They contain a few reservoirs which serve the good people of Edinburgh. Between 6,200 and 7,500 pairs of ring ouzels breed annually in the UK but the population … Indeed British Birds, with a monthly readership of many thousands, described Musselburgh as ‘a site of awesome reputation’. The blackbird of the mountains, ring ouzels can be found breeding on upland moors and rocky crags in summer.

With a wide variety of habitats beneficial to birds this has also had an effect on the Musselburgh List which now stands at an impressive 226 species, nearly two thirds of the Lothian List. Baxter and Rintoul (1953) reported large decreases in parts of Scotland, and Thorn (1986) …

While herbivore numbers have fluctuated historically they are have been much higher in the last 200 years due to intensive management from humans (both sheep and deer) and if either we reduced herbivore numbers ourselves or re-introduced predators such as wolves there is plenty of evidence that trees would come back in many places. The Lothians, at some 749 square miles, lying on the south side of the Firth of Forth, has a rich diversity of habitats. Past records include Common Scoter, Osprey, Black Redstart and Black-throated Diver. associated with montane scrub (Incidentally, my brother bivvied at the top of Liathach recently and was kept awake by a ring ousel). The Soc The Scandinavian race of Rock Pipit can be found from March onwards on this beach. This applies equally to conservation NGOs and grouse moor managers; the traditional stalking estate is probable the landholding-type which is currently retaining the most naturalness. Scarcities include Glaucous and Mediterranean Gulls with the odd rarity: Tengmalm’s Owl (Cramond island, December 1860) and a few Spoonbill records with two birds present in may 1998. Access: The local boatman, Freddie Marr (tel: North Berwick 2838) runs sailings from North Berwick Harbour. James, where we disagree is on what the natural characteristics of an area might be. Access: From the A704 west of West Calder take the minor road for Woolfords. Good numbers of Coot and Cormorants are generally also present. There is a chance of finding White-fronted Goose which are annual, or the rarer Bean Goose. The importance of Britain as a stop-over and refuelling area for Fennoscandian birds on passage in Spring and Autumn is stressed. Why the difference? Material on this website is fully protected by copyright law, and may not be used or reproduced in any form without prior written permission. Since then, each autumn a small number of observers have noted migrating seabirds flying up the Forth, gaining height and crossing over the bridges before presumably flying up the Forth and Clyde valleys to reach the west coast of Scotland. British & Irish Records Archive. It is possible to walk round to Skateraw via this path, but beware it may be closed in rough weather. Walk east from the Car Park to view the reservoir. 39. Numbers of duck rarely exceed two to three hundred most winters but the Greylag Goose count can be as high as 1,000+. Remember the gardens are private. A key is required and is available from the Pentland Hills Ranger Service. The Whooper Swans can be found in small herds at favourite sites in amongst smaller numbers of Mute Swans. Cairngorm is a good place to see them because the forest is growing back. This was all to brief a period in the reservoirs history as the water levels are now kept topped up allowing little or no mud to show. The seawall is a good vantage point for seawatching with Grey Phalarope, two Sabine’s Gulls and several thousand Little Auks all being seen in the space of a few days or so in November 1996. If a montane scrub zone was planted here it would provide an attraction for the general tourist which they could not see anywhere else. It can also act as a good seawatching point and may be worth a try. My best find was a singing Black Redstart, but other observers have seen. Access: From Barnton roundabout, by Barnton Hotel, take Whitehouse Road. There are plans for a lottery funded visitor centre to be built at the harbour with live CCTV pictures to be beamed back from the rock. Skateraw lying on the north side of Torness Power Station has always held an interest with Lothian birders due to the occasional drift migrants attracted here. Imagine if trees had been planted at the time of the construction of the funicular, this area would have been transformed. That would be an alternative but would not address any of the landscape issues which montane scrub could provide a solution to. © 2020 BirdGuides, Warners Group Publications Plc. Gives a very different take on the Highland landscape compared to Fraser Darling. The rarest species here was an American Black Duck. Despite this good birds have been seen here both in the coastal bushes and at sea. The best areas to try are those in the hinterland of Aberlady, North-Berwick, Haddington areas along with Fenton Barns, Drem and Brownrigg. Observers should note the date, place and grid reference where the ring ouzel was seen and, if possible, the specific colours on each leg. * Bird News Pro and Bird News Ultimate subscribers receive full sighting details. To the south is Duddingston Loch with its extensive reedbeds. The beach to the south of the lighthouse is best for Yellow Wagtail feeding amongst the rotting seaweed and good numbers of White Wagtails are often present in spring. We don’t have large plains in Scotland except round the coasts maybe and those have always been relatively settled so wild herbivore numbers have been small. The Town Bay to the west of the palace gives the observer both parking and good viewing opportunities as most of the wildfowl come to bread here, including a Red-necked Grebe one winter. The area next to the campsite entrance is known as the ‘wire dump’ to locals. However Scotland has not had montane scrub for thousands of years (see Duncan Poore’s comments in the 1997 SNH montane scrub conference), so in Scotland the ousels are NOT (never have never been??) Although much of the reservoir lies on private land it can be checked from the road skirting the north side. The bushes and reeds around the pond are alive with song in spring with Sedge Warbler, Blackcap and Willow Warblers the commonest species present but Lesser Whitethroat and Wood Warbler can be seen and heard on passage. Skateraw House at the top of the road by the old A1 is well worth a look. The rocky shoreline between Belhaven Bay and Dunbar Harbour attracts roosting gulls at high tide with perhaps a chance of Iceland Gull. Access: The reservoir is off the Penicuik-Gorebridge Road (B6372). The vast majority of people would be what I would loosely describe as “general tourists” who tend to do short walks. The dean itself has very deep cover with the bushes down by the burn mouth on the beach being the best bet for migrants. Divers are a possibility and White-billed Diver has been recorded.

This has also had a knock-on effect on the number of Surf Scoters in the Lothians. Waterston House Small numbers of waders are seen here with Redshank and Turnstone the commonest. The point itself is a regular spot for Common Scoter, Eider, Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe and Long-tailed Duck. There is still much to learn and the early attempts to track Ring Ouzels on migration from Scotland to North Africa and back are described. Bittern have taken to wintering each year with two birds present in 1995. Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint are often the ‘bread and butter’ species every autumn. As a result of this, large numbers of waders, gulls and duck now use these lagoons as a high tide roost site, particularly the lagoon nearest to the river mouth. In Britain, the Ring Ouzel Turdus torquatus torquatus is a bird of the uplands, rarely being found below 250 m. It frequents steep-sided valleys, crags and gullies, and usually nests on the ground in Heather Calluna vulgaris (Gibbons et al 1993).

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