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Records 2019–2024 · GBIF

Birds in East Lothian

Our list for East Lothian has 200 bird species recorded regularly there: 90 residents, 28 summer visitors, 27 winter visitors, 41 passage migrants and 14 scarce visitors

The list comes from 235,000 birdwatchers' records from 2019–2024, shared through the eBird Observation Dataset on GBIF. A bird is listed when it was recorded in at least 3 of the 6 years and has a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur here than are listed; the months show when it is recorded most years.

Species on our list
200
In October
146
Common
104
Busiest month
Aug

What's special about East Lothian

vs Scotland

The birds recorded far more often here than across Scotland, as a share of all bird records. These are the ones East Lothian is worth visiting for.

  1. Velvet ScoterVelvet Scoter7.7×Resident · 0.71% of records here, 0.09% across Scotland
  2. Grey PloverGrey Plover6.8×Winter visitor · 0.36% of records here, 0.05% across Scotland
  3. Surf ScoterSurf Scoter6.4×Winter visitor · 0.13% of records here, 0.02% across Scotland
  4. Curlew SandpiperCurlew Sandpiper5.4×Passage migrant · 0.07% of records here, 0.01% across Scotland
  5. King EiderKing Eider5.2×Passage migrant · 0.06% of records here, 0.01% across Scotland
  6. Little StintLittle Stint4.8×Passage migrant · 0.06% of records here, 0.01% across Scotland
  7. Red-necked GrebeRed-necked Grebe4.8×Passage migrant · 0.06% of records here, 0.01% across Scotland
  8. Grey PartridgeGrey Partridge4.2×Resident · 0.18% of records here, 0.04% across Scotland

This month: October

GBIF · Oct

Most likely

  1. Carrion CrowCarrion Crow3.11%
  2. European Herring GullEuropean Herring Gull2.81%
  3. Eurasian OystercatcherEurasian Oystercatcher2.73%
  4. Black-headed GullBlack-headed Gull2.66%
  5. RedshankRedshank2.37%
  6. CurlewCurlew2.33%

Arriving now

  1. RedwingRedwingWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.46%
  2. Long-tailed DuckLong-tailed DuckWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.33%
  3. GoldeneyeGoldeneyeWinter visitorSep 0.05% → Oct 0.33%
  4. TwiteTwiteWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.30%
  5. Purple SandpiperPurple SandpiperWinter visitorSep 0.02% → Oct 0.27%
  6. FieldfareFieldfareWinter visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.14%

Share of all bird records in East Lothian in October, 2019–2024. “Arriving now” are the birds whose share rises most from last month. Each month links to that month’s page.

Near you this week

The birds most likely around your town or postcode right now, from the same records, for a square about 9 km across.

The bird calendar for East Lothian

Month by month

When each bird is around, through the year. The darker the square, the closer that month is to the bird’s busiest. Filter by summer or winter visitors to see the seasons turn over.

The year in East Lothian

Records by month
Bird records in East Lothian by month, 2019–2024
January17,707
February12,003
March18,623
April20,648
May22,642
June20,114
July21,860
August25,984
September24,236
October21,030
November16,488
December13,495

August has the most records (26,000). Records follow birdwatchers as well as birds: a busy month means more people out looking, as well as more birds passing through.

By family

12 of 31
All 31 families in East Lothian

How common

More of Scotland

All of Scotland

All 200 birds, A to Z

Show all 200 birds

Questions

4

What birds is East Lothian known for?

Compared with the rest of Scotland, East Lothian stands out for Velvet Scoter, Grey Plover, Surf Scoter and Curlew Sandpiper. Each is recorded at least 5.3 times as often here as across Scotland, as a share of all bird records (2019–2024).

How many birds are on Birdfact's list for East Lothian?

200 species, each recorded regularly in East Lothian (in at least 3 of the 6 years 2019–2024): 90 residents, 28 summer visitors, 27 winter visitors, 41 passage migrants and 14 scarce visitors. The list includes only birds with a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur in East Lothian, and rarer vagrants are not listed.

What birds can I see in East Lothian in October?

146 species on our list for East Lothian are recorded regularly in October. Of these, the most often recorded are Carrion Crow, European Herring Gull, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Black-headed Gull and Redshank.

What are the most common birds in East Lothian?

Of the birds on our list, the ones birdwatchers record most often in East Lothian are Carrion Crow, European Herring Gull, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Woodpigeon and Black-headed Gull.

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

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