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?...
3 comments:
I was om that pelagic so the Barred which sat on the funnel ladder counts as Lothian for me!
Also had 2 juv Sabine's and all 4 Skuas as I recall.
Those were the days - the smell of sh...erm, sea in the nostrils!
Wow - that sounds like a pretty amazing pelagic. If you know roughly where you were in relation to the various islands I'll add it to the map - and add it to the total...
Unusual habitat - unless it sat on the bars of the ladder I suppose...
Geoff
Memory a bit hazy as it was over 20 years ago, but I think it only jumped ship as we were almost entering Leith Docks and promptly flew off in the direction of Inchkeith.
If anyone else who was on the trip reads this they may be able to confirm or correct?
Those were the days 2 - no mobile phones or universal internet back then.
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