Aberlady Bay - NT 47 80

Birdwatching at Aberlady usually starts at the car park by the wooden bridge and toilet block (NT 471 805). Whether or not you see much on the river here, or on any other part of the reserve may depend on whether the tide is in or out during or prior to your visit. From the bridge is a really good spot for birds and most of the less common species are found here, but this might be because this is as far as some birders go when visiting when they might not have the time to venture further. Throughout the year, if the tide is not right in, there will be plenty waders and ducks to look through here. In winter good numbers of Redshank, Lapwing, Bar-Tailed Godwit and Curlew will be present, with smaller numbers of Grey Plover & Knot. If you're lucky a Greenshank or maybe even a Spotted Redshank might be on the rivers edge downstream near the toilets, although both are uncommon in winter. There isn't often many small waders here but if there is you should take advantage and look through them as the majority will be out in the bay or on the saltmarsh where they are often distant and not easy to see well. Teal and Wigeon should be in good numbers and are always worth checking, both Green-Winged Teal and American Wigeon have been seen here in previous winters. There will also be a lot of Mallard and Shelduck on the river and there is usually small numbers of Pintail & Goosander although these are often further downstream towards Aberlady Village, Gadwall & Shoveler may also be here but both are uncommon. The usual Gulls are often on the river too, they may be joined by Little Gull or even a Med if your luck is in.
Aberlady will pull in a rare or scarce bird annually, more often than not its a wader and this is regularly by the wooden bridge. During the spring and autumn migration (or anytime between May & October) this spot is one of the best in the country for scarce waders, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Ruff, Wood & Green Sandpipers favour the river just up stream from the bridge and most of these would be seen in an average year... in October 2007 a juvenile American Golden Plover spent time here. Also in this time there is a chance of a Spoonbill or Little Egret being on the reserve, both these species are scarce but at least one of them would be expected to be seen in a year, probably May or June would be the best bet.
During Autumn & early Winter when the Geese numbers are at their highest, it can be spectacular watching them come in to bath before dark on the river as they think about going to roost (picture at the top of this page). Pink-Feet dominate the numbers of course with up to 17,000 being counted but there will be smaller amounts of Barnacles present, if you're lucky there may be a White-Fronted Goose amonst them. Snow Goose(2) & Ross's Goose have been on the reserve in recent winters, Brent Geese are not common but will get seen most years.

Moving on from the car park, make sure you have everything including suitable footwear as areas can be wet underfoot, and make your way over the bridge remembering to check the sightings board on the other side. The wooded area immediately to your right after the bridge is underwatched, Woodcock are sometimes flushed and Long-Eared Owls have been seen. In the Autumn & Winter small numbers of Redpoll may be present and its worth looking out for Mealy's, Firecrest has also been seen here in winter although these are rare.

Continuing on and following the footpath you will soon reach the Mire Loch, all the grassland to your right on this footpath between you and the golf course on the far side is an excellent area for Short-Eared Owls in winter, up to 4 have been seen together in recent years. On this first part of the footpath, from the bridge to the Mire Loch (small pond), you could come across up to 8 species of Warbler during the Spring and Summer months including Grasshopper Warbler & Lesser Whitethroat, its worth learning the calls for these birds as this might be the only thing that gives them away.
As you reach the pond its worth giving this area a while to make sure you're not missing anything, most of the possibilities here are elusive birds. In Winter there is a chance of Water Rail, if the pond has frozen over watch out for them walking out onto the ice extending the search for food. Whooper Swans have been seen, but are not as regular as they once were. In Spring this spot is your best chance at seeing Lesser Whitethroat, there should be 3 or 4 pairs here in a normal year but catching a glimpse isn't easy. The pond is also good for Sedge Warblers in Spring, as well as Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and Blackcaps which should all be present and showing signs of breeding. If you're lucky a Garganey may be on the reserve with around May being the best time for this species, this pond might be the stop off point. Both Reed Bunting and Stonechat also breed in this area, and are here throughout the year. Buzzards and Kestrels are resident on the reserve and Sparrowhawk is frequent, both Peregrine and Merlin are regular in Winter. If you're visting in Spring, keep an eye on the sky as you might be lucky enough to see an Osprey or maybe even a Marsh Harrier pass through.

After the pond stick to the footpath walking north, remembering to keep an eye out for Short-eared Owl on your right hand side (looking towards the golf course) if you're here during the Winter months. There is a large collection of Sea Buckthorn which you will soon come across which holds massive numbers of Fieldfares from late Autumn through to late Winter, Redwings will be with them and perhaps a rarity one day. Wet areas by the side of the footpath hold good numbers of Snipe which can be flushed, there are smaller numbers of Jack Snipe will be present but seeing them is tricky to say the least.

At this point you will have walked about 3/4 of a mile and you will soon be pulling out the scope as you make your way towards the beach and sand dunes for the waiting waders. There are a couple of other hidden pools either side of the track which are more than capable of pulling in good waders such as Wood or Green Sandpipers and maybe a Stint, but they are now badly overgrown and can't be viewed from the path any more. Further on you will meet up with the beach, Little Tern used to breed here but those days are finished, the odd bird can be seen on migration but this is rare. The beach at the north end of the bay south along the saltmarsh will have good numbers of Sanderling from Autumn through Winter into Spring, they will be joined by similar numbers of Dunlin and Ringed Plover and large numbers of Knot. When the tide is out these small waders flock in their hundreds in the bay and can be quite difficult to get close to and check with certainty, if they're obliging take advantage and enjoy the chance of picking out something more unusual. This area has had some fantastic birds in recent years with Lesser Sand Plover being the most notable, Broad-Billed, White-Rumped & Buff-Breasted Sandpipers as well as at least 2 Kentish Plovers have also been here in the last few years. The flock can move around a lot and are sometimes best viewed from the western side of the bay from the car park at Kilspindie Golf Club, you can drive down to here from the track off on the bend in the A198 by the village. In Autumn especiallly, large numbers of Golden Plover should be around and these are worth spending a bit of time looking through if they're close enough, American Golden Plover has been on the reserve before and in 2007 a probable Pacific Golden Plover was among them but it didn't hang around long enough to be confirmed.

From here you can walk back via the saltmarsh, there will be more waders to look through and some of the duck that were too distant to make from the car park may be closer now. In winter there could be finch flocks to look through which often produce Twite among the Linnets, or possibly a Lapland Bunting, Snow Bunting or Shore Lark amongst the Sky Larks... Short-toed Lark has been recorded in this spot and an Artic Redpoll spent the Winter near to here in 2005/2006!
If the conditions have been favourable for Little Auk during the Winter months a walk out to Gullane Point north along the beach may result in some good views, this species often shelter in the Forth when a northerly gale is blowing. Doing this will also give you a chance to check for Wintering sea duck along with divers & grebes. Lothian consistently has excellent and important numbers of both Velvet & Common Scoter which will be present all year round with peaks in Spring and Autumn but with good counts during Winter too. Its worth looking through these as the rare Surf Scoter is annual along this coast and they have been seen here. Large numbers of Eider will be offshore, with lesser counts of Long-Tailed Duck and Red-Breasted Merganser. Red-Throated & Black-Throated Divers should be around, although Red-Throats well outnumber the latter and Great Northerns are pretty rare. Nearby Gosford Bay is one of the best sights in the UK for Grebes in Winter, especially Red-Necks but also Slavonian Grebe and occasional Black-Necked, its no surprise then that all the UK Grebes could be seen off Aberlady too.

There is no doubt Aberlady Bay is a fantastic place for birds, for visiting birders and us locals it is a real treat to go to and walk around in search of common, scarce and rare species of bird. It is a lot of walking if you want to cover it all, but even just around the bridge and pond for a couple of hours can produce a surprising tally of birds.