Birds in Highland

200 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024

Our list for Highland has 200 bird species recorded regularly there: 87 residents, 46 summer visitors, 30 winter visitors, 26 passage migrants and 10 scarce visitors.

The list comes from 468,000 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 Highland in September

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

All 160 birds in September

Arriving in September: Pink-footed Goose, Whooper Swan, Common Loon, Brent Goose, Purple Sandpiper, Brambling, Northern Pintail, Arctic Loon and 10 more.

Through the year

Species recorded regularly in Highland each month: most in September (160), fewest in November (125). Choose a month to see its birds.

160
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)51 families

All 200 birds on the list

Showing 139–161 of 200 species

Hen Harrier

Hen Harrier

Circus cyaneusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Aug–Jan

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

Northern Pintail

Anas acutaLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Sep–May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
European Storm-petrel

European Storm-petrel

Hydrobates pelagicusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Jun–Sep

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

Sooty Shearwater

Ardenna griseaNT

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Jul–Oct

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
Arctic Loon

Arctic Loon

Gavia arcticaLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Sep–Mar

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

Tawny Owl

Strix alucoLC

ResidentUncommon

Recorded all year

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

Bohemian Waxwing

Bombycilla garrulusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Nov–Apr

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

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Whinchat

Whinchat

Saxicola rubetraLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Apr–Sep

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
European Pied Flycatcher

European Pied Flycatcher

Ficedula hypoleucaLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly May–Sep

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

Merlin

Falco columbariusLC

ResidentUncommon

Recorded all year

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

Snow Goose

Anser caerulescensLC

ScarceUncommon

Regularly Jan

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Greater White-fronted Goose

Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifronsLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Sep–Apr

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

Iceland Gull

Larus glaucoidesLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Dec–May

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

Barn Owl

Tyto albaLC

ResidentUncommon

Regularly Dec–Oct

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

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeataLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Jan–Nov

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

Common Kingfisher

Alcedo atthisLC

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Jul–May

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

Podiceps cristatusLC

ResidentUncommon

Regularly Aug–May

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

Little Auk

Alle alleLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Oct–Nov

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

King Eider

Somateria spectabilisLC

ScarceUncommon

Regularly Mar

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Yellow-browed Warbler

Yellow-browed Warbler

Phylloscopus inornatusLC

Passage migrantUncommon

Regularly Sep–Oct

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

Water Rail

Rallus aquaticusLC

Summer visitorUncommon

Regularly Mar–Jan

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

Velvet Scoter

Melanitta fuscaVU

Winter visitorUncommon

Regularly Aug–May

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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