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Records 2019–2024 · GBIF

Birds in Fife

Our list for Fife has 199 bird species recorded regularly there: 90 residents, 29 summer visitors, 30 winter visitors, 40 passage migrants and 10 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.

Species on our list
199
In October
148
Common
103
Busiest month
May

What's special about Fife

vs Scotland

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

  1. SmewSmew7.0×Winter visitor · 0.09% of records here, 0.01% across Scotland
  2. Corn BuntingCorn Bunting5.5×Resident · 0.12% of records here, 0.02% across Scotland
  3. Red-necked GrebeRed-necked Grebe5.4×Passage migrant · 0.07% of records here, 0.01% across Scotland
  4. Little GullLittle Gull5.4×Summer visitor · 0.17% of records here, 0.03% across Scotland
  5. Little AukLittle Auk5.1×Passage migrant · 0.06% of records here, 0.01% across Scotland
  6. Grey PartridgeGrey Partridge4.4×Resident · 0.19% of records here, 0.04% across Scotland
  7. Common ScoterCommon Scoter4.1×Resident · 0.50% of records here, 0.12% across Scotland
  8. Velvet ScoterVelvet Scoter3.5×Winter visitor · 0.32% of records here, 0.09% across Scotland

This month: October

GBIF · Oct

Most likely

  1. Carrion CrowCarrion Crow3.52%
  2. European Herring GullEuropean Herring Gull3.12%
  3. European RobinEuropean Robin3.05%
  4. WoodpigeonWoodpigeon2.79%
  5. Black-headed GullBlack-headed Gull2.46%
  6. BlackbirdBlackbird2.17%

Arriving now

  1. RedwingRedwingWinter visitorSep 0.04% → Oct 0.95%
  2. Whooper SwanWhooper SwanWinter visitorSep 0.00% → Oct 0.39%
  3. FieldfareFieldfareWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.31%
  4. Long-tailed DuckLong-tailed DuckWinter visitorSep 0.03% → Oct 0.30%
  5. BramblingBramblingWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.24%
  6. Eurasian WoodcockEurasian WoodcockWinter visitorSep 0.01% → Oct 0.11%

Share of all bird records in Fife 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 Fife

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 Fife

Records by month
Bird records in Fife by month, 2019–2024
January18,618
February13,645
March16,780
April19,597
May28,364
June16,458
July15,267
August21,006
September16,034
October17,428
November13,774
December12,107

May has the most records (28,000). 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 30
All 30 families in Fife

How common

More of Scotland

All of Scotland

All 199 birds, A to Z

Show all 199 birds

Questions

4

What birds is Fife known for?

Compared with the rest of Scotland, Fife stands out for Smew, Corn Bunting, Red-necked Grebe and Little Gull. 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 Fife?

199 species, each recorded regularly in Fife (in at least 3 of the 6 years 2019–2024): 90 residents, 29 summer visitors, 30 winter visitors, 40 passage migrants and 10 scarce visitors. The list includes only birds with a Birdfact species guide, so more species occur in Fife, and rarer vagrants are not listed.

What birds can I see in Fife in October?

148 species on our list for Fife are recorded regularly in October. Of these, the most often recorded are Carrion Crow, European Herring Gull, European Robin, Woodpigeon and Black-headed Gull.

What are the most common birds in Fife?

Of the birds on our list, the ones birdwatchers record most often in Fife are European Herring Gull, Carrion Crow, Woodpigeon, European Robin 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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