Get inspired in 2023 to discover more of Scotland’s amazing wildlife with David Attenborough’s new six-part BBC series Wild Isles.

Showcasing some of the magnificent wildlife that live or visit our shores, this series will make you want to reach for your walking boots and binoculars to experience it for yourselves. For each episode, we will be sharing some of the highlights that can be enjoyed on our network of over 100 wildlife reserves across Scotland.

With the series outlining some of the struggles that Britain’s wildlife faces, we will also be sharing some of the ongoing conservation and engagement work we are undertaking to help nature recover.

Watch the trailer here.

Orca spotting – Isle of Eigg, Hebrides

The coast around the Isle of Eigg offers ideal opportunities for whale, dolphin and seal watching.

Minke whales are a regular feature in the waters around the island between July and September. Dolphins of several species and particularly porpoises are a common sight. If you’re very lucky you might spot the most dramatic dolphin of all, the orca, or the world’s second largest fish, the basking shark. And there are some stranger looking animals too such as sunfish which come to feed in Eigg’s rich coastal waters.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust is a partner in the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust, with responsibilities for wildlife conservation. During May until the end of August our seasonal wildlife ranger, Norah Barnes, will be leading guided walks every week to help visitors learn more about this wildlife-rich island. Norah also leads the Wildlife Watch group for children aged 8-13 years on the island.

For its size and location, Eigg holds an impressive 212 bird species with approximately 130 species recorded in an average year, of which half breed here. The largest breeding birds on the island are the white tailed eagle and golden eagle. Their nests are kept closely monitored along with hen harriers whose breeding sky dance is an amazing sight to see in March and April.

Find out more about the Isle of Eigg here and learn more about orcas in our video here.

Protecting a puffin paradise – Handa Island, Highlands

With nearly 100,000 breeding seabirds, gorgeous white sandy beaches and 120-metre high cliffs, a day trip to Handa Island Wildlife Reserve is a truly memorable experience.

As an internationally important breeding site for guillemots, razorbills and great skuas, it’s the seabirds that many people will flock to this island to see. But whilst up above the cliffs, it’s also worth casting an eye out to the waters below, as it’s a great place to spot minke whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, basking sharks and if you are lucky an orca.

Since the 1990s, the Trust has been monitoring and protecting the puffin colony on Handa. Puffin numbers are monitored along with many other seabird species, beach cleans have been organised to remove potentially harmful litter, and we even managed to eradicate brown rats from the island in 1997.

Unfortunately, rats returned several years later and they continue to be a threat to the island’s seabirds today. Given that puffins nest underground at the top of cliffs, they are particularly vulnerable to ground predators, so we continue to closely monitor the areas of the island affected by rats.

Find out more about Handa Island here and help support our work by adopting a puffin here.

Soaring with seabirds – Longhaven Cliffs, Aberdeenshire

Offering stunning views along a stretch of the Buchan coast between Peterhead and Cruden Bay, this reserve features spectacular pink granite cliffs rising to 60 meters studded with inlets, stacks, caves and arches.

Out to sea, dolphins can be spotted, with occasional sightings of harbour porpoise and minke whales. In spring, wildflowers cloak the grassy cliff tops and in summer, there are superb views of the seabird colonies.

Part of the Aberdeenshire Coastal Trail,we have recently installed a new flight of wooden steps to ensure easy and safe access. These improvements enable more people to enjoy the stunning coastal scenery, marine life, seabirds, coastal heath wildflowers and insects throughout the year.

Find out more about Longhaven Cliffs here.

Join us

Our reserves are free to access but as a charity, we rely on the support of nature lovers like you to keep our critical conservation work going. Join today from just £3 per month and help to protect Scotland’s wildlife for the future.