Some background...

I've been birding for about 30 years and worked here for 14! Up to today, I've seen 317 species in Scotland, without too much twitching (honest), with 271 in the Lothians (ie East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian and the city of Edinburgh). The vast majority of my birding is in East Lothian... It's not the biggest county in Scotland, and certainly doesn't offer the best variety of birds, but you never quite know what's going to turn up. Usually nothing. But every now and then...

So far this year, I've seen 121 species in the Lothians, without a lot of effort. Highlights have included Arctic Redpoll, Surf Scoter and Bittern. I'll hopefully end up with 200+ if it's a good year. But, I'm more interested in beating my best of 177 for the Reserve in a year. Only 71 to go, with my first summer migrant, a Ring Ouzel, added this morning. Watch this space