Gulls & Terns in East Lothian
Our list for East Lothian has 16 gulls & terns recorded regularly there: 4 residents, 6 summer visitors, 4 passage migrants and 2 scarce visitors
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in East Lothian in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 16, most common first
European Herring GullLarus argentatusResidentCommon55–67 cmRecorded all year
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusResidentCommon38–44 cmRecorded all year
Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscusSummer visitorCommon52–64 cmRecorded all year
Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensisSummer visitorCommon36–41 cmRegularly Apr–Oct
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentCommon64–79 cmRecorded all year
Common GullLarus canusResidentCommon40–46 cmRecorded all year
Common TernSterna hirundoSummer visitorCommon31–35 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
KittiwakeRissa tridactylaSummer visitorCommon37–41 cmRegularly Feb–Dec
Little GullHydrocoloeus minutusPassage migrantUncommon25–30 cmRegularly Jul–Mar
Arctic TernSterna paradisaeaSummer visitorUncommon33–39 cmRegularly May–Sep
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusSummer visitorUncommon37–40 cmRegularly May–Feb
Little TernSternula albifronsPassage migrantUncommon21–25 cmRegularly May–Aug
Roseate TernSterna dougalliiScarceRare33–41 cm
Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreusPassage migrantRare62–68 cmRegularly Feb–May
Iceland GullLarus glaucoidesPassage migrantRare52–60 cmRegularly Jan
Black TernChlidonias nigerScarceRare22–26 cmRegularly Aug
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Little Tern 21–25 cm
- Black Tern 22–26 cm
- Little Gull 25–30 cm
- Common Tern 31–35 cm
- Arctic Tern 33–39 cm
- Roseate Tern 33–41 cm
- Sandwich Tern 36–41 cm
- Mediterranean Gull 37–40 cm
- Kittiwake 37–41 cm
- Black-headed Gull 38–44 cm
- Common Gull 40–46 cm
- Iceland Gull 52–60 cm
- Lesser Black-backed Gull 52–64 cm
- European Herring Gull 55–67 cm
- Glaucous Gull 62–68 cm
- Great Black-backed Gull 64–79 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
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