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  • Mousa

Mousa

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Address
RSPB Mousa, via Sandsayre Pier, Sandwick, Shetland, ZE2 9HP
Grid ref
HU456240
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Mousa is a small, wild island in Shetland, uninhabited since the nineteenth century. It is notable for having one of the UK’s largest storm petrel breeding colonies, many of which nest in the Broch of Mousa, a 2000-year-old Iron Age round tower. The diversity of the wildlife on Mousa is reflected in its many protective designations for breeding birds such as black guillemots and Arctic terns, as well as for the harbour seals and the fascinating geology of the island.

Plan your visit

Opening times

Open annually, mid-April until mid-September, weather permitting.

Entrance charges

Free entrance to RSPB members
Yes
Adults
Free entry, but a private ferry fare applies to the crossing to Mousa. Please note the RSPB receive no income from payment made to the private ferry, so please consider donating to our management onsite.
Children
Free entry, but a private ferry fare applies to the crossing to Mousa. Please note the RSPB receive no income from payment made to the private ferry, so please consider donating to our management onsite.

Facilities

  • Guided walks
  • Nature trails

Accessibility

How to get here

By bus

Sandwick is linked by bus on the Lerwick-Sumburgh Airport route. The nearest bus stop to Sandsayre Pier is a 10 minute walk away.

Other ways to get there

Mousa is only accessible by boat. Trips operated by The Mousa Boat run between April and mid-September. They leave from Sandsayre pier, Sandwick. Go to www.mousa.co.uk for more information. Ferry fees apply.

Get directions from Google Maps
View on What3Words
RSPB reserves on Google Earth

Contact Mousa

  • RSPB Mousa, via Sandsayre Pier, Sandwick, Shetland, ZE2 9HP
  • shetland@rspb.org.uk
  • 01950 460800
  • Find us on facebook

What will you see?

Our star species

    Arctic skua, lightform

    Arctic skua

    Arctic skuas come to Mousa to breed but spend all their other time at sea.

    Arctic tern

    Arctic tern

    Arctic terns nest on Mousa but be careful not to stray too close to their nests, as they will attack!

    Black guillemot, breeding plumage

    Black guillemot

    In Shetland, black guillemots are known as 'tysties'. Watch for them swimming around on the sea.

    Great skua adult

    Great skua

    Great skuas have similar antisocial habits to their Arctic cousins.

    Storm petrel

    Storm petrel

    Although storm petrels only fly at night, listen for their churring call in a stone dyke or the broch during a day-trip.

Nature spectacles

Visiting Mousa is an unforgettable experience. On the short ferry crossing to the island, you might be fortunate enough to see harbour porpoises and other marine mammals, as well as gannets, shags and puffins. Keep a look out for harbour seals which seek refuge in the East and West Pools for pupping and moulting, as well as grey seals.

Seasonal highlights

  • Spring
  • Summer

Birds are returning to the island to breed and most have returned by late May. Seals can be seen in west pool especially at low tide. Hear skylarks displaying.

Storm petrels only come ashore at night - they spend the rest of their time feeding out at sea. Arctic terns, eiders (dunters) and black guillemots (tysties) nest on the island as well as waders including oystercatchers, ringed plovers, snipe and redshanks. Arctic skuas and great skuas (bonxies) will defend their nests and young aggressively. Harbour seals come to the island in June to have their pups and remain through August to moult. Grey seals can also be seen during the summer.

About Mousa

Habitat

Mousa is an uninhabited island featuring coastal habitats, wet heathland, mires and grassland. The Iron Age broch, extensive dry stone dykes and boulder beaches provide nesting habitats for many of the island’s breeding storm petrels.

Conservation

We have studied and monitored storm petrels, Arctic terns and Arctic and great skuas since the early 1980s. We now also monitor red-throated divers, waders, shags and harbour and grey seals.

Other organisations help us out: the Shetland Ringing Group monitors storm petrel breeding success, whilst the Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group monitors cliff-nesting seabird populations every five years. NatureScot monitor grey seal populations and breeding success and we will also encourage specialist groups to conduct research into key marine mammals. We also protect boulder beaches and restore dry-stone dykes - important storm petrel nesting habitat.

In addition to this, we maintain visitor structures and provide guided walks to give visitors the best experience and reduce disturbance to wildlife.

We monitor for non-mammalian predators on Mousa that could cause harm to many of the ground nesting birds present, and have set up the Biosecurity for LIFE project to work with communities, businesses, government agencies and conservation NGO's to raise the level of biosecurity protection across all 41 of our seabird island SPA's.

Site information

The diversity of the wildlife on Mousa is reflected in its many protective designations; it is a Special Protection Area (SPA), Special Area for Conservation (SAC) and Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) for the breeding birds such as storm petrels, black guillemots and Arctic terns, as well as for the harbour seals and the fascinating geology of the island.

Mousa is an important reserve for breeding wildlife with many sensitive breeding areas. Therefore we ask that you follow all signage and guidance on Mousa to keep disturbance of breeding wildlife to a minimum. The stone dykes and boulder beaches are of particular importance as they are the nesting areas of storm petrels.

If you wish to land a private vessel, the East and West Pools and Burgi Ayre beach are particularly sensitive for the breeding wildlife there and we ask that you do not land any vessels in these areas. Please contact us on the details provided if you require further information.

Read our blog and recent sightings

  • A month in Shetland - Keith's sabbatical

    My sabbatical on Shetland was planned from mid-May to mid-June, as although quite early in the season for many species so far north, it is a key time to help with breeding bird survey work, and there's a chance of seeing an exciting species or two on...

    Posted 22/06/2022 by Beth A
  • Phalarope season

    This week has seen the start to our favourite part of the year – red-necked phalarope monitoring time!  Once a week for the next six weeks we’ll be visiting phalarope breeding sites in Shetland to record the number of birds and the behaviour they are...

    Posted 17/06/2022 by Beth A
  • Wader data and photography, all in days work for the reserve team

    Hello, the last few weeks for the reserve team have involved lots of different surveys and many miles walked! We have nearly completed our wader surveys, breeding bird squares and AECS wader surveys across Shetland. So far the numbers seem to be good...

    Posted 08/06/2022 by Tirrick8
  • Survey season in full swing

    Welcome back to the RSPB Shetland blog We’re properly into survey season at the moment and taking advantage of all the good weather windows to get our work done. The team have been all across Shetland, carrying out surveys at Spiggie and Mousa aswell...

    Posted 27/05/2022 by Beth A
More blogs and sightings

Activities and events

Leisure activities

For more information on events and to book tickets, please visit events.rspb.org.uk/mousa

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