Birds of Haddington
What has actually been seen around Haddington: 120 species, the most recorded garden birds, the busiest months, and what to put out for them.
- Species on record
- 120 within 5 km
- Observation records
- 16,382 since 2010
- Most recorded bird
- Blackbird
- Busiest month
- May
- Elevation
- 55 m
- Daylight, June / December
- 17.6 h / 7 h
What the records say about Haddington
120 bird species have been recorded within 5 km of the centre of Haddington (East Lothian) since 2010, across 16,382 public observation records shared through GBIF. The most recorded are Blackbird, Woodpigeon and Carrion Crow.
Haddington is a garden-bird place: 82% of the records here are small songbirds, doves, woodpeckers and the other birds that come to feeders and garden trees. Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow and Robin make up the core of what you can expect at a feeder.
10 birds of prey are on record nearby, including Common Buzzard and Eurasian Sparrowhawk. A hawk that hunts feeder birds is among them, so set feeders 2–3 metres from shrubs: close enough for cover, far enough that a cat can't ambush from it.
Records peak in May and are lowest in August — about 2.3 times as many in the busiest month. Part of that is birds (migrants and winter visitors), part is people: more birders are out in good weather, so treat the curve as activity, not a census.
Gifford, 6 km to the south, has fewer species on record (105 against 120). Birds logged far more often around Haddington than there include Magpie, Stock Dove, Gray Heron and Grey Wagtail.
Daylight runs from 17 h 37 min at midsummer to 6 h 58 min at midwinter here. Sunrise is about 6:07 in mid-April and 4:24 in late June; the dawn chorus starts 30–60 minutes earlier.
Most recorded birds near Haddington
| # | Bird | Records |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BlackbirdTurdus merula | 673 |
| 2 | WoodpigeonColumba palumbus | 673 |
| 3 | Carrion CrowCorvus corone | 652 |
| 4 | RobinErithacus rubecula | 628 |
| 5 | JackdawColoeus monedula | 619 |
| 6 | MagpiePica pica | 615 |
| 7 | Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus | 585 |
| 8 | ChaffinchFringilla coelebs | 579 |
| 9 | GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis | 537 |
| 10 | WrenTroglodytes troglodytes | 532 |
| 11 | Great TitParus major | 486 |
| 12 | European Herring GullLarus argentatus | 478 |
| 13 | Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major | 391 |
| 14 | MallardAnas platyrhynchos | 377 |
| 15 | Common BuzzardButeo buteo | 331 |
| 16 | ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita | 328 |
| 17 | NuthatchSitta europaea | 321 |
| 18 | YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella | 310 |
| 19 | StarlingSturnus vulgaris | 310 |
| 20 | BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula | 292 |
Records by month
What to put out in Haddington
Foods for the most recorded garden birds here, from our species notes.
Seasonal bird notes for East Lothian
What's arriving, what to feed and when to clean feeders, written for UK gardens. One email a month at most.
Nearby places
Frequently asked
What birds visit gardens in Haddington?
The most recorded garden birds within 5 km of Haddington are Blackbird, Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Robin and Jackdaw, based on 16,382 public records since 2010.
How many bird species have been seen near Haddington?
120 species have at least one record within 5 km of the town centre since 2010 (GBIF).
When is the best month for birds in Haddington?
Observation records peak in May and are lowest in August. Sunrise in late June is around 4:24.
Sources
- GBIF occurrence search (birds, class Aves, 2010 onward)
- GeoNames gazetteer (place, population, elevation)
Timing reflects typical patterns for the region as a whole; local dates vary with elevation and year. Check the linked eBird bar charts for your county.