Broubster Leans

We're working hard to make our nature reserves safe and ready for our staff, visitors and wildlife. Many have now re-opened in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, although some facilities are not yet available. Some reserves remain closed for now. See our COVID-19 updates page for the latest information (link below).

Address: RSPB Broubster Leans car park: Thurso KW14 7RB

Grid ref: ND035602

See our updates page to see which reserves are open.

Located seven miles southwest of Thurso in Caithness, Broubster Leans offers a strikingly diverse mosaic of wet grassland, pools, channels and rush pasture, all nestled in spectacular farmland. Keep your eyes peeled for birds such as greylag geese, lapwings and whooper swans when you visit.

Plan your visit

Open at all times under Scottish access legislation.

Free entrance to RSPB members: Yes

Adults: Free

Children: Free

Facilities

Car park

Accessibility

How to get here

By train

Thurso is the nearest station to the reserve.

By bus

Services 73 from Thurso to Shebster Limited service Mon-Sat. Take the road running south from the village to Broubster Leans.

By road

Drive south-west out of Thurso on the B874. Continue to the village of Shebster (about 7 miles), then turn left and head almost due south until you reach Broubster Leans.

Sat nav POI file: If you have a satellite navigation system that can accept POI files, please see our POI page for a download link and instructions.

Get directions from Google Maps

RSPB reserves on Google Earth

11 degrees, Light rain

Contact Broubster Leans

RSPB Broubster Leans car park: Thurso KW14 7RB
nsro@rspb.org.uk
01463 715000

What will you see?

Our star species

Greylag goose

Unlike most greylag geese you see in other parts of the UK, ours are the real, wild McCoy! They migrate here from Iceland for the winter.

Lapwing

Spring is a great time to watch lapwings at Broubster Leans.

Twite

Look carefully for twites in winter, when they join the flocks of other small birds.

White-fronted goose

Another long-distance migrant - the white-fronted geese come here all the way from Greenland.

Whooper swan

Whooper swans arrive here from Iceland in autumn to spend their winter here.

Displaying waders (oystercatcher, lapwing, redshank, curlew, snipe), singing skylarks, cuckoos, grasshopper warblers.

Waders feeding young, wheatears, bumblebees on bird/bee flower crop.

Look for any passage waders, hen harriers and the first of the wintering whooper swans, Greenland white-fronted geese and Icelandic greylag geese.

Wintering wildfowl (swans, geese, wigeons, teals, mallards, goldeneyes etc). Mixed passerine flock on bird/bee crop (twites, linnets, reed buntings, greenfinches, chaffinches).

About Broubster Leans

Habitat

Broubster Leans is a reserve in Caithness which is mainly comprised of grassland, heathland, moorland, wetland and marshland habitats.

Conservation

As well as managing for the birds, we're undertaking work to help encourage the great yellow bumblebee, and the summer months should see a nectar-rich wealth of flowers on the site. With wetland habitat disappearing at an alarming rate, Broubster will help us to work with others, to make sure an even larger area of this vital natural resource is protected.

Site information

This nature reserve is important for wildlife. RSPB Scotland welcomes responsible access, in line with the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.

Marshside

Lytchett Fields

Arne

Broubster Leans