A guide to
Scotland’s wildlife.
Where in Scotland?
Choose a part of Scotland for its wildlife.
Puffins, gannets and otters, and orcas offshore in summer.
Red squirrels, ospreys, capercaillie, and Britain’s only free-ranging reindeer.
Sea eagles on Mull, and puffins on the Treshnish Isles.
Bottlenose dolphins at Chanonry Point on the Black Isle.
Corncrakes on the machair, and golden eagles over North Harris.
Seals on every skerry, and seabirds on Marwick Head.
The dolphins of the Moray Firth, from Spey Bay to Burghead.
Puffins at Duncansby, and the Flow Country’s wading birds.
The wildlife, in two minutes.
Scotland has the wildlife the rest of Britain lost: golden and sea eagles, pine martens, red squirrels, otters on the shore, and the capercaillie hanging on in the pinewoods. Offshore there are whales, dolphins, basking sharks and the biggest seabird cities in Europe.
What can be seen depends on when. Puffins and seabirds in early summer, ospreys from April to August, the red deer rut in October, geese by the tens of thousand in winter. Mull, the Cairngorms and Shetland are the three places that seldom disappoint.
Where to start.
The places everyone asks about, each with what to know before going.
Sumburgh Head.
Sumburgh Head lies on the southernmost point of Mainland Shetland and enjoys commanding views out to sea and across the ‘Roost’ to the most southerly of the Shetland Isles – Fair Isle.
Shetland Islands
Chanonry Point.
The tip of a long spit on the Black Isle, with a Stevenson lighthouse, and one of the best places in Scotland to watch bottlenose dolphins from the shore.
Ross and Cromarty
Loch Garten Nature Reserve.
The RSPB's loch among old pines in Abernethy, known for its ospreys, with a Nature Centre, live cameras and geese at dusk in winter.
Cairngorms
Handa Island.
A small island with seabird cliffs on its north and west sides. You can reach it easily by ferry from Tarbet during the months April to September.
Assynt
The Bass Rock.
This rock is actually the core of an old volcano and was formed 320 million years ago. Today however it is famous for its population of over 150,000 gannets.
Lothian
Cairngorm Reindeer Centre.
Britain's only free-ranging herd of reindeer has roamed the Cairngorms since 1952, and the Reindeer Centre at Glenmore is where you meet them.
Cairngorms
Three things to know.
Go at the right time.
Each animal has its season, and a week either side can mean an empty cliff. Check before booking.
Go with a guide.
A local guide or a boat skipper knows where the eagles nest and the otters feed. A half-day with one is worth a week of looking alone.
Keep your distance.
Stay back from nests, seals with pups and deer in the rut. Binoculars are the one thing worth packing.
CairngormsThe Highland Wildlife ParkShetland IslandsHermaness National Nature Reserve
Argyll and ButeMachrihanish Seabird / Wildlife Observatory
CairngormsLoch Garten Nature Reserve
AngusMurton Farm & Nature Reserve
InvernessGlen Affric National Nature Reserve
PerthshireLoch of the Lowes Wildlife Reserve
LochaberGarbh Eilean Wildlife HideWhere to go.
Places of ours, each with what to know before you go.
See more on Explore
Newburgh seals walk round the Ythan mouth
Golden eagles at the North Harris Eagle Observatory
A walk from Portnahaven's seal bay to Currie Sands
A harbour and dolphin cruise from Aberdeen
A dolphin boat from Cromarty and lunch at Sutor Creek
A RIB wildlife trip from Lossiemouth Marina
A whale and dolphin boat from Stornoway harbour
A Pentland Firth wildlife cruise from John o' GroatsDays worked out.
Each with its stops in order, the drive between and somewhere to eat.
See every day out
To readInside Eagle Brae: The Quiet Highland Stay That Keeps Drawing People Back
To readWalks, Wildlife & Nature in Edinburgh
To readWildlife on Skye
To readWalks, Wildlife & Nature in Skye
To readSavouring Scottish Puffindom
To readGolden Eagles at Glen TanarFrom the magazine and the Journal.
The people and the stories.
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