Print pageStar species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Flocks of black-tailed godwits can be seen in the harbour. In spring - when they rest and feed here before heading north to Iceland to breed - they are resplendent in their 'tomato soup-red' breeding attire. On their return in autumn, you can pick out the scaly-backed juvenile birds if you look closely. |  |
Flocks of brent geese come to feed and roost in the harbour in winter. They can be seen in good numbers here from October and linger well into the spring to make sure their Siberian breeding grounds have thawed out. |  |
Watch out for breeding-plumaged dunlins with black bellies during spring. Later in the year, the birds will look more scruffy as they moult their feathers, and you'll also see young birds making their way south from the Arctic breeding grounds where they hatched. |  |
As their name suggests, little terns are the smallest of the British terns and nest colonially on the islands. |  |
Visit in spring to see smart Mediterranean gulls laying eggs and feeding their young on the islands. |  |