Birds in Orkney Islands

168 species listed · birdwatchers' records, 2019–2024

Our list for Orkney Islands has 168 bird species recorded regularly there: 30 residents, 60 summer visitors, 6 winter visitors, 61 passage migrants and 11 scarce visitors.

The list comes from 87,000 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 Orkney Islands in September

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

All 139 birds in September

Arriving in September: Redwing, Snow Bunting, Northern Pintail, Whooper Swan, European Robin, Fieldfare, Gadwall, Pink-footed Goose and 34 more.

Through the year

Species recorded regularly in Orkney Islands each month: most in September (139), fewest in January (41). Choose a month to see its birds.

139
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)42 families

All 168 birds on the list

Showing 24–46 of 168 species

Eurasian Skylark

Eurasian Skylark

Alauda arvensisLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Feb–Dec

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

Grey Heron

Ardea cinereaLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Jun–Apr

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

European Shag

Gulosus aristotelisLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Rock Pipit

Anthus petrosusLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Feb–Dec

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

Eider

Somateria mollissimaNT

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Northern Gannet

Morus bassanusLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Feb–Dec

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

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeataLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Dec

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

Redwing

Turdus iliacusNT

Passage migrantCommon

Regularly Sep–Apr

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

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Eurasian Teal

Eurasian Teal

Anas creccaLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Feb–Dec

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Red-breasted Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serratorLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Snow Bunting

Plectrophenax nivalisLC

Passage migrantCommon

Regularly Sep–Apr

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

Black Guillemot

Cepphus grylleLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Ringed Plover

Charadrius hiaticulaLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Great Cormorant

Phalacrocorax carboLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Mute Swan

Cygnus olorLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

House Sparrow

Passer domesticusLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Jan–Nov

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

Northern Pintail

Anas acutaLC

Passage migrantCommon

Regularly Sep–May

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

Whooper Swan

Cygnus cygnusLC

Winter visitorCommon

Regularly Sep–Mar

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

Bar-tailed Godwit

Limosa lapponicaNT

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Apr–Jan

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

Common Loon

Gavia immerLC

ResidentCommon

Recorded all year

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

Rook

Corvus frugilegusLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Feb–Nov

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

Common Shelduck

Tadorna tadornaLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Mar–Jul

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

Blackbird

Turdus merulaLC

Summer visitorCommon

Regularly Jan–Nov

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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