Tresco Isles of Scilly.
Well having been lucky enough to visit both Shetland and Scillies this year the question i have been asked which is better ?? I first visited Scillies way back in 1988 and have been back on and off since then , probably around 8 or 9 times and i have seen some wonderful birds and made many life long friends on my visits , the birding in my opinion is totally different on Scillies compared to Shetland , having said that i only have been to Shetland once , however its plain to see that on Shetland you need a car to get around as the mainland is much bigger then you think where as on Scillies you are on foot basically all day long which can be up to at least 10 hours per day .
Most reliable mode of transport for Scillies.
Cost wise there is not alot in it to be honest , getting to Scillies by helicopter is the most reliable way but quite expensive , the Skybus plane is abit cheaper however they don't always fly if the weather is particularly bad and then of course there is the Scillion ferry which i used this year , its by far the cheapest way to get across to Scillies and there is always the chance to bird from the ferry ,highlights this year being Storm Petrel , Great Skua and a pod of Common Dolphin however if the sea is rough and you don't have good sea legs it can be quite an uncomfortable voyage plus the crossing takes the best part of 3 hours and if there is a mega on offer it can be quite frustrating .
One of the headlands on Shetland.
Getting to Shetland was pretty straight forward , flying from Gatwick to Aberdeen and getting a connecting flight from Aberdeen to Sumborough , although the Sandhill Crane in Aberdeen did throw a spanner in the works this time ...lol . getting around the mainland easily was only possible with a hire car and the birding was quite different to Scillies , the habitat on Shetland is far more barren and the areas that you check were anywhere there was any cover i.e peoples gardens which looked good for migrants , where as on Scillies there is so much cover for birds to hide and feed all over the place , on Shetland there are isolated pockets here and there .
North west of Lerwick .
The social side on Scillies is really great and there is an evening bird log from the Scillion club where you can get food and a pint to celebrate your days birding , plus the use of CB radios to give out bird sightings or ask for any news works really well , on Shetland as far as i know none of this exists so its always worth exchanging phone numbers with other birders you meet so any news gets passed around , this method helped me connect with Lesser Grey Shrike , Little Bunting and Red Breasted Flycatcher on Shetland this year .
Grey Seal.
Getting to the off Islands on Scillie is very easy , the local fisherman have this well and truly worked out with daily trips to most of the other Islands , i must admit i found this very frustrating on Shetland , where access to the surrounding Islands is not easy , if a mega breaks on an off island you have little or no chance of getting a ferry or plane to them as they are almost always fully booked , i would have liked to have visited Fair Isle but there were no flights available all week !! still that is the only downside of Shetland and with a little more research and planning on my part i might be able to solve that problem .
Well to sum it all up i cant really decide which is best , they both have their own magical appeal and i will have to visit both again to help me decide ...........lol
i would love to do both so i sitting on the fence lol
ReplyDeleteHi Mark if you get the chance either place is well worth the visit.
ReplyDeleteThere is a network of information among the Shetland birders. If you are a friendly type and chat to the Shetland birders they will let you know about birds as they are informed provided obviously that you let them know when you find a bird!Its a good system and works well.
ReplyDeleteI have been to Shetland now for the last 3 years and already booked to go again next year - love it!
I have only ever done very short trips to Scilly - day or overnight but would love to do a week - probably during Teachers week (late Ocyober)but its finding somewhere to stay that week - this year(was) and next year already appears booked up!
Hi thanks Eagleseagles, i am hopeing to go to Shetland again myself next year too , i have managed to make friends with a couple of Shetland birders and as you say the system they use works well . Scillies does seem to get booked up quite early so its worth trying to book up as early as poss.
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