2016 proved to be a good year and got off to a good start with large numbers of Little Auks being swept into the forth. There was a few White-fronted and Bean Geese around in the Torness area in with Pinkies. At the same site into February, there was a few Caspian Gulls coming and going from the tip but unfortunately they all evaded me. Things started to heat up in May with a cracking Olive-backed Pipit at Scoughall but only a small handful managed to connect with it. The same finder struck gold yet again the following weekend with a very popular yet elusive Golden Oriole at Musselburgh. It was a long awaited Scottish tick for many including myself. I missed out on it the first day but managed to get decent views of it early the following morning. The last weekend of the month turned up the first county first for 2016, a superb Gull-billed Tern at Belhaven Bay and it stuck around long enough for most to connect with it.
June saw a nice female King Eider at the esk mouth in Musselburgh and a pair of Spoonbills were on the loose which I eventually managed to catch up with them at Whitesands Quarry.
August saw the arrival of some good waders turning up and as usual Musselburgh had the lions share of them. Wood, Green and Curlew Sandpipers were all at the scrapes along with Little Stints, Black-tailed Godwits, Greenshank and good numbers of Ruff. The star wader however belonged to Fluke Dub in Dunbar, a superb Spotted Sandpiper which stuck around for a while and proved very popular. August also saw the arrival of Wryneck, Red-backed Shrike and Pied Fly.

To be continued........