United Kingdom Ramsar wetland
Pevensey Levels
215 bird species recorded; the most in April and from December to January.
Simon Carey · CC BY-SA 2.0
This month here
135 species in January.129 species in February.125 species in March.143 species in April.129 species in May.111 species in June.108 species in July.123 species in August.116 species in September.105 species in October.130 species in November.134 species in December.
The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.
VU
NT
- Resident all year
- Summer visitor comes to breed
- Winter visitor comes for the winter
- Passage migrant in spring and autumn
In numbers
215 species, counted.
Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).
- 215Speciesrecorded more than once
- 101Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
- 10ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
- 26,210Recordsopen records within 6 km
- 10Raptors
- 4Owls
- 31Waders
- 26Gulls & seabirds
- 33Ducks & geese
- 11Herons, ibises & grebes
- 1Storks & cranes
- 77Songbirds
- 22Other birds
From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.
The checklist
All 215 species.
By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.
Raptors10 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common BuzzardButeo buteo
- Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
- Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
- Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
- European HobbyFalco subbuteo
- Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
- Red KiteMilvus milvus
- Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
- MerlinFalco columbarius
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
Owls4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Western Barn OwlTyto alba
- Tawny OwlStrix aluco
- Little OwlAthene noctua
Waders31 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
- Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
- Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
- RedshankTringa totanus
- Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegusNT
- Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
- DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
- Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
- Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
- European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
- Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
- Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
- Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
- Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaNT
- RuffCalidris pugnax
- Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
- Bar-tailed godwitLimosa lapponicaNT
- SanderlingCalidris alba
- Jack SnipeLymnocryptes minimus
- Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
- Spotted RedshankTringa erythropus
- Grey (Red) PhalaropePhalaropus fulicarius
- Lesser yellowlegsTringa flavipesVU
- Red-necked PhalaropePhalaropus lobatus
- Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
- Sociable PloverVanellus gregariusCR
- Broad-billed SandpiperCalidris falcinellusVU
- Pied AvocetRecurvirostra avosetta
- Oriental PratincoleGlareola maldivarum
- Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii
- Little StintCalidris minuta
Gulls & seabirds26 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- European Herring GullLarus argentatus
- Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
- Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
- Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
- Common GullLarus canus
- Common MurreUria aalge
- Northern gannetMorus bassanus
- Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalus
- Common LoonGavia immer
- Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellis
- Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus
- Red-throated LoonGavia stellata
- Black GuillemotCepphus grylle
- Black-legged kittiwakeRissa tridactylaVU
- RazorbillAlca torda
- Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
- FulmarFulmarus glacialis
- Black-throated DiverGavia arctica
- Pontic gullLarus cachinnans
- Sabine's GullXema sabini
- Common TernSterna hirundo
- Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
- Black TernChlidonias niger
- Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus
- Little AukAlle alle
- Little TernSternula albifrons
Ducks & geese33 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Mute SwanCygnus olor
- MallardAnas platyrhynchos
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
- Greylag GooseAnser anser
- Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
- Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
- Eurasian TealAnas crecca
- Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiaca
- GadwallMareca strepera
- Common PochardAythya ferinaVU
- Common ShelduckTadorna tadorna
- Northern PintailAnas acuta
- Brent GooseBranta bernicla
- Common ScoterMelanitta nigra
- Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
- Velvet scoterMelanitta fuscaVU
- GarganeySpatula querquedula
- Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
- Barnacle GooseBranta leucopsis
- SmewMergellus albellus
- Long-tailed duckClangula hyemalisVU
- Common EiderSomateria mollissimaNT
- Tundra Bean GooseAnser serrirostris
- Greater ScaupAythya marila
- Mandarin DuckAix galericulata
- Cairina moschataCairina moschata
- Ruddy DuckOxyura jamaicensis
- Maccoa DuckOxyura maccoa
- GoosanderMergus merganser
- Ring-necked DuckAythya collaris
- Whooper SwanCygnus cygnus
- Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
Herons, ibises & grebes11 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
- Grey HeronArdea cinerea
- Little EgretEgretta garzetta
- Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
- Great White EgretArdea alba
- Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
- Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
- Purple heronArdea purpurea
- ShagPhalacrocorax aristotelis
- Eurasian BitternBotaurus stellaris
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritusVU
Storks & cranes1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- White StorkCiconia ciconia
Songbirds77 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Carrion CrowCorvus corone
- Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- House SparrowPasser domesticus
- Eurasian MagpiePica pica
- European RobinErithacus rubecula
- Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
- Western JackdawColoeus monedula
- Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
- European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
- Great titParus major
- Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
- RookCorvus frugilegus
- White WagtailMotacilla alba
- DunnockPrunella modularis
- Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
- Cetti's WarblerCettia cetti
- Common Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus
- Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
- Barn swallowHirundo rustica
- Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
- Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
- SkylarkAlauda arvensis
- European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
- Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
- Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
- European GreenfinchChloris chloris
- BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
- GoldcrestRegulus regulus
- Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus
- Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
- Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
- RedwingTurdus iliacus
- Northern RavenCorvus corax
- Water PipitAnthus spinoletta
- Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
- FieldfareTurdus pilaris
- Eurasian TreecreeperCerthia familiaris
- WhitethroatSylvia communis
- Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
- Bearded ReedlingPanurus biarmicus
- Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaea
- Sand MartinRiparia riparia
- Coal TitPeriparus ater
- Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
- Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
- Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
- Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
- Common FirecrestRegulus ignicapilla
- Lesser whitethroatSylvia curruca
- BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
- Eurasian Penduline TitRemiz pendulinus
- European Rock PipitAnthus petrosus
- Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
- WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
- Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
- Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
- Shore LarkEremophila alpestris
- Desert wheatearOenanthe deserti
- BluethroatLuscinia svecica
- YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella
- Marsh TitPoecile palustris
- Common NightingaleLuscinia megarhynchos
- Rufous-tailed ShrikeLanius phoenicuroides
- Corn BuntingEmberiza calandra
- Garden WarblerSylvia borin
- Common RedstartPhoenicurus phoenicurus
- HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustes
- Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
- Tree PipitAnthus trivialis
- Common Grasshopper WarblerLocustella naevia
- Bohemian WaxwingBombycilla garrulus
- Willow TitPoecile montanus
- WoodlarkLullula arborea
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalis
- Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
- TwiteLinaria flavirostris
Other birds22 species
JFMAMJJASOND
- Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
- Rock DoveColumba livia
- Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
- Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
- CootFulica atra
- European SwiftApus apus
- Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
- Stock DoveColumba oenas
- European Water RailRallus aquaticus
- Green WoodpeckerPicus viridis
- Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus
- Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
- Common CuckooCuculus canorus
- Eurasian HoopoeUpupa epops
- Grey PartridgePerdix perdix
- Alpine SwiftTachymarptis melba
- Red-legged PartridgeAlectoris rufaNT
- Rose-ringed ParakeetPsittacula krameri
- European Turtle DoveStreptopelia turturVU
- Lesser Spotted WoodpeckerDryobates minor
- European NightjarCaprimulgus europaeus
- Common QuailCoturnix coturnix
Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.
When to go
The most species in April and from December to January.
Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.
- Jan8°/4°76 mm
- Feb8°/3°60 mm
- Mar9°/4°53 mm
- Apr12°/6°42 mm
- May16°/9°52 mm
- Jun18°/12°52 mm
- Jul20°/14°58 mm
- Aug21°/14°66 mm
- Sep18°/12°47 mm
- Oct15°/10°82 mm
- Nov11°/7°86 mm
- Dec8°/5°84 mm
- Bar: species recorded that month.
- Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
- Rain: monthly total.
The place
Pevensey Levels.
Site of Special Scientific Interest in East Sussex
Pevensey Levels is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in United Kingdom.
215 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 26,210 open records.
The most recorded are the European Herring Gull, the Common Wood Pigeon and the Carrion Crow.
43 species come for the summer, 58 for the winter and 0 only pass through.
10 are threatened worldwide, including Common Pochard, Black-legged kittiwake and Velvet scoter.
The most species are recorded in April and from December to January.
Get there and watch
- Official informationAccess, hours and rules from those who manage the place.Official site↗
- Pevensey Bay Holiday Parkcampsite · 3.7 km · 30 within 10 km
- Windmill Hill Placeplace to stay · 4.9 km · 116 within 10 km
- Pevenseynearest town · 2.2 km in a straight line
- London Gatwick Airport (LGW)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 51 km in a straight lineCar hire at LGW airport (London)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
Plan the visit
A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
From above
The place and its surroundings.
The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.
Around, in OpenStreetMap
- 1bird hides within 6 km
- 3marked trails within 4 km1066 Country Walk, 1066 Country Walk - South Downs Link, King Charles III England Coast Path: Eastbourne to Rye Harbour
- 1visitor centres within 6 kmPevensey Castle Visitor Centre
- 12car parks within 3 km
- 10restaurants and cafés within 3 km
- 30campsites within 10 kmPevensey Bay Holiday Park, Normans Bay Caravan Park, Little Downash and 27 more
- 116places to stay within 10 kmWindmill Hill Place, Premier Inn, The Relais Cooden Beach and 113 more
- observation towers within 6 km
- viewpoints within 5 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.
In our other atlases
Around Pevensey Levels.
The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.
Peakyas5 mountains within 25 kmCombe Hill194 m · 8.9 kmSenlac Hill84 m · 13 kmFirle Beacon · 17 kmItford Hill · 21 kmCliffe Hill164 m · 22 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmArlington Reservoir0.4 km² · 12 km
Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Other places nearby.
Pevensey Levels
United Kingdom
- 86Birdyas Score
- 215Species
- 101Migrants
- 10Threatened
Dungeness, Romney Marsh and Rye Bay
United Kingdom · 44 km
- 90Birdyas Score
- 349Species
- 186Migrants
- 17Threatened
Abberton Reservoir
United Kingdom · 115 km
- 88Birdyas Score
- 261Species
- 122Migrants
- 14Threatened
Where these figures come from
| Name and type | Wikidata (Q7179522) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Birds | 26,210 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
| See these records | gbif.org |
| Species | GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons |
| Altitude | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Temperature and rain | NASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2) |
| What is around | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Sister atlases | Peakyas, Islandyas, Lakeyas, Darkskyas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?
Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.
beaches
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Every lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountains
Every summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit 
waterfalls
Every waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit 
islands
Every island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit 
rivers
Every river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit 
canyons
Every canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit 
caves
Every cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit 
dark skies
Where the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit 
viewpoints
Every viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit 
birdwatching
Every bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.You are here
forests
Every forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.Coming soonVisit