Find Birds by Location

🔍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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,…

🔍 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 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:…

🔍 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…

🔍 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. 🪶…

🔍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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 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…

🔍 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 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…

🔍 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. 🪶…

🔍 Overview The Common Scoter is a sea duck seen off the Sussex coast in winter or on spring migration. Usually in flocks, often distant offshore. 🪶 Key Identification Features…

🔍 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…

🔍 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 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:…

📍 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….

📍 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…

🔍 Overview A common and elegant winter duck, the Wigeon forms large flocks on Sussex wetlands. Easily identified by its whistling call. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium duck (45–51…

🔍 Overview A stiff-winged seabird seen gliding along Sussex cliffs and offshore waters, especially during spring and summer. 🪶 Key Identification Features Gull-like but with tubenose nostrils Pale grey wings,…

🔍 Overview A subtly beautiful dabbling duck, found across Sussex wetlands in winter and breeding in select sites. Very scarce breeder and scarce summer non-breeder; fairly common winter visitor; scarce…

🔍 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:…

🔍 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…

🔍 Overview Scarce passage migrant in Sussex found in farmland or coastal fields. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Medium (28–31 cm) Plumage (breeding): Mottled gold and black Non‑breeding: Grey with pale…

🔍 Overview A striking diving duck, found in Sussex on freshwater lakes and reservoirs in winter. 🪶 Key Identification Features Male: Black-and-white with greenish head and golden eye Female: Grey…

🔍 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:…

🔍 Overview A large, impressive diver, mostly seen off the Sussex coast in winter. Known for its haunting breeding calls in summer range. 🪶 Key Identification Features Winter plumage: Blackish…

📍 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…

🔍 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 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…

🔍 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:…

🔍 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…

🔍 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:…

🔍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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,…

🔍 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…

📍 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…

📍 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…

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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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….

🔍 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,…

🔍 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…

📍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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,…

🔍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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:…

🔍 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…

🔍 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…

🔍 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….

🔍 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…