Wildlife
Unst is world famous for its extraordinary wildlife and an abundance of opportunity for wildlife photography. With superb coastline and well maintained inland, the island is a point on the map for unique wildlife in flowers, birds and sea life.
Whales and dolphins often come to surprise us, and are more common in the UK waters than many think. Visitors flock to a few particular spots when they arrive, including Lamba Ness, Hermaness and Haroldswick. Of course, seeing them can never be guaranteed - a whale sighting is a bonus!
Seals are a common sighting in and around the shores of Unst. Grey and Common Seals live in the rockier habitats, and you can often see them around the sea caves in Autumn. Get the camera ready, there have been super shots of the seals relaxing on the rocks in the past!
Otters can be seen all around the Unst coast, in particular in Baltasound, Uyeasound, Haroldswick and at the Belmont Ferry Terminal.
Birds bring thousands of visitors each year to Unst. We have our annual residents, which are worth the visit, and you never know when an extraordinary bird will be spotted!
Whales and dolphins often come to surprise us, and are more common in the UK waters than many think. Visitors flock to a few particular spots when they arrive, including Lamba Ness, Hermaness and Haroldswick. Of course, seeing them can never be guaranteed - a whale sighting is a bonus!
Seals are a common sighting in and around the shores of Unst. Grey and Common Seals live in the rockier habitats, and you can often see them around the sea caves in Autumn. Get the camera ready, there have been super shots of the seals relaxing on the rocks in the past!
Otters can be seen all around the Unst coast, in particular in Baltasound, Uyeasound, Haroldswick and at the Belmont Ferry Terminal.
Birds bring thousands of visitors each year to Unst. We have our annual residents, which are worth the visit, and you never know when an extraordinary bird will be spotted!
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Unst's latitude, climate and its varied geology, create a rich array of habitats, and every corner of the island is worth a visit for the naturalist. The two nature reserves on the island are, however, special places that everyone should visit.
Hermaness National Nature Reserve has stunning views and cliff-nesting birds. There are two waymarked trails, the shorter one to Saito can be done in half a day, but it is better to set aside most of the day for the longer walk over Hermaness Hill. The trail passes over blanket bog, an internationally scarce habitat. In summer, see if you can spot the carnivorous plants in the Sphagnum moss flushes – Common Butterwort and Round-leaved Sundew.
Great Skuas (known locally as Bonxies) can also be found on the moorlands on the way up. They are fearless, so beware of dive-bombing when walking through their breeding areas. They are harder to find, however, since bird flu in 2022, which reduced the population by 80%.
Gannets (Solan in Shetland) are one of the most obvious seabirds once you get to the cliffs. There were 20,000 pairs but they were also hit by bird flu, and they lost about a third of their numbers.
Other seabirds to look out for are Fulmar (Maalie), Shag (Scarf), Guillemot (Longvie), Razorbill (Baakie-craa) and Kittiwake (Rippack Maa). Everyone’s favourite, however, is the Puffin (Tammy Norrie) and they are present from April to August, although seeing them depends a little on it being a good ‘Puffin-day’ when non-breeders are sitting on the clifftops.
The Keen of Hamar Nature Reserve is at the east end of Baltasound. Take the cut off at Bobby's Bus Shelter and park in the carpark at the end of the road. You'll enter what looks like a barren, brown, rocky, wilderness – said to resemble a moonscape and sometimes termed Britain’s most northerly desert. Closer inspection reveals a unique array of plants, although they are tiny and may require getting down on your hands and knees. You may find Frog Orchid, Moonwort, Norwegian Sandwort or Northern Rock Cress but the star of the show is a plant found nowhere else in world. It is officially known as Shetland Mouse-ear but everyone on Unst calls it Edmondston's Chickweed to commemorate Thomas Edmondston who discovered it when he was still a teenager. The Keen is also home to an elusive beetle, the Plantain Leaf Beetle, which is found at only three sites in Britain.
Hermaness National Nature Reserve has stunning views and cliff-nesting birds. There are two waymarked trails, the shorter one to Saito can be done in half a day, but it is better to set aside most of the day for the longer walk over Hermaness Hill. The trail passes over blanket bog, an internationally scarce habitat. In summer, see if you can spot the carnivorous plants in the Sphagnum moss flushes – Common Butterwort and Round-leaved Sundew.
Great Skuas (known locally as Bonxies) can also be found on the moorlands on the way up. They are fearless, so beware of dive-bombing when walking through their breeding areas. They are harder to find, however, since bird flu in 2022, which reduced the population by 80%.
Gannets (Solan in Shetland) are one of the most obvious seabirds once you get to the cliffs. There were 20,000 pairs but they were also hit by bird flu, and they lost about a third of their numbers.
Other seabirds to look out for are Fulmar (Maalie), Shag (Scarf), Guillemot (Longvie), Razorbill (Baakie-craa) and Kittiwake (Rippack Maa). Everyone’s favourite, however, is the Puffin (Tammy Norrie) and they are present from April to August, although seeing them depends a little on it being a good ‘Puffin-day’ when non-breeders are sitting on the clifftops.
The Keen of Hamar Nature Reserve is at the east end of Baltasound. Take the cut off at Bobby's Bus Shelter and park in the carpark at the end of the road. You'll enter what looks like a barren, brown, rocky, wilderness – said to resemble a moonscape and sometimes termed Britain’s most northerly desert. Closer inspection reveals a unique array of plants, although they are tiny and may require getting down on your hands and knees. You may find Frog Orchid, Moonwort, Norwegian Sandwort or Northern Rock Cress but the star of the show is a plant found nowhere else in world. It is officially known as Shetland Mouse-ear but everyone on Unst calls it Edmondston's Chickweed to commemorate Thomas Edmondston who discovered it when he was still a teenager. The Keen is also home to an elusive beetle, the Plantain Leaf Beetle, which is found at only three sites in Britain.
