Finally caught up with the American Black Tern at the outer Tyninghame Bay. Couldn’t see the clinching ID feature, the green ring on its left leg. A few Roseate Terns around too.
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White-winged Scoter off the Scrapes at Musselburgh this afternoon.
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In left hide at Musselburgh old scrapes with @joppabirder.bsky.social and surprised to see 2 Temminck’s Stints, also Little Ringed Plover and 6 Black-tailed Godwits on Scrapes; m Surf Scoter off the seawall and ad Little Gull on the Esk Mouth with Sandwich Terns.
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White-winged Scot off seawall at Musselburgh between the 1st and 2d benches with Eider flock, showing well but distant.
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Three Spoonbills at Tyninghame this afternoon, found by @kgbirder.bsky.social Quite a few Little Egrets too and a Greenshank.
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My first large Skipper of the year from Clerkington, East Lothian, plus a Small Copper.
@scottishbutterfly.bsky.social

Mandarin drakes, Pressmennan, East Lothian. Phonebinned and cropped. Also had a Reed Warbler this afternoon at a known site. Singing despite the hooley.
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Avocets still at old scrapes at Musselburgh. One has a yellow leg flag with the code IS on its left leg and a yellow colour ring on its right.
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An afternoon in the Lammermuirs, rather quiet. Couldn’t find any Whinchats, Ring Ouzel were showing well. The only raptor of the day was a female Marsh Harrier. Cuckoo still calling at Whiteadder.
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The Kentish Plover found by
@kgbirder.bsky.social
gave great views this afternoon. I had it to myself for almost a couple of hours.
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The Kentish Plover at Tyninghame this afternoon gave some great views, the strong southeasterly breeze was causing some movement when I tried to digiscope it.

An afternoon in the Lammermuirs with a Wood Sandpiper (blurry phonescoped shot below, left the adapter in the car) still at Whiteadder Reservoir. Crossbills, Cuckoos and Red-legged Partridge there too.
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A rather interesting afternoon of wildlife watching, started with my first ever Basking Shark from Ferny Ness and ended with 3 Wood Sandpipers at Whiteadder Res., with a couple of Cuckoos in the background. Pair of Peregrines in between.
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Pair Avoces now relocated to the Old Scrapes, Lesser Whitethroat singing to right hand side of the Middle Hide at the Old Scrapes too.
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A big surprise on the dog walk this morning. The gulls were making a racket, that can mean a raptor. It was a flying barn door! A White-tailed Eagle with a white tail, it climbed and headed east toward Haddington. Gulls pass still on it. #BirdingLothian #birding

Went off to Haddington Golf Club to try and hear Grasshopper Warbler. I did, just! Merlin was picking them up but my ears, not so much! #birdingscotland #birding

Went to Gullane this afternoon and eventually got good views of a drake White-winged Scoter. It was the browner flanked individual. I had to walk from the car park at Gullane to the slope above Hummel Rocks. #BirdingLothian

Female type Black Redstart still near the ground at Dunbar’s East Beach this pm. Spending a lot of time hidden in the garden behind a high wall.#birdinglothian

A Phonescoped shot of the Shore Lark at Barns Ness in East Lothian this afternoon.

From rarity when I first started out #birding to someone’s garden bird. Phone camera shot of a Little Egret in a Haddington housing estate.

Adult Mediterranean Gull at the mouth of the Esk at Musselburgh this afternoon. A year tick and my first since May! #birding

Reached 100 species for the Clerkington patch, but I didn’t notice! Species 100 was Great Black-backed Gull on the 8th of January.

Hello bluesky here is a picture of the #Auroraborealis from East Lothian last night (1 Jan)