Print pageStar species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Listen in spring and summer for the repetitive, rasping call of the male corncrake - it sounds rather like a coin being scraped along the teeth of a comb. |  |
Eider ducks nest around the coast of Egilsay. While the females are mottled brown, the males in breeding plumage are black and white with green on their heads - you may hear their 'oooOOhh' calls. |  |
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 crows and do not stop their 'mobbing' attacks until the danger has passed. |  |
Skylarks nest in the fields at Onziebust. Watch them displaying and singing overhead in spring. |  |
These cryptically-coloured waders can be seen probing their long beaks into the soft ground and around the edges of the pools. |  |