• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Lothian Birding (1 Viewer)

Kris Gibb said:
Hi Calum,

really no need for any apologies, I was just interested to hear whether or not images from these guys were being posted online. It seems they prefer to have them on their own personal facebook / twitter pages.

I'm really pleased with the galleries on Birding Lothian, I would hate for them to be spoiled with pictures which have a negative reaction from those viewing them. The disturbance of birds for images, particularly at this time of the year, is a huge negative. If there are concerns from anyone viewing images, perhaps from someone who has witnessed the 'photographer' behaving in a way which is concerning, please bring it to someones attention. If this happens to be on Birding Lothian an e-mail to [email protected] would be appreciated.

Hope your holiday was an enjoyable one Calum, despite the near punch-up! People say birdwatching isn't exactly a magnet for fanny, although we seem to bump into them all the time ;)

On a much happier note! Some nice birds to see down the coast today, and apparently lots of common migrants. Would liked to have been out today. http://www.birdinglothian.co.uk/#/recent-sightings/4537581602

Kris
Click to expand...

You do a great, often unappreciated job, Kris, in keeping up what is a really good website.

Have to admit your 'People say birdwatching,..' sentence had me going for a minute ;)

After 2 good days down the coast I decided not to bother today after spending a freezing fruitless very early visit to M'burgh in the company of Dave. Looks like I was too early...

Still whilst wrestling with the garden this pm had 20 siskins on the feeders and a first ever willow warbler singing in the garden

Interesting how the order that migrants are appearing is a bit topsy turvy
 
East Lothian

A fine if cold morning. Barns Ness had a whinchat, yellow wagtail, 2 whimbrel and may pied/white wagtails

On to Dunbar quarry-the east side of the loch had plenty of activity and there were 4 yellow wagtails-best of all 2 of them appeared to be of the blue headed variety. I had wondered if they were the same 2 that had been seen at Seafield Pond, a couple of miles down the road but they were reported again today
 

Attachments

  • Blue headed wag.JPG
    Blue headed wag.JPG
    168.2 KB · Views: 111
  • Whimbrel.jpg
    Whimbrel.jpg
    265.5 KB · Views: 89
  • Wags.JPG
    Wags.JPG
    129.5 KB · Views: 110
Well you'll be pleased to know that I went down to East Lothian in an environmentally friendly group of 5 though the car perhaps did not have an environmentally friendly smell after ferrying 5 men up and down the east coast of Lothian. We spent about 5-6 hours on the coast from Dunbar Quarry to Skateraw from 7am.

Yesterdays finds of bluethroat, male rosefinch and red back shrike in the pouring rain in the afternoon promised much.

However it was quite hard going in the dull grey conditions. There was a red backed shrike at Barns Ness. It was very mobile over a large range but was eventually seen reasonably well. A second female red backed shrike was at the pools opposite Dunbar Quarry and was more obliging in trees and on fence posts. There was a female black redstart at Barns Ness. The same bird or maybe a second was seen further on towards Skateraw-photos may tell later if it was one or two birds.

2 short eared owls flushed from the rough coastal grassland, there were at least 6 yellow wagtails, a garden warbler, grasshopper warbler, 2 sedge warblers, spotted flycatcher and lesser whitethroat to add to the cast

Rather annoyingly the bluethroat reappeared on the beach at Barns Ness a couple of hours after we left in an area we had walked several times. A male red backed shrike was also reported between Barns Ness and Skateraw but we did not see it on our walk through the area
 
this the right thread to talk about st abbs head?

Black guilemot rport from there......just the farne island bird moving about or seperate record??

Any info on it?
 
Not strictly speaking the right thread-just a few miles outside Lothian though

From Bordersbirdnews

2-6-13-St Abbs Head

Cracking summer pl Black Guillemot at Burnmouth Harbour (St Abbs Head) this afternoon.

8-6-13-St Abbs head

Black guillemot still around yesterday. Also 15-20 bottlenose dolphin heading south past the lighthouse on the 5th and 7-9 heading north yesterday
 
Drake Ring-necked Duck at White Sands Quarry today for its second day. Viewable, distantly, from the road but went out of sight into an inlet in the south western corner of the "lake".

David
 
Breeding Spot Fly

For the first time in many years, this morning I found a spotted flycatcher in a wood near to Pencaitland. This bird was joined by another and they flew from tree to tree apparently nest prospecting.

Hopefully they will be successful; the wood used to hold a few pairs until this species became comparatively scares.

On the way home, along the Pencaitland Railway walk, a male stonechat flew past me. Never seen one before on the railway line and suspect it was just a fly-by. Nice though.

As I walked home , through the village, I then found myself being overtaken by a Jay (is this what's called jay walking!). Whilst I regularly see them in various nearby woods, it was a bit strange to see the bird amongst houses - in this county at least.

Cheers, Brian
 
I visited Aberlady Bay yesterday, my first visit in a couple of years, and my first visit in summer. As expected, it wasn't teeming with birds, but I found other things of great interest.

The first thing struck me was how many moths and butterflies were around. There were loads of viper's-bugloss and these hosted tens of six-spot burnets. There were parts of the reserve were wherever you looked they were in sight. I saw a cinnabar moth caterpillar. Butterflies included large white, common blue, small heath and dark green fritillary. There were dragonflies hawking over the little loch as well as blue damselflies along the path.

Bird-wise, there were whitethroats, sedge and willow warblers, a couple of sandwich terns came flying up river, and lots of gannets and a few gull species. I saw lots of female eiders with ducklings but was wondering where all the males were - I eventually found many of them sitting on rocks and swimming in more sheltered bays where they were moulting. Rock pipits and wheatears spent time around the rocks facing the sea with sky larks calling from around the golf course. Coots, moorhens and mallards all with young were at the little loch, along with a grey heron and black-headed gulls. Swallows, house martins and swifts much in evidence.
 
I spent a pleasant hour or so down at Musselburgh today and I have never seen it so busy-hard to get a space in some of the hides. I guess the warm sunny weather, bank holiday and the lure of decent birds was the reason.
The water levels are low for once and attractive to waders. Numbers were hard to count as birds were zipping between scrapes and in and out of vegetation.
Highlights were at least 6 little stints, 7 curlew sandpipers, 4 ruff, a wood sandpiper, a whimbrel, a little gull and 27 black tailed godwits amongst the more regular waders. Very nice!
 
Last edited:
I was in Edinburgh overnight last night for work and went down to Ocean terminal in the evening to enjoy the last of the day's Sunshine on Leith. I was leaning on a railing overlooking the harbour basin, when a Kingfisher appeared from under the bow of the Britannia and skimmed across the water right below me. Probably not that unusual but Kingfisher is typically a less than annual bird for me, so nice to see.
 
A yellow browed warbler calling from a sycamore tree in Hawkhill Terrace was an added bonus this afternoon after leaving the football today where Celtic scraped a draw against the glorious HiBees.
 
malkoa said:
A yellow browed warbler calling from a sycamore tree in Hawkhill Terrace was an added bonus this afternoon after leaving the football today where Celtic scraped a draw against the glorious HiBees.
Click to expand...

Shhh-don't mention our offside goal-nice find . A water rail at Lochend Park has been the best I've seen on the way back from the Leith San Siro
 
malkoa said:
A yellow browed warbler calling from a sycamore tree in Hawkhill Terrace was an added bonus this afternoon after leaving the football today where Celtic scraped a draw against the glorious HiBees.
Click to expand...

JEEEEZZZZZZ I'm gutted I dont know whats rarer a Hibs goal or a Yellow-brow just off Easter Rd....best I have ever done going/coming from ER is a flock of Waxwing. Nice find. :t:

Oh and Hibernian forever!!!
 
Following an e mail from Stephen Welch to the Lothian Bird New e mail group I went out to Kingston south of North Berwick. From the road known as Station Road, to the west and north of the village I saw a white phase Snow Goose among thousand s of Pink-footed Geese, (4,000 according to Stephen).

David
 
Saw an interesting thrush this morning on the Pencatland Railway Walk. It was in with a flock of fieldfares and redwings ( and 1 mistle thrush) and was perched on a tree top having been flushed from the Rowan's.
My first and final thoughts were leucistic fieldfare but it got me going for a while as it did appear to be slimmer and longer than the fieldfares. The breast had many white feathers reducing the chevron markings to almost a band across its chest. There were white feathers in its wing apparently in the greater coverts and some secondaries. Most striking was its head which was pure white from the beak right over its cap to upper nape. It's bill was bright yellow with a black tip.
It was a brief view before it flew off with the other birds but in the very brief view I got of it in flight both upper wings appeared to show the same striped markings.
A stricking bird and one to cause some confusion!
 
I am going to be in Edinburgh Friday and Saturday, and am hoping to turn up some information. I hope to go to Musselburgh and a couple of other places Saturday...

Could anyone say whether there is still a twite flock at John Muir Country Park (as there was in 2006 according to the internet)?
 
DrRich said:
I am going to be in Edinburgh Friday and Saturday, and am hoping to turn up some information. I hope to go to Musselburgh and a couple of other places Saturday...

Could anyone say whether there is still a twite flock at John Muir Country Park (as there was in 2006 according to the internet)?
Click to expand...

There may well be....however last winter was a very poor one for this species at Tyninghame as the saltmarsh was very wet and thus the birds did not use that area. Not sure about this winter though as I havent been to Tyninghame in months.
Check out Birding Lothian or Lothian Bird News for sightings...if time Aberlady saltmarsh sometimes has them also.
 
The last two times I have been to Musselburgh there have been 3 or 4 twite along the sea wall-last time was a week ago
 
Warning! This thread is more than 6 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

Mendobirder
Western Isles questions
2
Replies
20
Views
971
Mendobirder
Mendobirder
Zack_
Help figuring out what to do at first
Replies
6
Views
242
Zack_
Zack_
P
A SoCal birder that calls the coastal sage scrub and chaparral home when not in a coastal range forest
Replies
3
Views
359
Kits
Kits
K
Hello,
Replies
9
Views
515
Butty
B
SueO
Stories Behind Birds You've Photographed
Replies
18
Views
766
Joe H
Joe H

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top