winter. Scarce passage migrant and very scarce winter visitor. 🪶 Key Identification Features Longer-legged…
Tree Pipit
🔍 OverviewFairly common but local summer visitor. A subtle but charismatic spring migrant to Sussex heathlands. Known for its parachuting song flight over open areas. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size:…
Tufted Duck
🔍 OverviewA smart and common diving duck found year-round on Sussex lakes and reservoirs. Easily identified by its black-and-white plumage and diving behaviour. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (42–48…
Turnstone
🔍 OverviewA sturdy, energetic wader found along Sussex shingle and rocky coasts in all seasons. Known for flipping stones to find prey. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Small wader (22–24…
Velvet Scoter
🔍 Overview A bulky sea duck seen off the Sussex coast in winter, usually among flocks of Common Scoter. Scarce passage migrant and winter visitor along the coast; rare inland….
Waxwing
🔍 Overview A striking winter visitor from Scandinavia, appearing in irruption years (every few winters) and favouring berry-laden trees. 🪶 Key Identification Features Pinkish-grey body Prominent crest, black mask Yellow…