On many maps of the UK the Shetland Islands lurk in a box just off the Buchan coastline of North –East Scotland. This gives a really misleading impression of their true location, over 200 miles north of Aberdeen and much the same distance west of Bergen in Norway. The islands themselves stretch for 70 miles from north to south, and 30 miles from east to west, yet you are never more than 4 miles from the sea. The coastline is 900 miles long. And I haven’t included Foula and Fair Isle in the above. Many Shetlanders feel little allegiance or connection to Scotland, and even less to the UK as a whole. Yet Shetland is connected umbilically to Aberdeen, and hence the rest of the UK, by the institution known as “Da Nord Boat”. The MVs Hjaltland and Hrossey ply nightly between Lerwick and Aberdeen. It is for these tenuous reasons that I have decided to include a section on the Shetland Islands in my North-East Scotland website. I hope I will be forgiven by the good people of Shetland.

Our overnight sail on The North Boat was serene and uneventful, much to the relief of my wife. As we lost sight of Scotland, there were flotillas of Puffins scuttling out of the way of the boat, and flocks of Arctic Terns heading north with us. We arrived early next morning at Lerwick in fog and drizzle. Our self catering house at Fladdabister, (Brekka Lodge, highly recommended) ten miles south of Lerwick, was not to be available until later in the day, so first we peered through the gloom at Scalloway, then headed south to Sumburgh Head by which time the weather had cleared. More auks on the cliffs, Fulmars wheeling past, Great Skuas (Bonxies), Twite, and Shetland Wrens and Starlings kept us interested. I can’t honestly say I noticed any difference between the Shetland sub-species of Wren and Starling and those on the rest of the UK, but maybe if I had them side by side I would have.

While I remember, I should introduce you to the Shetland bird life. There is an incredible number of sea birds at this time of year, auks, Gannets, petrels, and gulls all jostling for position on the nesting ledges of the mighty cliffs. The Fulmars even nest on the roadside cuttings. Shetland is of course rightly famous for its migrants, mostly in spring and autumn although rarities can and do turn up at any time of year. Just not when I’m there. Apart from the sea birds and the lost souls, what do we have? Not a lot is the answer. Starlings are everywhere, Blackbirds are common (but not Song or Mistle Thrushes), Twite, Skylarks, Wheatears and Meadow Pipits abound, and Curlews, Whimbrels, Lapwings, Oystercatchers and Redshanks breed widely. But there are very few finches, buntings or tits, and raptors (apart from Merlins) and owls are virtually absent. House Sparrows are doing well. Red Grouse, Pheasants and Partridges are scarce, so no game shooting. Hooded Crows and Ravens do well. The usual ducks, swans and geese come and go, and waders too. An occasional Willow Warbler or Chiffchaff turns up. Terns and divers are everywhere to be seen. For many visiting birders this will seem a strange mix. Even stranger perhaps will be the total absence of deer, foxes and badgers. But if you like bunnies, you’ll be very happy.

We toured around every day, mostly on Mainland, but also visiting the islands of Yell and Unst. We covered over a thousand miles on the most wonderful road system - not a pothole in sight. Another pleasure was the almost total lack of litter and graffiti. I felt the islanders take a great deal of pride in, and have respect for their surroundings. It is not quite true to say that Shetland is treeless. There are trees, mostly sycamores, in sheltered situations, around villages and crofts, in Lerwick’s suburbs, and anywhere they can’t be reached by sheep. Otherwise, it is a case of bare brown barren rounded hills, oases of green fertile valleys, sandy and rocky beaches, and towering cliffs. All the villages and communities have a modern school, swimming pool and leisure facilities, paid for mostly by money from oil companies.

We had two memorable trips. The first was to Hermaness, the most northerly tip of all of Shetland, with Muckle Flugga Lighthouse, and Outstack, the very extremity of the UK. The walk was a bit of an effort for two unfit oldies, but we survived. We also survived the attentions of the Bonxies and the Arctic Skuas. It was great to see so many of them at close quarters. The other noteworthy trip was a midnight sail to the island of Mousa to see the Storm Petrels. They nest in the famous broch on the island, only coming to land during the hours of darkness. The House Martin sized birds (and lookalikes at a glance) flutter bat like round the towering stone walls, before squeezing into cracks in the masonry where they chatter and burp continuously. Of course being so far north it was never completely dark at this time of year. We learned that the birds do three day shifts on the nest, with the male always taking the first shift. They also nest in dry stane dykes and boulder beaches on Mousa, and there are around 6000 pairs, 2% of the world population. It truly was an amazing experience.

This is just a brief report of a very varied, interesting, exciting and memorable holiday. By the way, we did lots of other things apart from birding. Probably if we had spent the whole time chasing around after reported stuff we would have seen more birds, but it wasn’t meant to be that kind of a holiday. If you haven’t been to The Shetland Islands before, I can really recommend it, not just for the birds but for lots else. Get busy on the internet, or feel free to contact me. There is now a separate Gallery page for some of the photos I took.