Ocean Literacy in Shetland- Survey now LIVE!
Do you live in Shetland? Please take part in a new survey which is looking to understand how we connect with and value our local marine and coastal environment in and around Shetland. The survey is led by Dr Emma McKinley at Cardiff University, working in partnership with UHI Shetland along with other partner organisations,…
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Shetland Porpoises in the Spotlight: volunteers and drone footage give new insight into porpoise behaviour
Our brilliant volunteers have now been completing surveys for Harbour Porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) since September 2021 at dedicated survey sites in Quendale Bay, Mousa Sound and South Nesting Bay as well as reporting sightings from all areas of Shetland. The Shetland Porpoise survey is led by UHI Shetland through the Shetland Community Wildlife Group in…
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Shetland’s Marine Meadows
Under our shallow seas are hidden meadows of grass, these seagrasses play important ecological roles in marine ecosystems. But more recently, these unassuming plants of the sea have been noticed by scientists and governments as a natural solution in the fight to mitigate climate change. What is Seagrass? Seagrasses are a type of flowering plant…
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Woodland Areas in Shetland
Shetland is not known for its trees, but you may be surprised at how many plantations and woodland areas there are doted around the isles. We have created a guide to help you find and explore many of the accessible woodland areas in Shetland. The guide describes the types of tree species, features such as…
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Bird Ringing
The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) co-ordinate the bird ringing scheme for Britain and Ireland. Each year around 900,000 birds are ringed over 2,600 trained ringers. Ringing allows for the collection of scientific information on survival rates, productivity and bird movements. The rings are made from light weight metal, each inscribed with a unique number.…
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Books, books, books!
We have selected a fantastic array of books by local and national authors and publishers that will give you an insight into the wildlife in our islands and help you to identify your sightings. A Naturalist’s Shetland J Laughton Johnston This book provides a good overview of all species that can be found in Shetland…
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A Gaggle of Geese: ID tips for the geese of Shetland
There are a number of different goose species that visit Shetland, the most common being the Greylag Goose which has become a resident species in recent years with a number of individuals staying into the spring and summer to breed. The geese species can be broadly split into two groups, the ‘grey’ geese species in…
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Hedgehog Hibernation
Our British hedgehogs have recently been classified vulnerable to extinction on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List as it is estimated that there are less than a million left in the UK. Hedgehogs start to hibernate in October/November and the Scottish Wildlife Trust have some useful information on making them…
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Secrets of the Strandline
Beachcombing can be a really fun activity; I always get a feeling of excited anticipation when I step onto a beach as I never know what I might find. And the brilliance of it is, with the tide coming in and out twice a day there is always something new to discover.
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Inside a Shetland Rockpool
Rockpooling can be a fun activity for the young, and not so young alike. There is a huge variety of species in this very changeable habitat. Many species have developed special adaptations to allow them to live in this harsh landscape, with changing sea levels, water temperature, salinity levels and the battering of waves. Read…
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Delve into the World of Hoverflies….
…with this new ID guide by Rebecca Nason A local naturalist and wildlife photographer, Rebecca has a passion for hoverflies and has recently created a leaflet to help people identify and record these garden visitors….. “We are only just beginning to scratch the surface of species, populations and distribution of hoverflies on Shetland, with only…
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Paul Harvey- Shetland Biological Records Centre Kathryn Allan- UHI Shetland This is a question that we often get asked – why are you bothering to record that? What’s the point? Put simply recording the wildlife around us helps build up our knowledge of the environment – what is where and how might this be changing.…
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Gardening for Bumblebees and Butterflies
It is National Gardening Week this week (27th April- 3rd May) so we thought we would share some ideas of plants that grow wel lin Shetland gardens which are a hit with the bumblebees and butterflies. Willows are great early in the season, especially woolly willow as they have catkins in early spring which are…
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Shetland Community Wildlife Group 