Birds in Edinburgh

161 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024

Our list for Edinburgh has 161 bird species recorded regularly there: 68 residents, 23 summer visitors, 30 winter visitors, 26 passage migrants and 14 scarce visitors.

The list comes from 209,000 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 Edinburgh in September

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

All 115 birds in September

Arriving in September: Pink-footed Goose, Eurasian Skylark, Reed Bunting, Little Gull, Great Skua, Red-legged Partridge, Spotted Flycatcher, Red Crossbill and 3 more.

Through the year

Species recorded regularly in Edinburgh each month: most in September (115), fewest in February (101). Choose a month to see its birds.

115
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)49 families

All 161 birds on the list

Showing 47–69 of 161 species

Rook

Rook

Corvus frugilegusLC

ResidentCommon

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
Curlew

Curlew

Numenius arquataNT

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Redshank

Tringa totanusLC

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Passer montanusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Sparrowhawk

Accipiter nisusLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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
Common Merganser

Common Merganser

Mergus merganserLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

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Eider

Eider

Somateria mollissimaNT

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Stock Dove

Columba oenasLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Pink-footed Goose

Pink-footed Goose

Anser brachyrhynchusLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Sep–Jun

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

Common Tern

Sterna hirundoLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly May–Oct

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

Eurasian Skylark

Alauda arvensisLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Sep–Jul

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
Coot

Coot

Fulica atraLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Mistle Thrush

Turdus viscivorusLC

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
Buzzard

Buzzard

Buteo buteoLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Eurasian Collared Dove

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaoctoLC

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–Apr

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

Treecreeper

Certhia familiarisLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Bar-tailed Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Limosa lapponicaNT

Winter visitorCommon

Recorded all year

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
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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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