Orkney Island Holidays
Wildlife
Bird Watching in Orkney.
Orkney has far more RSPB reserves than any other county in Britain, and a wonderful array of interesting habitats. There are thousands of nesting birds on its sea cliffs, moors, shores, farmland, wetlands and islands in summer and rare migrants in spring and autumn, as well as unusual winter visitors reflecting its northerly position.
Our Aim is to give you memorable and exciting bird watching by visiting RSPB Reserves and other wildlife sites. You will experience the sights, sounds and smells of the wealth of Orkney’s birds. We pride ourselves on helping you increase your confidence in identifying birds. Whether you are an absolute beginner to bird watching, have a passing interest in birds or are an experienced bird watcher and just want to be guided to some of the best sites in Orkney, you can be assured of great bird watching with us. Time is spent getting good views of birds in their natural habitats, understanding their way of life and appreciating their beauty.
On some of our Holidays, weather permitting, we use our large inflatable workboat for visits to isolated skerries, uninhabited islands, and the cliffs and caves around Shapinsay, seldom visited by others. Our boat allows a close approach without disturbing the birds.
Orkney Birds
People often ask when is the best time to come to see birds in Orkney. Well, all months are excellent. The breeding birds are here from April to September, whilst winter visitors and migrant birds are evident in April/May and August to November.
Some birds you might expect to see at the various habitats:-
Seacliffs - fulmar, puffin, black guillemot or tystie, common guillemot (including bridled), razorbill, kittiwake, shag, gannet, rock dove, peregrine and raven.
Lochs, wetlands - pintail, wigeon, shoveler, teal, pochard, tufted duck, ruddy duck, shelduck, greylag goose, mute swan, whooper swan, coot, moorhen, redshank, black-tailed godwit, black-headed gull, red-throated diver, water-rail and little grebe.
Shingle shore and mudflats - ringed plover, oystercatcher, knot, ruff, purple sandpiper, turnstone, greenshank, bar-tailed godwit, eider duck, arctic tern and rock pipits.
Fields and moorland - curlew, lapwing, whimbrel, golden plover, dunlin, snipe, red grouse, common gull, arctic and great skua, hen harrier, merlin, short-eared owl, kestrel, wheatear, meadow pipit, stonechat and twite.
Islands, holms, skerries and sea - cormorant, herring and great black-backed gull, red-breasted merganser, Manx shearwater, arctic, common and sandwich tern. Early or late in the season we may see long-tailed ducks, great northern divers or Slavonian grebes.
Early autumn migrants such as falls of redwings, fieldfares or goldcrests, a rare gull, wader or passerine - anything is possible in Orkney!
".......being so expertly guided as we watched such a wide selection of species was a real privilege and delight. There were many highlights but perhaps the most memorable was sitting in your hide watching nesting arctic terns and ringed plovers so closely"
- Don Payne, Worcestershire.
Birdwatching highlights in Orkney
Magnificent sea cliffs with serried ranks of auks and a continuous bustle of activity.
The red-throated diver’s mournful wail sending a shiver up the spine.
Birds of prey haunting moorland areas.
Arctic skuas performing aerial acrobatics as they pirate food from arctic terns.
Tysties and cormorants nesting on isolated islands.
Bludgeoning Bonxies or great skuas terrifying other birds for their meal. Hoards of graceful arctic terns.
Huge flocks of waders, such as curlews, lapwings and golden plovers, filling the arable fields in late summer.
Bird sounds filling the early morning and late evening air such as drumming snipe, bubbling curlew and piping oystercatchers.
As Warden of the RSPB Mill Dam Wetland Reserve, Paul will give you a special guided tour.
Boat trips take you among wheeling and dipping seabirds. Whatever time of year you choose to visit Orkney, you cannot fail to be impressed by the sheer quality and quantity of birds.
As resident experts on Orkney birds, we can help you to get the very best from your Orkney Holiday.
“I am here. This is my place.
We chose it for its dark safety.
Who are these long-limbed intruders?
I will perch here on this smooth flat stone.
They will not see my nest.
I will keep my eye on them.
My time is short. They block my bean of light
They are beneath my level
Yet they chatter and intrude.
It is my time to hunt.
The richness in the air
Calls me. I cannot get through.
At last I see the way,
I am through to the soaring air,
The mist, the midge to fill my beak.
Now I must return they are there again.
Why don’t they flee from me?
It is my home, with youngsters to feed.
Their doltish, heavy time
Has intersected mine
Which, swift as rays of light,
Crosses the world.”
Flowers in Orkney
Wildflowers and flowering grasses abound in summer, with May to September being the best months. Many Orkney flowers are small Alpine versions of those seen elsewhere, but some such as the Primula scotica and the northern marsh orchid, nationally very rare, are locally prolific.
Field margins, moorlands and shorelines offer varied habitats, and a large variety flourishes.
Some species to look out for in Orkney are:-
Spring squill, Eyebright, Wild thyme, Red Campion, Sea Campion, Thrift, Silverweed, Oyster plant, Grass of Parnassus, Dog violet, Wild pansy, Sundew, Yellow rattle, Heath and Sea milkworts, Bush vetch, Tufted vetch,
Mountain everlasting, Magellan Ragwort, Butterwort, Lousewort,
Flag iris, Marsh cinquefoil, Sea orache, Devil’s bit scabious, Scots lovage, Field speedwell, Twayblade, St. John’s wort, Bogbean, Heath spotted orchid, Marsh Marigold & Meadow vetchling.
Looking for these and other wild flowers takes you to some lovely isolated spots.
Other wildlife in Orkney.
The dreaded MIDGE is hardly a problem in Orkney, only bothering us for few minutes on a windless day in late summer, and never reaching normal Scottish proportions. There are no foxes, stoats, weasels or snakes, but small mammals such as rabbits, both brown and arctic hares, mice, rats, shrews and the unique Orkney vole survive and provide a valuable source of food for birds of prey.
Seals. Seals are the most visible sea creatures in Orkney, with thousands of both species – common or harbour seals, and grey or Atlantic seals. Orkney hosts a sixth of the World population of grey seals.
Many seals like to haul out on nearby uninhabited islands and rocky skerries. They can be seen from our windows, snoozing on Vasa Skerry, and with the wind in the right direction their ‘singing’ wafts across in the evening. In good weather we can float amongst them in our inflatable workboat, as they swim and dive around us. Basking seals can be approached on land, providing you move slowly and keep a low profile. They are curious beings and you often wonder who is watching who!
In June and July common seals have their pups. They are born between the high and low water marks and swim off at the next high tide. You see them playing offshore with their mothers as they learn the skills for survival.
Grey seals have their pups in October and November. On autumn Holidays we can visit their rookeries, a very special activity and well worth dealing with the cooler conditions at this time of year.
“We now feel we have a good handle on the seabirds, and the harriers and red-throated divers were a plus. Only regret is that although we had great views of seals, we didn’t hear them singing. The wind was in the wrong direction. Perhaps next time?” Peter and Carole Knight, U.S.A.
Other marine mammals are more difficult to see. Otters are very shy, spending their days hidden in caves and crevices well out of sight, and we are only rarely lucky enough to see them in Orkney. Porpoises and dolphins, and rarely whales, can occasionally be seen if you happen to be looking in the right direction at the right time in the right conditions! Sightings of cetaceans from ferry crossings are always possible.
Smaller creatures occur in the tidal zone and in rock pools. These include sea anemones, starfish, crabs, barnacles, sea gooseberries and a wealth of seaweeds. Beachcombing can produce a myriad of lovely shells such as painted topshells, scallops and winkles, each a little gem, and the rare European and Arctic cowries, locally known as ‘groatie buckies’, which are lucky for the finder.
"Our holiday chosen with great detection for birds, wildflowers and various fossils
Has turned out to be complete perfection Louise and Paul’s knowledge is just colossal!" - John and Jenni Hamilton, Edinburgh.