One of the 4 probably 5 White-billed Divers off the East Lothian coast today. This one off the Leithies (east of north Berwick) late afternoon. #BirdingLothian #BirdingScotland

Excellent news. An important job for an important birding area.

The new update to the BirdTrack app introduces several features aimed at helping us collect accurate bird data and alert you to those slip of the finger data entry errors #ukbirding

Delta Velbron tripod. Free to first interested person who can collect (North Berwick) or who can meet at mutually convenient place in area. Needs a quick release plate but these are still available. DM me if interested #BirdingLothian

The latest report from the RBBP, Rare Breeding Birds in the UK in 2023, is out now in British Birds. It reports on the 104 species and races of rare breeding birds recording breeding, or showing signs of breeding, in 2023. Read the summary at rbbp.org.uk/2023-report-... #ornithology #ukbirds 🧵[1/15]

Thanks to @jarrodhadfield.bsky.social: adult Lesser White-fronted Goose at Tyninghame with Pinks and Barnacles. Relief after just dipping the Howgate one 8 days ago by 2 mins. Is it the same bird? What is its provenance? Behaving as if wild - if so only 2nd for Lothian I think #BirdingLothian

bsky.app/profile/chri... - important record for @ukrbbp.bsky.social

The recently published Lothian Bird Report 2022 and Isle of May Bird Observatory Bird Observatory Annual Report 2023 are now in stock at Waterston House. #BirdingLothian

8 Aug. Big sit coming up to high tide at Tyninghame. 6 Blackwits headed inland up the river. Good to see 11 juvenile Shelducks with 3 adults still. 17 Greenshanks, 14 Little Egrets. 840 Greylags is fewer than recent August counts (1020, c1700, c1250 in last 3 years).

26 July. Tyninghame. Up to 9 Roseate Terns with morning with 15 Common, 60+ Arctic and 100+ Sandwich Terns. Quite a variation in age/moult of the juv Roseates. Breeding species suffering from disturbance by walkers and dogs and no signs at all put up by East Lothian Council #BirdingLothian

Annual local House Martin nest count in SW North Berwick. Huge decline to 14 cf 31 last year and 53 in 2023. Most nests show sign of young already fledged - earlier than in previous years. Several half complete but apparently abandoned nests, new sites mainly on N and E facing walls. #BirdingLothian

Aberlady around high tide today. Huge numbers of Sand Martins around spit, resting on beach and in dunes. Min 800 but prob 1200+ as noted by @jpgnic.bsky.social recently. Also 3 Little Gulls & 8 Arctic Terns, 126 Sanderlings, 23 Dunlins, 6 Grey Plover etc. #BirdingLothian

Brilliant to see the singing Blyth’s Reed Warbler by the Tweed at Upsettlington this morning. Also 3 generations of the Bramhall family. Their youngest called 4 flying Whooper Swans, unusual for July. If you go, please keep to path - BRW is a potential rare breeder after all. #BirdingScotland #RBBP

Bonus on my @webs-gsmp.bsky.social count today. At the last site, near Redside (E Lothian) there was a Quail calling from this bean field. @birdinglothian.bsky.social

In almost 60 years of birding and after many failed attempts, I’ve finally seen a Purple Heron in Britain. At Burham, Kent. Conveniently I was heading to Kent (normally well out of my birding zone) for a couple of extra birding days after a week in Lesvos. Celebrations have been had 🍻 #UKBirding

Did my early @bbs-birds.bsky.social survey this morning; very pleased to see this male Marsh Harrier heading north over Seafield Pond as it was my first Lothian Marsh Harrier since 1989! Having enjoyed watching it, I was a bit late with camera hence blurry distant shot! @BirdingLothian

North Berwick Law this morning. No Ring Ouzels found but one Wheatear. @birdinglothian.bsky.social

Out doing @webs-gsmp.bsky.social & checking local ponds on bike. First broods of Coot at Balgone (b6,b2). 38 Tufted on 5 ponds (25mm:13ff). Also (at 1345) frustrating views of an egret flying W south of Seacliff, looked big and toes seemed all dark (in good light), so suspect Great. @BirdingLothian

There is now a #BirdingLothian feed. Click on # symbol top right and search for 'Lothian' - then pin it to your feeds. All messages with "birdinglothian" will be picked up (#BirdingLothian, @birdinglothian.bsky.social in message or image tag). They'll be picked up by #BirdingScotland automatically.

Chilly day along the E Lothian coast with @philloscopus.bsky.social (thanks 4 photos). Namesake Shore Lark Barns Ness, Greenshank & Whimbrel Dunglass, Scandi Rock Pipit Dunbar where also 1st 2 Kittiwakes at colony. 3 Snow Buntings Gullane c/o @normmill.bsky.social #BirdingScotland #BirdingLothian

#btobirds WeBS counts today. At Balgone the Coot numbers are even higher, now 56, first time over 50 this winter. Also 3 Grey Herons already loafing at probable future nest sites in reedmace at North Berwick Law Marsh. #BirdingScotland #BirdingLothian #Ornithology

White-winged Scoter among Velvets this morning n Gullane Bay. Appears in the middle of the flock about half way through. #BirdingLothian #BirdingScotland

It was the annual SOC Lothian & Borders low tide rocky shore count today. I did my usual Seacliff to Scoughall section, took 4 hours. 28 spp, 654 birds plus some flybys including a GN Diver. Common Scoter flock c200 birds. Grey Seal pup on St Baldred’s Boat (photo) #BirdingLothian #BirdingScotland

Out of Scotland for the Northumberland American Buff-bellied Pipit at Ross. Bit of a hike but a hell of a cracker. Shared with Phil Dean, Fifer Malc Ware & Airdrie (?) Stevie, lifers for us all 🍻✔️ #UKbirding

Worrying decline in the number of Bar-tailed Godwits using Musselburgh lagoons to roost (and probably also the Esk mouth to feed) in 2024 despite the new lagoons. Oystercatchers are showing a similar decline. Feeding? Disturbance? Wider decline? Roost? #birdinglothian #birdingscotland

Decent calm conditions in the Forth. Good count of Long-tailed Ducks (120) also 2 Red-necked & 19 Slavonian Grebes off Ferny Ness. 173 Shelduck in Aberlady Bay also notable. #BirdingLothian #BirdingScotland

BTO WinGS gull roost count this evening at Fidra/Lamb/Eel Burn coast, East Lothian with Phil Bysh. Less than half numbers of Herring Gull than in Sept count at 1395. 29 GBBs also on islands. 69 BH & 1 Med Gull on sea. #BirdingLothian #BirdingScotland @btobirds.bsky.social

Local bike-birding day, 30km round trip to south and east of North Berwick. 59 spp including 300+ Linnets (etc.) in this hedge. Sad to see 5 orphaned juvenile Whoopers at Lochhouses where 1 dead adult under wires (apparently other parent also killed recently). #BirdingLothian #BirdingScotland

Happy New Year from all of us at Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust. We’re optimistically looking forward to the start of a new era for the Obs and maybe one or two of the birds in this montage (!). Please join ‘Friends of Fair Isle’ to hear when we will be taking our first bookings at the new Obs.

Monthly #WeBS today. Big clear out perhaps after short cold snap in late Nov. No Tufted or Little Grebe. Only 86 birds (7 spp) across 3 sites, over half of which Coot (45, similar to last month, at Balgone, pic). Moorhen numbers back to normal (15). #BirdingScotland #BirdingLothian

Rare twitch for a rare bird. The Grey-headed Lapwing at East Chevington, Northumberland, 14 December. Lifer for me and Phil Bysh. #ukbirding

Great to see new wild bird indicators for Europe published today pecbms.info/european-wil... as well as individual trends for 170 bird species pecbms.info/trends-of-wi.... Produced from volunteer-collected data from 30 countries - congrats to the PECBMS team #ornithology #conservationscience🌍

Some of the 128 Taiga Bean Geese near Jawcraig (Slamannan plateau) yesterday #BirdingScotland

Thanks for video tip. These pesky icons., obvious when you look! Here’s a short video of some busy Feral Pigeons in Peterborough.

Away in foreign East Anglian lands. So caught up on some birds I don’t normally see: Bewick’s Swan, Crane, Cattle Egret, Shore Lark (might see 1 at home but there were 8). Not great conditions even for my rubbish photos but here’s some dark-bellied Brents (pity we can’t do video here). #ukbirding

After yesterday it was great to get some good views of the White Sands White-rumped Sandpiper. #BirdingScotland #BirdingLothian

Quick dash to White Sands only to dip on Ed Parnell’s great WR Sand which must have moved on just after he did! Still, counted the gull roost as it got darker & darker: 900 of which I estimated 600 Common, 250 BH & 50 Herring. Photo of the bay when I left at 1605. #BirdingScotland #BirdingLothian

Local WeBS/bike birding earlier. Still high numbers of Moorhen at Balgone (45) but fewer than the 71 in October; also lots Coot (49). Redside 375 Greylags & 14 Pinks. 500 Golden Plover Whitekirk. Late to party for Little Auks just 1N plus 1 GND at Scoughall. #BirdingLothian #BirdingScotland #WeBS

Dawn goose count at our newly discovered goose roost site of Fidra in Firth of Forth. Min 140 Greylags but they left much earlier than last time so maybe I missed some. 160 off nearby Craigleith as well. Also 160 Eiders & 20 other species for #birdtrack #BirdingScotland #BirdingLothian

We do love a graph at the RBBP, so here’s three from our new report, Rare Breeding Birds in the UK in 2022. First, for Little Egret, one of nine species which reached a new record total in 2022, with a 1,712% increase over 25 years.

There are more graphs and a whole lot more in our 2022 report, available in @britishbirds.bsky.social - there’s also a summary table with estimates and trends for all species open access at tinyurl.com/RBBPtable

We recognise that conferences can offer great opportunities for young people, both to further their knowledge and to connect with one another. As well as a full programme of walks, talks and ceilidh, our young birder networking session will give you the chance to meet people in an informal setting.

Cycle birding on Mull today. Usual suspects but this Whimbrel on north shore of Loch Spelve was a surprise #birdingscotland

The new Lothian Bird Report is out - available from SOC Waterston House Aberlady. I’ve written 3 papers on seabirds in Lothian #scotlandbirding #lothianbirding #seabirds #smp

#WeBS counts this morning. 9 Whoopers at Redside, all adults. Incredible 71 Moorhens at Balgone, North Berwick. This site has been counted most months since 1992 and until last month (when there were 51) the highest count ever was 36. #birdingscotland