VIDEO:
The birds of Fair Isle
Why visit a little rocky island far out in the sea, where the weather can be
ferocious, and there is only one shop? That is Fair Isle. But there are many
excellent reasons for getting on a 10-seater plane or a ferry-boat from
Shetland and heading there over the waves.
It is a very beautiful island, with its great rocks all round the coast, some
of them looming up like the black blades of a gigantic guillotine, others
carved into exquisite arches where the sea has broken its way through them.
There are cliffs that in summer are alive with nesting seabirds, including
hefty white gannets on the ledges, and tiny puffins shooting in and out of
their burrows on the grassy top. There are heather moors, easy to walk on,
with rare plants lurking under one’s feet.
There are also about 70 islanders, nearly all of them living on little crofts,
each with a small white house, a few fields, and a handful of sheep.
Most of the crofters have other jobs as well. One is a meteorologist, Dave
Wheeler, who sends hourly reports of the weather
to the Met. Office, and occasionally goes out on to the landing strip to
check the wind speed when the plane is taking off.
Another is a environmental scientist, who will sometimes show visitors the
fascinating island flowers, such as the insect-eating sundew and the tiny
frog orchid. Another was, until he retired last month, the skipper of the
island ferry, The Good Shepherd - the fourth ferry to bear the name.
But apart from two superb lighthouses, one in the north and one in the south,
the most impressive building on the island is the Fair Isle Lodge and Bird
Observatory. This is the centre where the warden, Deryk Shaw, directs the
ornithological research for which the island is famous.
It is not just a birdwatching centre - which is where the word “Lodge” comes
in. It is also a kind of mini-hotel, open from late April to the end of
October, with single, twin and dormitory rooms, all very spruce and
comfortable, with bathrooms and lavatories nearby. The accommodation is on a
full-board basis, with breakfast, lunch and dinner at set times, and
everyone eating together at the long table. I can testify that Phil, the
chef, provides excellent fare - and there is a well-stocked bar. In fact,
the revenue from the Lodge is the main source of income for the Observatory.
You do not have to be a birdwatcher to stay there, although inevitably many of
the visitors are. For beginners, or for the merely curious, expert guided
walks and other help are provided.
The Observatory is, moreover, very much a centre of life for the crofters. The
day I arrived happened to be the warden’s birthday. Practically the whole
population of the island were there that evening, and the wine and the
Highland Park flowed merrily.
The birds and other wild life are, however, the great draw of Fair Isle. The
Observatory has two main fields of research, which coincide with the reasons
for birders wanting to go there.
First, there are the summering seabirds, whose populations are carefully
monitored by the warden and his assistants. Perhaps the most spectacular are
the skuas - two kinds, the great skuas or “bonxies”, and the arctic skuas.
