Ducks, Geese & Swans in Scotland
Our list for Scotland has 41 ducks, geese & swans recorded regularly there: 17 residents, 2 summer visitors, 16 winter visitors, 4 passage migrants and 2 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Scotland in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 41, most common first
MallardAnas platyrhynchosResidentCommon50–65 cmRecorded all year
Mute SwanCygnus olorResidentCommon140–160 cmRecorded all year
GoldeneyeBucephala clangulaWinter visitorCommon40–51 cmRegularly Sep–Jul
Greylag GooseAnser anserResidentCommon75–90 cmRecorded all year
Eurasian WigeonMareca penelopeWinter visitorCommon42–51 cmRecorded all year
Eurasian TealAnas creccaWinter visitorCommon34–38 cmRecorded all year
EiderSomateria mollissimaResidentCommon50–71 cmRecorded all year
Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchusWinter visitorCommon60–75 cmRegularly Sep–May
Red-breasted MerganserMergus serratorResidentCommon52–58 cmRecorded all year
Tufted DuckAythya fuligulaResidentCommon40–47 cmRecorded all year
Common MerganserMergus merganserResidentCommon58–68 cmRecorded all year
Common ShelduckTadorna tadornaResidentCommon58–67 cmRecorded all year
Whooper SwanCygnus cygnusWinter visitorCommon140–165 cmRegularly Aug–Mar
Long-tailed DuckClangula hyemalisWinter visitorUncommon37–60 cmRegularly Sep–May
Canada GooseBranta canadensisResidentUncommon76–110 cmRecorded all year
Barnacle GooseBranta leucopsisWinter visitorUncommon58–70 cmRegularly Aug–Jun
Common ScoterMelanitta nigraResidentUncommon43–54 cmRecorded all year
Velvet ScoterMelanitta fuscaResidentUncommon51–58 cmRecorded all year
GadwallMareca streperaResidentUncommon46–56 cmRecorded all year
Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeataResidentUncommon44–51 cmRecorded all year
Northern PintailAnas acutaWinter visitorUncommon59–76 cmRegularly Aug–May
Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifronsWinter visitorUncommon64–81 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Greater ScaupAythya marilaWinter visitorUncommon39–56 cmRegularly Aug–Apr
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made