Birds in East Lothian

200 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024

Our list for East Lothian has 200 bird species recorded regularly there: 88 residents, 28 summer visitors, 29 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.

Birds to see in East Lothian in September

143 species on our list are recorded regularly this month. These are the ones birdwatchers record most often.

All 143 birds in September

Arriving in September: Pink-footed Goose, Mistle Thrush, Horned Grebe, Little Stint, Whooper Swan, Surf Scoter, Short-eared Owl, Brent Goose and 4 more.

Through the year

Species recorded regularly in East Lothian each month: most in October (146), fewest in December (121). Choose a month to see its birds.

143146
Show as a table
Goldcrest
GoldcrestSmallest · 8.5cm
to
Whooper Swan
Whooper SwanLargest · 165cm
From the Goldcrest (8.5 cm) to the Whooper Swan (165 cm)52 families

All 200 birds on the list

Showing 24–46 of 200 species

Common Starling

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgarisLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Great Cormorant

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carboLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Goldeneye

Goldeneye

Bucephala clangulaLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Oct–Apr

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern

Thalasseus sandvicensisLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Oct

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Mute Swan

Mute Swan

Cygnus olorLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Willow Warbler

Willow Warbler

Phylloscopus trochilusLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Sep

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Sand Martin

Sand Martin

Riparia ripariaLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Mar–Sep

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Northern Gannet

Northern Gannet

Morus bassanusLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Feb–Nov

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

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Grey Heron

Grey Heron

Ardea cinereaLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Great Black-backed Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Larus marinusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Gull

Common Gull

Larus canusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
House Sparrow

House Sparrow

Passer domesticusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Great Tit

Great Tit

Parus majorLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Ruddy Turnstone

Ruddy Turnstone

Arenaria interpresLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Jul–May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Greylag Goose

Greylag Goose

Anser anserLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
House Martin

House Martin

Delichon urbicumLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Sep

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Shelduck

Common Shelduck

Tadorna tadornaLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Swift

Common Swift

Apus apusLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly May–Aug

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Common Pheasant

Common Pheasant

Phasianus colchicusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Dunlin

Dunlin

Calidris alpinaLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Blackcap

Blackcap

Sylvia atricapillaLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Oct

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serratorLC

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Whitethroat

Whitethroat

Curruca communisLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Sep

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
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Frequently Asked Questions

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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