Birds to See in Orkney Islands in January
41 species listed for January · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024
41 bird species on our list for Orkney Islands are recorded regularly in January. Of these, the most often recorded are Eurasian Wigeon, Curlew, Goldeneye, Grey Heron and Redshank. New this month: Rock Dove, Redwing, House Sparrow and Blackbird and 3 more.
Residents
(25)Recorded all year
Curlew
Numenius arquataNT
Recorded all year
Redshank
Tringa totanusLC
Recorded all year
Great Black-backed Gull
Larus marinusLC
Recorded all year
Greylag Goose
Anser anserLC
Recorded all year
Mallard
Anas platyrhynchosLC
Recorded all year
Mute Swan
Cygnus olorLC
Recorded all year
Eider
Somateria mollissimaNT
Recorded all year
Tufted Duck
Aythya fuligulaLC
Recorded all year
Common Starling
Sturnus vulgarisLC
Recorded all year
European Herring Gull
Larus argentatusLC
Recorded all year
Red-breasted Merganser
Mergus serratorLC
Recorded all year
Common Loon
Gavia immerLC
Recorded all year
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Haematopus ostralegusNT
Recorded all year
European Shag
Gulosus aristotelisLC
Recorded all year
Common Snipe
Gallinago gallinagoLC
Recorded all year
Common Gull
Larus canusLC
Recorded all year
Great Cormorant
Phalacrocorax carboLC
Recorded all year
Northern Lapwing
Vanellus vanellusNT
Recorded all year
Ringed Plover
Charadrius hiaticulaLC
Recorded all year
Common Raven
Corvus coraxLC
Recorded all year
Black Guillemot
Cepphus grylleLC
Recorded all year
Black-headed Gull
Chroicocephalus ridibundusLC
Recorded all year
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpresLC
Recorded all year
Hooded Crow
Corvus cornixLC
Recorded all year
Little Grebe
Tachybaptus ruficollisLC
Regularly Apr–Jan
Summer visitors
(8)Arrives to breed; scarce or absent in winter
Dunlin
Calidris alpinaLC
Regularly Mar–Jan
Golden Plover
Pluvialis apricariaLC
Regularly Mar–Jan
Blackbird
Turdus merulaLC
Regularly Jan–Nov
Rock Dove
Columba liviaLC
Regularly Jan–Nov
Bar-tailed Godwit
Limosa lapponicaNT
Regularly Apr–Jan
Eurasian Wren
Troglodytes troglodytesLC
Regularly Jan–Nov
House Sparrow
Passer domesticusLC
Regularly Jan–Nov
Jackdaw
Coloeus monedulaLC
Regularly Jan–Oct
Winter visitors
(6)Present outside the breeding season
Eurasian Wigeon
Mareca penelopeLC
Regularly Aug–Jun
Goldeneye
Bucephala clangulaLC
Regularly Oct–Apr
Grey Heron
Ardea cinereaLC
Regularly Jun–Apr
Long-tailed Duck
Clangula hyemalisVU
Regularly Oct–May
Whooper Swan
Cygnus cygnusLC
Regularly Sep–Mar
European Robin
Erithacus rubeculaLC
Regularly Sep–Jul
Passage migrants
(2)Seen mainly in spring and autumn migration
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