MAY  Lothians species list for the month was in all a very impressive one, but unfortunately ALL of the better birds were all to brief and gave most people the slip. So despite some really good birds turning up, May was a pretty disappointing month for the majority of birders in the county. Brief encounters included two European Bee-Eater sightings, the first of which was a single bird on wires at Barns Ness on the morning of the 18th seen only by the finder and that was quickly followed by, what may have been the same bird, one in Dunbar on the 20th. Both these birds failed to hang around and would have proved extremely popular with many birders had they stayed just a little longer. The theme for rare birds in May had been set, and this continued on the 25th when a Black Kite was seen only by one lucky observer over the A1 near Dunbar, and this was followed by a Common Crane seen in flight little over an hour later at Tyninghame.
With some fantastic weather during May it was inevitable some good raptors would be seen and the Black Kite was of course the pick of the bunch, but others included a migrant Red Kite over Penicuik on the 29th, Hobby past Skateraw on the 16th and a Marsh Harrier over Aberlady on the 10th. An Icterine Warbler at Skateraw was also only present very briefly and was seen only by a handful of people, this bird is only the third spring Lothian record. In a good month for Surf Scoters a pair were off Gullane Point on the 10th, and a drake was off the sea wall at Musselburgh on the 11th & 12th at least. A Black Tern off Barns Ness on the 16th was a nice county spring record and 2 Little Terns at Tyninghame on the 9th were almost equal to it being now a county rarity.
Early May in Lothian is usually the best time for migrant Dotterel and this year the Pentland Hills pulled again with a single bird on the summit of Scald Law on the 5th, unfortunately this was the one and only despite regular checks by several birders. Other scarce waders included Wood Sandpipers at Barns Ness & Belhaven Bay on the 16th and 2 at Musselburgh on the 11th, a Green Sandpiper at Barns Ness on the 19th and single Little-ringed Plovers at Musselburgh on the 25th & 31st. Other notable birds during the month were fm Black Redstart at Barns Ness on the 14th, a single Waxwing in Edinburgh on the 6th, drake Garganey at Bavelaw Marsh on the 10th, a Great Northern Diver off Skateraw on the 21st and a single (p-b) Brent Goose at Dunglass on the 17th. Several Quail arrived towards the months end with 3 calling at Aberlady on the 29th and a single still there on the 31st, another single was near Penston also on the 31st.
A White Stork seen several times this spring in Lothian is presumably the same bird each time and relates to the ringed bird which is thought to be most likely an escapee. Amazingly the bird is still to be seen on the ground in the county despite being seen in flight on at least 3 different dates this year, this month it went over Musselburgh on the 10th and passed South Queensferry on the 24th, late news emerged of the bird going over Aberlady / Gullane on the 27th April.

APRIL  Overall April, as expected, turned out to be the busiest month of the year so far with the majority of the spring migrants arriving along with some nice bonuses. For most, April's highlight bird was probably the Little Egret which was first found at Musselburgh on the 24th before moving between Aberlady & Gosford Bay for the rest of the month. A drake Surf Scoter off Ferny Ness was arguably equal to the Egret, but unfortunately it remained distant throughout its stay and consequently was reported on the 13th, 19th and 22nd only. A Marsh Harrier over Gullane on the 26th was a fantastic county bird, as was a cracking male Blue-Headed Wagtail at Musselburgh on the 23rd. Single drake Garganey were at Musselburgh on the 25th & 29th, with Little-Ringed Plovers also there on the 6th & 26th.
Ospreys were not uncommon with singles over Penicuik (9th), Barns Ness (10th), Linlithgow (23rd) but the most interesting one was a satalite-tagged bird over Musselburgh on the morning of the 5th. Short-eared Owls were still being reported from Aberlady in the first half of the month with at least 3 present there on the 11th. In a fairly good month for locally scarce duck the 2 Garganey were undoubtedly the highlights, but Shoveler could also be found during the month with at least 4 at Aberlady on the 12th and a single drake at Musselburgh from the 13th, Gadwall were also seen and again Musselburgh was the spot with singles between the 5th - 12th, the 30th and a pair on the 25th. Other notable birds during the month included a female Black Redstart at Barns Ness on the 2nd and a 1st summer Iceland Gull at Cramond on the 14th, with what was probably the same bird at Musselburgh on the 17th. After a fantastic year for the species the last of the Waxwings look to have gone with the last report being a flock of 10 at Leith Links on the 22nd. The wintering Black-tailed Godwit remained at Musselburgh all month and was joined by a second bird on the 25th, one was also at Tyninghame on the 4th but the high count was 24 at the River Esk Mouth (Musselburgh) on the 24th.

The remaining first arrivals for common migrants during the month were as follows - Willow Warbler at Whiteadder on the 5th, 2 Blackcaps (presumed migrants) at Inveresk on the 6th, 2 House Martin at Gullane on the 8th, Sandwich Terns at Musselburgh (2) and Belhaven (1) on the 10th, single Tree Pipit over Ferny Ness on the 11th, Common Sandpiper near Fasney (12th), Grasshopper Warbler at Tranent (11th), Common Redstart near Linlithgow Loch (14th), Sedge Warbler at Aberlady (19th), Whimbrel (10) and Yellow Wagtail at Barns Ness and Garden Warbler in Edinburgh all on the 18th, Whinchat at Musselburgh (21st), Lesser Whitethroat at Duddingston (22nd), Cuckoo at Vogrie CP (23rd), single Common Whitethroats at Blindwells & Hailes Castle and Wood Warbler in Penicuik all on the 25th and 2 Common Swifts at Musselburgh on the 26th.

MARCH  Except for some early migrants March was a very poor month in Lothian. 2 Sand Martins at Musselburgh on the 15th were the earliest ever county record and an Osprey over Longniddry on the 18th was pretty early too. Other arrivals included a White Wagtail at Barns Ness on the 13th, Ring Ouzel at Fasney (Lammermuirs) on the 20th, Wheatears at several locations on the 20th including 4 also at Fasney and Swallows at Musselburgh & North Berwick on the 31st. An imm (1st or 2nd winter) Iceland Gull was at Musselburgh on the 24th and then at Seton Sands on the 25th. 5 Whooper Swans on Seafield Pond (Dunbar) turned into 18 on the 21st, 21 on the 24th and then just 1 on the 25th, Mute Swan numbers also went up to 14 during this time. A Black-Tailed Godwit was present on the wader scrapes at Musselburgh all month and 3 drake Shoveler were there on the 28th. In the first week a small flock of Snow Buntings at Musselburgh peaked at 9 on the 4th, they showed well to a number of more than happy photographers.

  FEBUARY  Febuary was undoubtedly a better month, a drake King Eider which was first seen flying past Aberlady on the 2nd was probably the same bird which was wintering in Fife, it was then seen distantly hanging around Fidra (off Yellowcraig) on the 4th & 7th. A Great White Egret was breifly at Aberlady on the 3rd but unfortunetly it didn't hang around meaning only a handfull of people saw it, this is the 4th Lothian Record. Other county rarities included a Bittern at Aberlady on the 1st & 2nd and a Tundra Bean Goose at Torness on the 7th. A new Black Redstart was found at Joppa on the 16th and a Water Rail showed well on the path by the Mirl Loch at Aberlady in the first half of the month. The Black Redstart (North Berwick), fm Smew (Linlithgow Loch) & Black-Necked Grebe (Ferny Ness) remained throughout the month. A 1st winter Iceland Gull was reported at Cramond on the 24th and Waxwings were still in good numbers.

JANUARY  Long stayers throughout the month included a fm/imm Black Redstart which showed well at North Berwick by the Seabird Centre, the fm Smew on Linlithgow Loch & the returning Black-Necked Grebe off Ferny Ness. In a brilliant winter for Waxwings birds could be found widely throughout the county especially around Edinburgh and Musselburgh in particular, January's high count though came from Tranent where at least 80 were present on the 24th. A Spotted Redshank at Tyninghame on the 24th was a good find and Great Northern Divers were seen at Joppa on the 1st and Musselburgh on the 22nd. A Yellow-Legged Gull was at Belhaven Bay on the 25th, still a rare bird in Lothian and another really good find.

Kris Gibb

Birding Lothian