Shetland's Breeding Birds
On this page you can find a list of the breeding birds of Shetland and some more detailed information about the one of the most famous birds breeding on Shetland Islands: the Puffin

The Puffin

Shetland's Breeding birds




Puffin picture

One the famous birds on the Shetland Islands is of course the Puffin.
Underneath information About the Puffin, When to Watch and Where to Watch

(This information is obtained from the Shetland Wildlife website).
About the Puffin
When to Puffin Watch

The Puffin is probably the best known member of the Auk family, although there are another 21 species including Guillemots and Razorbills. It is instantly recognisable with its brightly coloured bill and well liked by all birdwatchers. The Atlantic or Common Puffin (Fratercula arctica) is the species which is seen in Shetland and the rest of Britain.

Puffins nest in burrows (which they usully dig themselves with their very sharp claws) amongst boulder scree and also in cracks in the cliffs. About one fifth of the total Puffin population of Scotland breed in Shetland, approximately 125,000 pairs.

Most of the large coloured part of the Puffin's bill (the bright bluish and yellow areas closest to the head) is simply a decorative sheath and is shed during the winter, to be regrown each spring at the start of the breeding season. In winter plumage therefore their bill appears much duller in colouration and noticeably smaller.

Almost all Puffins leave Shetland during the winter months returning to their breeding areas from March onwards. Large 'rafts' (groups of birds swimming together) of Puffins may be seen on the sea at this time as they gather around their breeding areas. They lay only a single egg and the chick is fed in the burrow on small fish. Most Puffin colonies are empty soon after mid-August.

The best time to visit a Puffin colony is in the morning or early evening as most of the birds are at the fishing grounds during the day. During the incubation period Puffins spend more time ashore, but the extent of colony visits is variable, and although they may be ashore for long periods of time there may not be much activity.

Exciting behaviour will be sporadic - when a pair may quarrel or a gull flies over causing the Puffins to take flight before landing again or to preen or sleep. During the chick rearing period (June to early August) the adults can often be seen bringing beakfulls of food to their young. An observer, sitting quitely at a good vantage point near a colony just before sunset, will be able to watch many different behaviour patterns, e.g. head jerking and bill tapping.
Where to watch Puffins


There are seven main Puffin colonies in Shetland including the outlying islands of Fair Isle and Foula.

Sumburgh Head
At the southern tip of mainland Shetland, Sumburgh Head holds a colony of about 5,000 birds all breeding in the steep grassy banks and cliffs leading up to the lighthouse. This is probably the easiest colony to visit as it is an R.S.P.B. reserve and there is a public road all the way to the lighthouse and ample parking facilities. This is a very ancient colony as Puffin bones are common in the ninth and tenth century dwellings at the nearby Jarlshof Viking settlement.

The Isle of Noss
Lying only a few hundred metres off the east coast of Bressay (just across from the main town of Lerwick), the Isle of Noss holds about 2,000 pairs of Puffins. They breed around the grassy cliff tops, and in cracks in the high cliffs of the isle, especially around the Noup of Noss (the highest point).

Fetlar
One of the northerly islands, Fetlar holds a population of about 1,500 Puffins almost all of which breed in steep grassy banks and in cracks in the cliffs. They are found all around the higher parts of the island although there are few large concentrations.

Hermaness
Hermaness, a National Nature Reserve on Unst, is the most northerly of the Shetland islands. The colony of at least 50,000 pairs of Puffins is scattered over several miles of boulder screes and heavily grazed steep slopes along the west cliffs of the reserve. This is one of the easiest colonies to walk to and is quite spectacular.

Uyea
Situated near the tip of North Mainland in the shadow of Ronas Hill (Shetlands highest hill at 450m), the Isle of Uyea supports a colony of around 1000 pairs of Puffins nesting in burrows on the top of the isle and in cracks in the cliffs.

Foula
One of the most spectacular islands, Foula boasts mile after mile of bird-covered cliffs, and also Britains highest cliff - the Kame rising 1220 feet above sea level. Puffins nest all along these spectacular west cliffs, in grassy banks and in cracks in the cliff face. Recent estimates suggest at least 50,000 pairs of Puffins nest on the island.

Fair Isle
Lying mid-way between the Orkney and Shetland islands, Fair Isle supports around 25,000 pairs of Puffins nesting on the steep grassy slopes and in cracks in the cliffs virtually all round the island. This is one of the best places in Shetland to get very close to Puffins as there are several colonies on the easily accessible grassy banks around the island.

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List of Breeding Birds on the Shetland Islands

Red-throated diver
Little Grebe
Fulmar
Manx Shearwater
Storm Petrel
Leach's Petrel
Gannet
Cormorant
Shag
Grey Heron
Mute Swan
Whooper Swan
Greylag Goose
Shelduck
Wigeon
Teal
Mallard
Pintail
Shoveler
Tufted Duck
Eider
Common Scoter
Velvet Sctoer
Red-Breasted Merganser
White-Tailed Eagle
Hen Harrier
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine
Red Grouse
Quail
Pheasant
Corncrake
Moorhen
Coot
Oystercatcher
Ringed Plover
Golden Plover
Lapwing
Dunlin
Snipe
Woodcock
Black-Tailed Godwit
Whimbrel
Curlew
Redshank
Greenshank
Common Sandpiper
Turnstone
Red-Necked Phalarope
Arctic Skua
Great Skua
Black-Headed Gull
Common Gull
Lesser Black-Backed Gull
Herring Gull
Glaucous Gull
Great Black-Backed Gull
Kittiwake
Sandwich Tern
Roseate Tern
Common Tern
Arctic Tern
Guillemot
Razorbill
Black Guillemot
Puffin
Rock Dove
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Cuckoo
Long-Eared owl
Short-Eared Owl
Skylark
Swallow
House Martin
Meadow Pipit


Rock Pipit
Yellow Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Pied/White Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Stonechat
Wheatear
Ring Ouzel
Black Bird
Fieldfare
Song Thrush
Redwing
Reed Warbler
Whitethroat
Blackcap
Willo Warbler
Goldcrest
Red-Backed Shrike
Jackdaw
Rook
Hooded Crow
Raven
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Twite
Tree Sparrow
Snow Bunting
Corn Bunting
Reed Bunting

and may be
many others