Here is a Google Map that I made after seeing last weekend's Barred Warbler at Barns Ness - a two-day bird as far as I know. It got me wondering about the number and distribution of Barred Warbler records in Lothian. As far as I know last weekend's bird at Barns Ness would be Lothian's 34th record - although there is an offshore record from 1991 (SOC trip aboard Gardyloo) and it has been sighted on Bass Rock at least twice, but I am unsure whether these count as Lothian?...
From the records I have details of there seems to be a real concentration in terms of time (Aug: 5; Sept: 10; Oct: 11; Nov: 1) and location - note 14 records at Barns Ness, 4 at Torness, 4 at Skateraw and 1 at Thorntonloch - a real hotspot for sure. Other records are 2 on the Bass and singles at Aberlady (2003), Musselburgh (2005), Oxwell Mains (1992), Easter Inch Moss (1997) and Edinburgh (1946).
What really surprised me by this distribution was the lack of records along the North Berwick coastline as far as Dunbar. Scoughall has certainly been reasonably well watched over the years - is it a lack of elder bushes in that area? Could Seacliff be an area that we are missing them?...
