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Shetland and Fair Isle

The books are arranged by publication date with the most recent at the top of the page.

Scotland

Scotland

For books that cover regions of Scotland see:

Argyll
Ayrshire
Borders
Central Valley
Dumfries & Galloway
Fair Isle
Fife
Grampian
Highland
Inner Hebrides
Orkney
Outer Hebrides
Shetland

Discover Shetland's Birds: A Photographic Guide to Shetland's Breeding, Wintering and Migrant Birds

Paul Harvey

The Shetland Amenity Trust

2016

"Discover Shetland’s Birds is a new publication full of stunning photography and fascinating insights into the behaviour and lifestyle of the many bird species which can be found in the islands. The book, by Paul Harvey and Rebecca Nason, is a handy identification guide, as well as an attractive and interesting volume to pick up and browse at leisure. There are over 400 photographs by award winning nature photographer, Rebecca Nason, and other contributors; mainly Shetland based photographers. Observations on migration and breeding habits, the best time of year to see each species, and where to look for them, are laid out in an easy to follow format."

A Checklist Of The Birds Of Shetland

Hugh Harrop & Rob Fray

2009

A 12 page checklist. "This checklist covers the birds recorded in the county of Shetland up until 15 June 2008. Each species is categorised, depending on the criteria for its admission to the Shetland list."

Unforgettable Challenge

Gordon Barnes

2008

"Gordon Barnes spent fifteen years living on Fair Isle, then considered to be the most remote place in the British Isles. He was Assistant Warden at Fair Isle Bird Observatory for two seasons and was then asked by the islanders to become the first non-native crofter there. In this book, he gives us an insight into his life on Fair Isle as a crofter, lighthouse keeper and ornithologist."

Noss National Nature Reserve: A Theatre of Birds

Scottish Natural heritage

Additional information and comments: SNH, John and Wendy Scott, Jonathan Wills

Photographs: Lorne Gill

Drawing: Keith Brockie

Map: Wendy Price

2005

A 25 page guide to the island nature reserve.

The Birds of Shetland

P. Harvey, M. Pennington, K. Osborn, R. Riddington, P. Ellis, M. Huebeck and D. Okill

2004

"Shetland has always been synonymous with exciting birding. The islands are nationally important for their 21 species of breeding seabirds, and other extremely rare or sporadic British breeders such as the Red-necked phalarope and Snowy Owl. They are also much-visited by passage migrants. In particular, Fair Isle rivals the Isles of Scilly as the place for keen listers to go in the autumn, and this picturesque little island, with its famous bird observatory, regularly hosts extreme rarities. This book looks in depth at the status, distribution and abundance, past and present, of every bird recorded in Shetland. Population trends for breeders and regular visitors are analysed, and a detailed breakdown of all Shetland records is presented for the rarities."

Where to Watch Birds in Shetland

Hugh Harrop

2000

"A detailed site guide to these exciting islands written by a man who lives and birds there. Sections on general bird life, travel and accommodation with details for 72 sites including Fair Isle."

A Naturalist's Shetland

J.Laughton Johnston

Poyser

1999

"This book is only the second to describe all the wildlife of the Shetland Islands and the first to comprehensively cover their history since the last Ice Age, as well as the human impacts of the Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Age cultures and the Norse influences from Scandinavia. It critically observes the costs and benefits of a modern economy, both to the people and the natural scene. 12 chapters describe the ecology, flora and fauna, marine fisheries, Fair Isle, local and visiting naturalists and the oil industry. The closing chapter examines today's environmental changes in the context of those of the last 12000 years and draws lessons for the future. Written for the general reader and keen naturalist, this book is lavishly illustrated with photographs and graced with evocative sketches by John Busby. 65 figures, tables, maps and diagrams illustrate and clarify points in the text."

A Shetland Nature Diary

Joyce J.M. Gammack and James R. Nicolson

1996

"A general guide to the Shetland Isles covering geology, landscape, habitats and wildlife. The main section of the book gives the reader a month-by-month account of what occurs on the isles on land and in the sea surrounding them."

The Distribution of Seabirds and Ceteceans Between the Shetland and Faroe Islands

P. Bloor, J. Reid, A. Webb, G. Begg and M. Tasker

1996

A Checklist Of The Birds Of Shetland

Hugh Harrop

A 12 page checklist.

Where to Watch Birds in Shetland

Hugh Harrop

A 60 page guide to birdwatching sites on the islands.

The Birds Of Fair Isle

J.N. Dymond

"This is a comprehensive checklist, giving full status for 345 species, and includes all records to the end of 1990, including relevant historical records. There are histograms of migration patterns for 193 species and graphs of breeding numbers for 15 species."

A Guide to Shetland's Breeding Birds

Bobby Tulloch

1992

"This reference guide to the breeding birds of Shetland examines the many species to be found, where to find them and how to identify them. It is a guide intended for the avid birdwatcher, amateur and professional alike."

Bobby Tulloch's Shetland: An Islander, His Islands And Their Wildlife

Bobby Tulloch

1988

"This is a personal look at the wildlife population of the Shetland Islands through the lens of a photographer who has lived there all his life. A life-long resident of the Islands, he retired as RSPB representative in Shetland in 1985 so that he could spend the rest of his active years studying and photographing the natural environment there."

Fair Isle's Garden Birds

John Holloway

1984

"With his wife Sue, John Holloway ran the Fair Isle shop from December 1977 until October 1983.During that time the author built up a collection of field sketches of the island's birds and it is from this collection that most of the illustrations in this book are taken."

The Natural History of Shetland

R.J. Berry and J.L. Johnston

Collins

1980

"The Natural History of Shetland includes chapters on geological history, human history, vegetation, the sea and its creatures, freshwater life, land animals and birds, supplemented by checklists on the better-recorded groups of species. It should be invaluable to all those concerned with the impact of North Sea oil and its related industries on Shetland. The publishers would like to thank British Petroleum for providing a grant towards the publication of the book."

A Guide to Shetland Birds

Bobby Tulloch and Fred Hunter

1970

"This reference guide to the breeding birds of Shetland examines the many species to be found, where to find them and how to identify them. It is a guide intended for the avid birdwatcher, amateur and professional alike and is probably the definitive guide to the isles."

Fair Isle and its Birds

Kenneth Williamson

1965

Includes a list of Fair Isle birds by Peter Davis.

Birds and Mammals of Shetland

L.S.V. Venables & U.M. Venables

1955

"This reference guide to the breeding birds of Shetland examines the many species to be found, where to find them and how to identify them. It is a guide intended for the avid birdwatcher, amateur and professional alike and is probably the definitive guide to the isles."

Shetland Sanctuary: Birds On The Isle Of Noss

Richard Perry

1948

A study of the bird life on the Shetland Isle of Noss, including great skuas, arctic skuas, gannets and guillemots.

The Birdwatcher in the Shetlands With Some Notes On Seals ... and Digressions

Edmund Selous

J.M. Dent

1905

Opening lines of preface:

"In the spring of 1900 I paid my first visit to the Shetlands, and most of what I then saw is embodied in my work Bird Watching. Two years afterwards I went there again, arriving somewhat later, and it is the notes made by me during this second stay which fill the greater number of these pages. They are my journal, written from day to day, amidst the birds with whom I lived without another companion, nor did I look upon them as more than the rough material out of which I might, some day, make a book. When it came to making one, however, it struck me more and more forcibly that I was taking elaborate pains to stereotype and artificialise what was, at any rate, as it stood, an unforced utterance and natural growth. I found, in fact, that I could make it worse, but not better, so I resolved not to make it worse. Except for a few peckings, therefore, and minor interpolations - mostly having to do with the working out of ideas jotted down in the rough - I send it to press with this very negative sort of recommendation, and with only the hope added that what interested me so much will interest others also, even through the veil of my writing."

A Vertebrate Fauna of the Shetland Islands

A. Evans and T. Buckley

1899

The Birds of Shetland: with observations on their habits, migration and occasional appearance

Henry L. Saxby

1874

The Ornithologist's Guide to the Islands of Orkney And Shetland

Robert Dunn

1837

From the introduction:

"Having frequently sustained considerable loss and inconvenience in my business from the want of fine examples of many of our native water-birds, I came to the determination, in the early part of 1831, of visiting the Orkney and Shetland Islands, for the purpose of procuring some of the rarer kinds, being well aware that as these islands are the most northerly of the British Isles, and the nearest to Norway and Iceland, they must consequently be the first places of resort for birds migrating from those countries, some few of which never migrate further to the southward, but remain there and breed, in consequence of their being but little disturbed, the inhabitants few in number, the ground in general not admitting of much cultivation, and the is- lands affording many localities peculiarly adapted as sites of incubation; all of which advantages are peculiarly favourable to the feathered race."

Fauna Orcadensis: or, The Natural History of the Quadrupeds, Birds, Reptiles, and Fishes of Orkney and Shetland

Rev. George Low

1813

From the author's preface:

The utility of provincial histories of all kinds is now generally acknowledged to be great, as these are certainly the materials from which a general structure, either of civil, military, or natural history, is to be raised. In no branch of history is this more apparent than in that of Nature. She must be sought and described on the spot, and her various productions investigated in their proper climates, soils, and beds. Hearsay descriptions of natural subjects are seldom to be depended on, unless taken from the most attentive observers, and even these, to be convincing, must be made on the spot, as change of climate or soil sometimes makes such alterations in the appearance of natural objects, as may deceive even adepts in the science.

The following sketch of the Natural History of the Orkney Islands was at first designed as an information of what might be remarkable here to a gentleman, whose writings on the same subject do him honour, and are well known to the public. But by degrees swelling to some bulk, by his advice it was thrown into a systematic arrangement, and now appears as a separate work