Print pageStar species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Curlews are large, brown wading birds with very long, curved bills. In spring, you can hear their gorgeous, 'bubbling' song. | ) |
Watch the nesting lapwings here chasing predators that may come too close to their nests or show too much of an interest in their chicks. The protective parents regularly give chase to hooded crows and do not stop their 'mobbing' attacks until the danger has passed. |  |
You can see oystercatchers between spring and autumn. They feed by probing their long, orange bills into the soft mud to find invertebrate food beneath the surface, or, as their name suggests, hammer open shellfish. |  |
Keep an eye out for the redshanks' towering display flights over the wet meadows in spring. They are sometimes known as 'the sentinel of the marshes' for their noisy habit of drawing attention to predators. |  |
Spring visits to Brodgar will be enriched by the beautiful song of skylarks. They rise up into the air from the grassland until they are barely visible and only their song can be heard. |  |