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Check out the galleries for Shetland and Orkney: Gallery 1 and Gallery 2!

Last year in June I went to the Shetland Isles, the most northerly part of the United Kingdom, and from there I went to the Orkney Isles, working my way back to mainland Scotland.

But here’s the thing I am terrible at keeping an editing schedule! I take a lot of images but I take forever to get around to editing them. So, in this article I am going to give you a sneak peak at my upcoming gallery featuring images from my journey around the Northern Isles of Scotland. 

The first week of my trip, I was booked on to a wildlife photography tour with the great guys at Shetland Nature. After that I wanted to continue to explore Shetland by myself, aiming to get some landscape images and continue what I had learned the previous week. After a week of exploring Shetland, I took the ferry from Lerwick, Shetland to Kirkwall on Orkney, I had a week to explore the Orkney Isles. During my time there, I mainly stuck to Mainland Orkney with a couple days on the Isle of Hoy. 

This second part will continue my first week in Shetland, following on from Part One that covered the first few days with Shetland Nature, this covers my remaining time with them and the great images I got. 

Day Four 

Waking up early on Unst, the tour leaders assessed the wind direction and chose a location that worked for the conditions. It was our first attempt at tracking down an otter. Unfortunately the location we went to did not yield an otter, but that is how nature is: not always doing what you want it to do. Today was going to be a bit slower than the last two. 

Leaving the otter site, we got word of an orca sighting and zoomed across the islands looking for them. We didn’t get any views this time, but that would change later. In our pursuit of orcas we were now on Mainland Shetland again and decided to go to Loch Spiggie RSPB Nature Reserve.

There aren’t any viewpoints at the reserve and we mainly spent time on the sandy beach opposite the marshes. Our group split up to pursue their own interests: one went to do some landscapes, others were interested in the sheep in the field, and meanwhile I was trying to get close to some Ringed Plover that were foraging on the beach. 

Heading back north we stopped to admire some wildflowers on the roadside. Little pops of colour were a joy to behold. Continuing the journey we had one last stop on Yell looking at some basking seals on rocks jutting out of the sea in the bay. 

It was a bit of a slow day but I got some good images, it was a shame we didn’t get any otter viewings but it was a fun day nevertheless. 

Pro tip: Not everyday will be busy and full of images, but any day outside exploring is better than a day on the computer! 

Day Five

The next morning was another early start in pursuit of otters, our group split into 2: my group would stay on Unst, while the other group went to Yell. We arrived and stepped out of the van and spotted an otter swimming in the bay.

As we attempted to move into position, expecting the otter to move to the next headland, we soon realised that he was moving further out into the bay away from the shoreline.

He clambered up onto a buoy in the middle of the bay, using binoculars our guide, Richard, was able to sex the otter as a male. The otter completed a couple of circuits on the buoy before sprainting (going for a poo) which is a way that otters mark their territories.

He hopped off of the buoy and continued swimming across the bay to the other side. 

The otter having left us, we walked along the coast hoping to spot another one. After a while with no luck, we went back to the van to eat the breakfast sandwiches we had in the van.

While eating, I started scanning the shoreline with my binoculars just to keep busy. Looking along the shoreline, I suddenly spotted it.

An otter curled up among the seaweed, I exclaimed in excitement. Richard got a view on it and told me to quiet down, as I was very excited. We quickly got all of our gear ready and began our pursuit of the otter.

Again Richard was able to sex it, this time it was a female. 

Otters normally swim along a bay fishing as they go, when they catch something they will bring it ashore on the nearest headland to eat, either way they will periodically come ashore on the nearest outcrop of land.

This is because they did not evolve to live in seawater, and they need to periodically rub or wash off the salt accumulating in their fur as it strips away the oils they apply to make themselves waterproof. They also take regular naps, coming ashore on the outcrop and curling up, this is to warm themselves up a bit and to get a rest from fishing.

Richard was imparting a lot of knowledge to us about otters that he had accumulated from research and years of tracking them, if you are at all interested, you should definitely check out his book Otters in Shetland: The tale of the ‘Draatsi’ (Affiliate Link).

Continuing our pursuit, this particular otter did not prescribe to traditional behaviours, often moving beyond the nearest outcrop or suddenly turning around to the spot we had just left. Eventually, however, we managed to get into a good position to capture some images.

This is how the morning progressed, constantly moving into position and the otter not being cooperative until she had decided enough was enough, and ran across the beach to her holt.

We got a few images but when we met up with the other half of the group, we learned they had an amazing view above a mother and 2 cubs, playing and eating octopus. I’ve got to admit that I was a little jealous! 

Now that we were together again, we went to a little sandy beach where we found a couple of female Eider ducks with their chicks. Very cute little fluff balls! At the same beach we spotted a couple Red Necked Divers floating in the bay and there was also a nesting pair of fulmar on the hill beside the beach. Lots of activity and opportunities for images! 

After the beach we went to a cliff top that had some curlew and lapwing in the fields on the way to an abandoned building, the name of which eludes me, and from the cliff I was photographing flying gannets and other seabirds, as well as a curious seal who kept popping up in the sea looking at us and wondering what we were up to.

That seal stuck around for an hour plus, just floating and looking at us, it was very cute! 

Our last stop was at the old radar station near to our accommodation at Saxa Vord, we went to a Great Skua nesting area, avoiding the actual nests and heading to a an area where young males gather and fight with each other, a bit like a lek for grouse that’s called a “club”.

Please be aware that these birds are Schedule One protected, which means it is an offence to approach or disturb them at the nesting site. We were allowed to because we were accompanied by someone who had a license to approach them for ecological and conservation reasons.

On the way to the site we had to stop and inform someone that their behaviour was illegal. Please do not attempt to disturb these birds and only approach them with someone who is qualified to take you, such as the staff of Shetland Nature. 

Pro Tip: Do research on your target species to know if approaching them is a criminal offence, obey the law and do not cause harm in the pursuit of images. 

That was our last stop, so we went back to our accommodation for some dinner and rest. 

Day Six 

 A later start today as we were only going around the corner to the Hermaness National Nature Reserve. The hike up was really easy, on a well built path. Another cliff top area, you can’t get away from them on Shetland!

But to be fair this was an amazing day, we spent the whole time on the reserve. There was a vast Gannet colony, which entertained us for hours. The birds were phenomenally cooperative and easy to approach.

The wind was amazing as well as it allowed gannets to hover at eye level! 

As well as the Gannets, there was a thriving Puffin colony, which meant we could get even more amazing images of this colourful and friendly birds.

I always think the expression that they have is somewhat sad, like a bully just knocked the ice cream out of their hand and they are moments away from running to you for a hug. They are adorable! 

That’s all we did that day, just spent hours working with the puffins and gannets until we went back to Saxa Vord to get our stuff ready, as we were leaving the next morning back down to Sumburgh Head.

Although we didn’t charge all over the islands like the other days, this was an amazing day and I was not bored for a second! Having time and the birds so close meant that I could try different images and experiment with perspectives. 

Pro Tip: Take time and have fun, not everything has to be rushed and if you have extra time then experiment.

Day Seven

My last day with Shetland Nature. This day began sedately with breakfast at the hotel, as it was the last one on tour we were heading back down to Sumburgh Head, as we had another night at the hotel. I think they chose this hotel because of how close it is to the airport, making it easier for travelling home for anyone that flew onto the islands.

On the journey south we made several pit stops for different purposes. 

Our first stop was on a beach with Black Guillemot, a bird that hugs the coast of northern Britain and all of Ireland, but has significantly less breeding pairs than the general Guillemot. Both auk species prefer sheer cliffs, but we managed to find several pairs hanging out on rocks.

Their bright red feet and mouths are a pop of colour on the high contrast black plumage. Along with the Black Guillemot, there were arctic terns, which can be a bit territorial: they dive towards the heads of intruders.

They are very beautiful, as are all terns, being balletic in the sky, like fairies with sharp bills. 

After several shots, we began pursuing different landscape opportunities, starting with a bog of cotton grass, a species typical of peat bogs. From there we took the ferry and stopped off at several different locations, including St Ninian’s Isle that is connected to Mainland Shetland by a sand and gravel bank, called a tombolo or locally as an ayre, a word derived from old Norse.

A lot of the names around the islands are descended from Norn, the local Nordic language that came with the Vikings and is now extinct, unfortunately. 

Pro Tip: While driving keep your camera close at hand in case you spot something you want to capture so you can stop quickly and get the image!

The next day would begin my solo adventure exploring Shetland’s landscape photo opportunities around Mainland 

Continued in Part Three!

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Written by Daniel Long

Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.