Bird Photos In the Shetlands

[jerome_smith]

Has anyone out there shot birds and nature in the Shetland Islands?

As George Costanza would say, "Details...details." I'm thinking about

going and need the how, what, why, etc. Thanks in advance.

[john_gerlach]

My wife and I photographed in the Shetlands about 5 years ago. It was excellent for seabirds, especially Atlantic Puffins. Go from late June to mid-July when the puffins are feeding their babies. You can stay at the biological station on Faire Isle. Thousands of puffins and northern fulmars nest within 100 yards of the station. Access was excellent. Don't need a blind, but a 500mm lens would be helpful. On the main islands in the Shetlands, you can rent a car and take ferries from island to island to photograph other species of birds like northern gannets, great skuas, common terns, arctic terns and plovers. It's a modern place that is easy to get around with good roads. The natives are very friendly. The light is good at these high latitudes most of the day, but the dreaded sea fog can come in and shut you down for a week at a time. I don't have any addresses, but I'm sure you can find web sites if you search for them. Tourism is an important business in the Shetlands so info is available. Have a great trip. The Shetlands is a very worthwhile destination.

[guy_yates]

I visited Shetland for a few days in April 1997. A beautiful location for wildlife watching/photographing. I stayed in the south of the main island - near Sumburgh Head (very close to airport). A thirty minute walk (up hill going) from the airport will bring you to fantastic cliff lined shores. Puffin, gannets, kittiwakes, fulmars, shags and many gulls can be easily watched and photographed. I managed some good shots of puffins with a 70-210 zoom as they are very accomodating! If you're lucky the odd whale may even make an appearence for you. My trip there was improved even more by the expert advice/guidance received by Hugh Harrop. Hugh is a renowned naturalist leading many trips - both on Shetland Islands and overseas. He is also a published photographer. I would highly recommend if you plan to go to at least spend a day with him or one of his team. His website is located at http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/swt/world.htm and it will be money well spent. Good luck and enjoy.

[john_gardner1]

I have just returned from a two week trip photographing birds in the Shetlands and I can heartily recommend a visit. The bird life was wonderful and the photo opportunities even better. I have yet to see my results - I should get them back later this week - but below I list some of the highlights:

 

Fetlar - this island is a must for any bird photographer. The main birds here are Red-necked Phalaropes on Loch Funzie (pronounced Finny) very close views. Shoot them in the afternoon and wade out into the Loch so you are shooting them against the bank. The loch is only a few inches deep. Papil Water (another Loch) is great for shooting Great Skuas bathing. Also Red-throated Divers here too. The moorlands all hold breeding Dunlin, Golden Plover, Skuas, Curlew, Ringed Plover and up on the airfield is a good spot for doing Whimbrel. Please note, however, many of the birds are schedule one protected species and it is not possible to do them at the nest without a licence. However, there's plenty of scope for doing them away from the nest. The pier area is a great place for otters and a pod of six killer whales were just four feet off shore there the other day! The Stack of Grunnigeo has about 4,000 storm petrels but remember these don't come ashore until midnight-ish at the earliest. There are Puffins, Razorbills and Guillemots on the cliffs of Lamb Hoga.

 

Unst - Herma Ness cliffs are awesome, definately the best seabird cliffs I have ever visited. I hauled up a 500mm f/4 and 300mm f/2.8 to do the Puffins here and ended up shooting them with a 35mm wide angle! They are so unbelievably close. Spectacular scenery and the Great Skuas will knock your block off when you walk throught their breeding grounds. Hard hat adviseable! Keen of Hamar is a national nature reserve and consists of serpantine fellfield (a kind of post glacial habitat) with no ground cover at all. There are, however, hundreds of apline plants here including Edmondston's Chickweed which grows here and nowhere else in the world. Lots of frog orchids here too. Wild flowers abound in the roadside verges and again otters, whales and dolphins are seen offshore.

 

Yell - another island offering great photo opportunities of breeding waders and some good scenery, although I didn't have too much time on here.

 

Mainland Shetland - again I ran out of time and so didn't do much other than Sumbrugh Head where it is possible to do Puffins and Fulmars hanging in the updraft. Also, if you missed the Stormy's on Fetlar you can take a short ferry ride from Sandwick to the island of Moussa. Here there is a broch (iron-age fort) where the Stormy's breed. the trip leaves Sandwick at 11pm and returns at about 1.30am. This is a great experience. Moussa itself is outstanding for wildlife but you need to take on food and water and can only camp there - there's no accomodation. You can do Moussa during the day on boat trips, again from Sandwick.

 

Unless you are going now, I think you have missed things for this year. You need to be there from June to late July for the best of the seabirds.

 

Accommodation is plentiful, roads are excellent, hire cars are available and the people are great. I can heartily recommend Shetland and I will definately be going back.

 

Sorry its only a brief guide but I hope it helps.

[jerome_smith]

John:

 

Nice overview and very helpful. Thanks