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Scotland: a land of mountains and moors, deep clear lochs and glens, Scotland attracts birds and birdwatchers with its natural splendor

Natural History, March, 2003

BRING YOUR BINOCOCULARS when you hike across its hills and moors strewn with heather or visit its myriad islands bathed in northern light, for you will find a plethora of birds in Scotland.

You'll find eagles on the beautiful Isle of Skye and ospreys at Loch Garten, nesting red-throated divers in Islay, and corncrakes in Lewis. Visit the famous Scottish Highlands during springtime and you may spot the capercaillie, Scottish crossbill, crested tit, black and red grouse, snow bunting and ptarmigan, golden eagle, and breeding osprey. Along thousands of miles of coastline, you will see colonies of seabirds clustered in cliffs--gannets, puffins, guillemots, razorbills, and kittiwakes.

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There's extraordinary birding to be found in Scotland, wherever you may be, but for some of the best birding in Europe, head to Shetland. This archipelago of over one hundred islands is in the northernmost section of the British Isles. Closer to Norway than to the Scottish mainland, Shetland is one of the most interesting natural environments in the world, and opportunities for spectacular bird sightings are common here. Shetland is famous for its colonies of seabirds and the number and variety of rare migrants it attracts in the spring and autumn. About one-fifth of the total puffin population of Scotland, approximately 125,000 pairs, breeds in Shetland. Throughout the isles you'll come across throngs of Arctic terns and both species of skuas, as well as black guillemots, gannets, shags, and Storm and Leach's petrels. Rare birds turn up on all the islands, but the best areas to spot them are in the central and south mainland. Print out a checklist at http://www.wildlife. Shetland.co.uk before you venture out to these wild northern areas.

At Isle of May National Nature Reserve, in the mouth of the Firth of Forth, you'll see thousands of puffins in May and June. But if you don't have enough time for a northern adventure, visit Bass Rock, a dramatic volcanic plug only one hour from Edinburgh. Take a boat trip here and gaze at the gannets nesting on cliffs a thousand feet high. For a one-of-a-kind "armchair birding" experience, visit the National Seabird Centre in North Berwick. Here, you can watch seabirds such as gannets and puffins up close--or stay inside and watch live videos, using remote control television cameras, from the nearby seabird colonies.

The estuaries and salt marshes of the Solway Firth, in southwest Scotland, are feeding and roosting grounds for many thousands of wintering wildfowl. Visit the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve, south of Dumfries, a site for wintering waterfowl and waders. And on the coast north of Aberdeen, stop at the Forvie National Nature Reserve, a smaller estuary that is home to the largest breeding population of eider duck in Britain.

Scotland: a land of mountains and moors, deep clear lochs and glens, Scotland attracts birds and birdwatchers with its natural splendor

Natural History, March, 2003

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