🔍 Overview A very rare vagrant in Sussex. Once bred on UK coasts, now only occasional passage or storm-blown visitor. 🪶 Key Identification Features Small, pale plover with thin black bill Males: black mask and breast-side patches Long legs, sandy upperparts, white below 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Rarely seen but most likely at Rye Harbour,...
Image Attribution: Frank Vassen from Brussels, Belgium, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview A beautifully patterned plover, scarce passage migrant through Sussex, mostly seen in spring. 🪶 Key Identification Features Chestnut belly and white breast band (in adults) Broad white supercilium Compact and upright posture 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Prefers short turf on...
🔍 Overview A tiny, rare wader from eastern Europe and Asia. Occasionally turns up in the UK on spring and autumn passage, with just a few historic Sussex records. 🪶 Key Identification Features Distinctive split supercilium Short, drooping bill Smaller than Dunlin, with fast feeding action 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Look for it on mudflats...
🔍 Overview Once extirpated from the UK, this majestic bird is making a comeback. Rare but increasing visitor to Sussex, especially in migration seasons. 🪶 Key Identification Features Tall, elegant bird with long legs and neck Grey body, black wingtips Red crown patch and bushy rear plumes 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Best seen flying overhead...
🔍 Overview A scarce winter visitor and passage migrant to Sussex waters, mostly offshore. 🪶 Key Identification Features Breeding plumage: rufous neck, black crown Winter: duller with pale cheeks and dusky neck Larger and thicker-necked than other grebes 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Best seen from sea-watching points like Worthing Beaches, Goring Gap, or Brighton Marina...
🔍 Overview A striking small grebe, known for its golden ear tufts and jet-black breeding plumage. It is a scarce winter visitor and passage migrant in Sussex, with occasional summering birds. 🪶 Key Identification Features Breeding: black neck and head, golden ear fans Winter: dusky back and flanks, white cheeks Bright red eye and upturned...
🔍 Overview Very scarce spring migrant. An elegant wader with extremely long pink legs. Once a major rarity, it is increasingly recorded in Sussex, bred in 2014 and 2021. 🪶 Key Identification Features Long, spindly pink legs Black wings and back contrast with white body Long straight black bill 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Best seen...
🔍 Overview A critically endangered and extremely rare vagrant to the UK. Only a handful of Sussex records exist. 🪶 Key Identification Features Like a smaller Lapwing with pale sandy plumage Black crown, pale face, dark breast band Long thin legs 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution If recorded, likely on open farmland or coastal grazing marshes,...
🔍 Overview A rare and elusive visitor to Sussex. Sometimes appears in late summer or autumn, favouring shallow reed-fringed pools. 🪶 Key Identification Features Size: Between a Snipe and a Moorhen (19–22 cm) Plumage: Brown with white spots, blue-grey face, yellow bill with red base Other: Short tail, barred flanks 🗺️ Habitat & Distribution Occasionally...
Image Attribution: Tisha Mukherjee, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 🔍 Overview An incredibly elusive and rare visitor to the UK. Sussex has had very few records of this tiny, secretive rail. 🪶 Key Identification Features Small size, grey face, and bluish tones Fine white spotting on back Short bill and fast skulking movements 🗺️ Habitat...
