Local area birdwatching · Scotland

Birdwatching in Edinburgh and the Lothians

By Does Your Duck Quack · Planning updated 27 October 2026

Choose North Berwick for the Bass Rock seabird-centre and boat-trip plan, Aberlady for estuary and dune watching, or Tyninghame for shore and woodland. Bass Rock’s Gannets give the spring and summer trip its main character, with the Centre’s mainland facilities and the actual boat departure forming different parts of that visit. Aberlady Bay combines mudflat, dunes and a freshwater lochan, with autumn geese and winter waders among its seasonal interests. John Muir Country Park and Tyninghame add saltmarsh, tidal shore and woodland, providing another mixture around the coast. The inland short entries give a different range of walks. Addiewell Bing offers scrub and woodland on a reclaimed oil-shale heap; Brock Wood is approached through Spott on a narrow road with a ford. Linhouse Glen follows a wooded river south of Livingston, with a documented approach beneath the railway viaduct and designated crossing rules elsewhere. These destinations provide coastal and inland contrasts, with the specific public entrance and walking route defining each outing.

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Social preview photograph: Northern gannets covering Bass Rock above its white lighthouse in the Firth of Forth. Ellievking1 / Wikimedia Commons (resized and converted to WebP) · CC BY-SA 4.0. Resized and converted for the preview.