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 · Oct
Share of all bird records in Scotland in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 41, most common first
Brent GooseBranta berniclaWinter visitorUncommon55–66 cmRegularly Aug–May
PochardAythya ferinaResidentUncommon42–49 cmRecorded all year
SmewMergellus albellusWinter visitorUncommon38–44 cmRegularly Nov–Apr
GarganeySpatula querquedulaPassage migrantRare37–41 cmRegularly Mar–Aug
Surf ScoterMelanitta perspicillataWinter visitorRare48–60 cmRegularly Aug–May
King EiderSomateria spectabilisSummer visitorRare46–64 cmRegularly Jan–Oct
Ruddy ShelduckTadorna ferrugineaSummer visitorRare58–70 cmRegularly May–Nov
Tundra Bean GooseAnser serrirostrisPassage migrantRare66–84 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Snow GooseAnser caerulescensWinter visitorRare69–84 cmRegularly Sep–Apr
Taiga Bean GooseAnser fabalisWinter visitorRare68–88 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Mandarin DuckAix galericulataResidentRare41–49 cmRecorded all year
Red-breasted GooseBranta ruficollisPassage migrantRare53–56 cmRegularly Oct–Feb
Cackling GooseBranta hutchinsiiWinter visitorRare53–76 cmRegularly Oct–Mar
Tundra SwanCygnus columbianusPassage migrantRare120–150 cmRegularly Feb–Apr
Black SwanCygnus atratusResidentRare110–142 cmRegularly Mar–Sep
Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiacaScarceRare63–73 cm
Muscovy DuckCairina moschataResidentRare66–84 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Bar-headed GooseAnser indicusScarceRare68–78 cm
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