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 116–138 of 200 species

Curlew Sandpiper

Curlew Sandpiper

Calidris ferrugineaNT

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Aug–Oct

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

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeataLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Jul–May

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

Treecreeper

Certhia familiarisLC

ResidentUncommon

Recorded all year

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

Common Kingfisher

Alcedo atthisLC

ResidentUncommon

Recorded all year

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

Golden Plover

Pluvialis apricariaLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Recorded all year

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

Grey Partridge

Perdix perdixLC

ResidentUncommon

Recorded all year

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

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinusLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Aug–Mar

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

Little Auk

Alle alleLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Nov

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

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Whooper Swan

Whooper Swan

Cygnus cygnusLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Sep–Mar

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

Eurasian Jay

Garrulus glandariusLC

ResidentUncommon

Recorded all year

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

Surf Scoter

Melanitta perspicillataLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Sep–May

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

Arctic Jaeger

Stercorarius parasiticusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Jul–Oct

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

Arctic Tern

Sterna paradisaeaLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly May–Sep

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

Mediterranean Gull

Ichthyaetus melanocephalusLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly May–Feb

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

Common Loon

Gavia immerLC

ResidentUncommon

Regularly Oct–Mar

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

Green Sandpiper

Tringa ochropusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Aug–Sep

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

Grasshopper Warbler

Locustella naeviaLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Apr–Jul

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Little Ringed Plover

Little Ringed Plover

Thinornis dubiusLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Apr–Aug

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

Common Redpoll

Acanthis flammeaLC

ResidentUncommon

Recorded all year

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

Wood Sandpiper

Tringa glareolaLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Aug–Sep

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

Dipper

Cinclus cinclusLC

ResidentUncommon

Recorded all year

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

Yellow Wagtail

Motacilla flavaLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Apr–Sep

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Red-necked Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Podiceps grisegenaLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Jul–Mar

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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