Todays #BirdOfTheDay was a no brainer for me (see Alt) A Knot in summer plumage truly is one of the most #FabulousWaders May '26 in the #Shetlands with @shetlandwildlife.bsky.social Canon R5 500mm f7.1 1:1000s ISO800 #Birds #UKBirding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #EastCoastKin #TidesOutTuesday #ArtYear

ORCA CALVES: a short video from last 'super' Sunday - surely the undoubted highlight of our ninth consecutive @shetlandwildlife.bsky.social 'Ultimate Shetland' trip! #MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife

An amazing start to our @shetlandwildlife.bsky.social 'Ultimate Shetland' trip with incredible views of Orcas as they headed south from Noss to Sumburgh. Delighted to see two known calves in the pod with their mothers - but from differing matrilines. #MarineLife #MarineMammals #UKWildlife

Atlantic Puffin heading out to sea against the backdrop of the spectacular Noss cliffs. An amazing trip with glass-calm seas and thousands of seabirds enjoyed by our 'Ultimate Shetland' group. #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #Birds #UKWildlife

Summer solstice at Mousa Broch as we awaited the arrival of Storm Petrels just before midnight in the 'Simmer Dim' light. A truly magical evening experienced by our 'Ultimate Shetland' group and thanks to our friends and associates at The Mousa Boat. #SummerSolstice #BirdingScotland #UKWildlife

ORCAS! What a way to round off our fifth consecutive 'Ultimate Shetland' tour! Fabulous views for guests and guides of four of '27s' pod off the south Mainland yesterday evening. I'm not sure we could have written the script any better. #MarineMammals #UKWildlife 📸 by @hughharrop.bsky.social

An incredible day for our @shetlandwildlife.bsky.social 'Ultimate Shetland' group which started off with a wonderful pod of Orcas in Quendale Bay just after breakfast and ended with these Risso's Dolphins out in the west Mainland this afternoon. #MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife

Back in January, I found the Mountain Hares hunkered down against the wind, wrapped in their white winter coats with @shetlandwildlife.bsky.social Returning in spring, a real was amazing to see the contrast in both the land and hares. A real joy to watch #UKWildlife #UKMammals #shetland #scotland

Super views of this Red-necked Phalarope at Loch of Funzie, Fetlar, Shetland today for our 'Ultimate Shetland' group. Pic by guide Mick.

Lesser Twayblade - one of the most difficult orchids to find in Shetland. It is tiny at around 5-10cm tall and grows inconspicuously wherever heather and sphagnum moss grow together. A real get-down-on-your-hands-and-knees job! Super pic by tour participant Veronica Sweeney. #wildflowers #ukwildlife

It has been an amazing 24 hours for our third Ultimate Shetland group of the season with fabulous views of Red-necked Phalarope (pictured), a night trip to see Storm Petrels on Mousa and a very active Bottlenose Dolphin - still rare in Shetland inshore waters. #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #UKWildlife

Our 'Ultimate Shetland' group have enjoyed fabulous views of several Mountain Hares this week. This beautiful image is from our day out 'west' on Tuesday and was taken by tour participant Elliott Neo. #UKWildlife #UKMammals

Some of the ornithological highlights from our first 'Ultimate Shetland' tour of the season last week - a migrant trio of Bluethroat, Pectoral Sandpiper and Red-backed Shrike. Pics by @hughharrop.bsky.social #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #RareBirdsUK #Birds #UKWildlife

Fabulous to see our first Minke Whales of the season this weekend with at least three individuals around the Sumburgh Head area today. Pic by SW guide @hughharrop.bsky.social

🐦‍⬛ My trip to Mull and nearby islands comes to an end, with a satisfying 99 (🎈) bird species seen/heard over six days, the highlight for me being the obliging Corncrake on Lunga. Excellent organisation by @shetlandwildlife.bsky.social and our guide Dave Fairhurst. My year list is boosted to 181. 🙂

Oysterplant: very rare across coastal northern Britain and found at only a handful of sites here in Shetland. Always a highlight for our groups in spring and summer and although Gaelic isn't the mother tongue here, we love the Gaelic name Tiodhlac na mara - gift of the sea. #wildflowers #ukwildlife

What a week! Highlights: Shetland's seventh-ever Tengmalm's Owl, a day following Orcas, Otters, Mountain Hares, lots of Common & Grey Seals, King Eider, Eurasian White-fronted Geese, Velvet Scoter, Slavonian Grebes, Peregrine & several Merlins. #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #RareBirdsUK #UKWildlife

One place has become available on our flagship Ultimate Shetland week running from 23 - 30 May 2026. Details are at www.shetlandwildlife.co.uk/holidays/wil... and a few highlights from previous trips are below ⬇️ #UKbirding #UKWildlife #Birds #MarineLife #MarineMammals #Wildflowers #bloomscrolling

Another photo from our trip to Shetland with Shetland Wildlife. Our guide was the excellent Dave Fairhurst. We had great views of mountain hares, white against the landscape. #scotland #shetland #hare

Tuesday night at Lerwick, Shetland 2026 Up Helly Aa 🔥 as enjoyed by our two groups. Thanks to everyone who makes this event so spectacular each and every year! #Shetland #uphellyaa

We went to Shetland the last few days with Shetland Wildlife - three days birdwatching then Up Helly Aa. Next up are the Jarl Squads #scotland #shetland #uphellyaa

We went to Shetland the last few days with Shetland Wildlife - three days birdwatching then Up Helly Aa. Let’s start with the Fire! #scotland #shetland #uphellyaa

No. 1 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen by guests on our 2025 tours: Orcas. We enjoyed several incredible encounters this year including this July day when we followed the '65s' pod from land enjoying views down to just a few metres! #MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife

No. 2 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen in 2025: an incredible nursery pod of at least 120 Bottlenose Dolphins in Vidlin Voe in early November. Only the fourth-ever documented record for Shetland inshore waters. A magical day! #MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife

No. 3 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen on our 2025 tours was this male Siberian Thrush which, with patience, afforded absolutely brilliant views for both of our Autumn birding groups in early October. Stunning! #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #RareBirdsUK #UKWildlife #Birds

No. 4 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen on our 2025 tours was this stunning Grey Phalarope in summer plumage at Loch of Spiggie in early June. No wonder why the rest of the world calls them Red Phalaropes! #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #RareBirdsUK #UKWildlife

No. 5 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen on our 2025 tours - this nursery pod of Pilot Whales in Mousa Sound. Some of the calves were tiny and looked just a few weeks - if not days - old. Footage by @hughharrop.bsky.social #MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife

No. 6 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen in 2025 were several encounters with Humpbacks including a MATCH to an individual first documented off the Azores in 2016, off Svalbard in 2017 and then by us here in Shetland in March 2025. Amazing! #MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife

No. 7 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen on our 2025 tours were several sightings of 'Northern' Long-tailed Tits in Autumn. Watching these flying lollipops was a privilege and we are not sure there is a word that can justify their beauty! #BirdingScotland #UKbirding #RareBirdsUK #UKWildlife

No. 8 in our Top 10 highlights of wildlife seen on our 2025 tours was the superpod of White-beaked Dolphins off the coast of Shetland - the 6th species of cetacean we saw that week! Aerial footage by @hughharrop.bsky.social #MarineLife #MarineMammals #CetaceansUK #UKWildlife