RSPB - giving nature a home
Search
Close
Skip to content
Shop | Community
Log in
  • About the RSPB
      About us
    • Our history
    • Our mission
    • How the RSPB is run
    • RSPB Media Centre
    • RSPB job vacancies
    • Get in touch
    • Contact us
    • RSPB offices
    • At home & abroad
    • International
    • England
    • Northern Ireland
    • Scotland
    • Wales
    • Our activities
    • Big Garden Birdwatch

      Big Garden Birdwatch

      Take part over the big weekend! 26 - 28 Jan 19

    • Celebrating 40 years of the Big Garden Birdwatch

      Celebrating 40 years of the Big Garden Birdwatch

      Learn how the world's largest wildlife survey started.

    • Bird-friendly coffee wins ethical award top spot

      Bird-friendly coffee wins ethical award top spot

      Bird & Wild coffee have been awarded Best Buy in Ethical Consumer’s latest review into coffee.

  • Our work
      Nature conservation
    • Conservation and sustainability
    • Projects
    • Landscape scale conservation
    • Centre for Conservation Science
    • Satellite tracking birds
    • Our positions and casework
    • Our positions
    • Casework
    • RSPB News
    • RSPB News
    • 'Our work' blog
    • Featured news
    • 10 years of the Climate Change Act

      10 years of the Climate Change Act

      10 years of the Climate Change Act

    • Top 10 bird feeding tips this winter

      Top 10 bird feeding tips this winter

      The winter can be a tough time of year for birds. But there are 10 top ways that you can give them a helping hand.

    • Baby bird advice

      Baby bird advice

      Find out what to do if you spot a baby bird.

  • Birds & wildlife
      Wildlife guides
    • Identify a bird
    • Bird A-Z
    • Other garden wildlife
    • Guide to birdwatching
    • UK conservation status explained
    • Advice
    • How you can help birds
    • Gardening for wildlife
    • Ask an expert
    • Wildlife and the law
    • How to report crimes against wild birds
    • Nature's Home magazine
    • About Nature's Home magazine
    • Birds and wildlife articles
    • RSPB Podcasts
    • Nature's Home blog
    • Most popular bird guides this month
    • Brent Goose

      Brent Goose

      A small, dark goose - the same size as a mallard. It has a black head and neck and grey-brown back.

    • Nightjar

      Nightjar

      A nocturnal bird that can be seen hawking for food at dusk and dawn.

    • Ring Ouzel

      Ring Ouzel

      male ring ouzels are particularly distinctive with their black plumage with a pale wing panel and striking white breast band.

  • Get involved
      Activities
    • Big Garden Birdwatch
    • Give nature a home in your garden
    • RSPB Competitions
    • Community & advice
    • Join our local groups
    • Green living
    • RSPB Community
    • Get involved blog
    • Volunteering & fundraising
    • Volunteer
    • Fundraise
    • Campaigning
    • Climate change effects on nature and wildlife
    • Protecting wildlife sites
    • Campaign with us
    • Environment Act campaign
    • The future for farming and nature
    • Let nature sing
    • Top activities to do
    • Campaign with us

      Campaign with us

      Become a campaign champion with the RSPB.

    • Volunteer

      Volunteer

      Explore these pages to find an opportunity that suits you.

    • Create a high home for swifts

      Create a high home for swifts

      Help us create 1000 homes for swifts.

  • Reserves & events
      Reserves A-Z Events, dates & inspiration
    • Events
    • Dates with nature
    • Places to visit blog
    • #ThanksToYou
    • Find a reserve
      Top reserve this month
    • Minsmere

      Minsmere

      There's so much to see and hear at Minsmere, from rare birds and otters to stunning woodland and coastal scenery.

    • Coombes Valley

      Coombes Valley

      This is a delightful oak woodland to walk through – especially in spring and early summer.

    • Arne

      Arne

      Heathland home to more than 2565 species.

  • Fun & Learning
      For teachers
    • Supporting resources
    • Wild Challenge
    • School outreach visits
    • School trip ideas
    • Big Schools Birdwatch
    • Sign up for the newsletter
    • School trip ideas
    • For families
    • Big Wild Sleepout
    • Wild Challenge
    • Nature reserves for families
    • For kids
    • Facts about nature
    • Games and activities
    • Kids stories
    • RSPB kids competitions
    • Latest kids' activities
    • Wild Challenge

      Wild Challenge

      Nature is an adventure waiting to be had. Get out, get busy and get wild!

    • Pond dipping

      Pond dipping

      Pond dipping is something we can all do and it's loads of fun!

    • Rock pooling

      Rock pooling

      Explore the little pools of amazing sea life that are left by the tide on the rocks around our coast.

  • Join & Donate
      Join us
    • Choose a membership
    • Gift membership
    • RSPB Life Fellow Membership
    • Renew your membership
    • Corporate supporters
    • Donate
    • Our appeals
    • Make a one-off donation
    • Make a regular donation
    • Memorial donations
    • Plant a memorial tree
    • Leave a gift in your Will
    • Other people's gifts
    • Legacy donation FAQs
    • Legacy administration
    • Other ways to help
    • Gift Aid
    • Support us when you shop
    • RSPB Images
    • RSPB second-hand binocular scheme
    • Win with the RSPB
    • Payroll Giving
    • Save your stamps
  • Login to your account
  • Shop
  • Community
  • Home
  • Reserves & events
  • Reserves A-Z
  • Sumburgh Head

Sumburgh Head

gallery image
gallery image
gallery image
gallery image
gallery image
gallery image
gallery image
gallery image
gallery image
gallery image
gallery image
gallery image
Address
RSPB Sumburgh Head, Shetland, ZE3 9JN, UK
Grid ref
HU407079

At the southern tip of mainland Shetland, Sumburgh Head is characterised by steep cliffs, a historic lighthouse building and one of Britain’s most accessible seabird colonies. Enjoy the spectacle of thousands of seabirds during the summer, including puffins, fulmars, guillemots and shags. Also keep watch for passing cetaceans such as minke whales, orcas and dolphins in the sea.

Plan your visit

Opening times

Open at all times.

Entrance charges

Free entrance to RSPB members
Yes
Adults
Free, but donations are very welcome.
Children
Free, but donations are very welcome.

Facilities

  • Visitor centre
  • Car park
  • Toilets
  • Accessible toilets
  • Pushchair friendly
  • Cafe
  • Picnic area
  • Viewing point
  • Shop

Accessibility

How to get here

By bus

The bus runs between Lerwick and Sumburgh Airport. The reserve is located approximately 2 miles (3.5 km) from the airport.

By road

The reserve is on the southern-most tip of Mainland Shetland. On the A970 about 0.3 mile (0.5 km) east of the turn off to Sumburgh Aiport, turn right at Grutness and carry on for about 1.25 miles (2 km) until you reach the main car park. From there it's a 0.3 mile (0.5 km) walk to the lighthouse. For less mobile visitors, there is a small disabled parking area near the lighthouse.

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.

Other ways to get there

By boat: Shetland can be reached by ferry from Aberdeen or Thurso, via Orkney, to Lerwick. Contact Northlink Ferries on 0845 6000 449. 

By plane: Flights from Orkney, Aberdeen, Inverness, Edinburgh or Glasgow operated by Loganair and Flybe.

Get directions from Google Maps
RSPB reserves on Google Earth

What will the weather be like?

9 degrees, Heavy rain

Contact Sumburgh Head

  • RSPB Sumburgh Head, Shetland, ZE3 9JN, UK
  • shetland@rspb.org.uk
  • 01950 460800

What will you see?

Our star species

    Adult fulmar

    Fulmar

    Watch for their trademark stiff-winged flight around the cliffs.

    Guillemot

    Guillemot

    Although ungainly on land, underwater they become agile and manoeuvrable.

    kittiwake adult

    Kittiwake

    Visit Sumburgh Head in spring and early summer and your ears will be filled with their unmistakable calls.

    Puffin, adult in summer plumage

    Puffin

    Enjoy the comical antics of puffins in summer from the viewing points on the cliffs.

    Shag

    Shag

    You can see shags perching on the rocks at Sumburgh Head.

Nature spectacles

Thousands of seabirds, including puffins, guillemots, fulmars, kittiwakes and shags put on a spectacular show from May to mid-August on the cliffs and sea stacks around Sumburgh Head.

Seasonal highlights

  • Spring
  • Summer

During spring, seabirds return to the cliffs to breed. Other birds breeding on the reserve include oystercatchers, starlings, house sparrows, wrens and wheatears.

Summer is the best time to visit Sumburgh Head, when thousands of puffins and other seabirds put on a spectacular show from May to mid-August. Each species of seabird has its special nesting place on the cliffs. The seas here are home to harbour porpoises (neesicks), white-beaked dolphins, orcas and minke and even humpback whales are sometimes seen. Grey seals (selkies) often haul themselves out onto the rocks. In late summer, male eider ducks gather below the cliffs to moult from their black-and-white breeding plumage into a sooty-brown 'eclipse' plumage.

About Sumburgh Head

Habitat

Steep cliffs at Sumburgh Head support a large seabird colony, with each seabird species occupying different areas of the cliff. The sandy soils of the cliff tops are perfect for puffins to dig their burrows, and lots of passerines such as twites, wrens and rock pipits use the stone dykes, rocky cliff face and grassy cliff tops for nesting and feeding. 

Conservation

The RSPB is managing the site for all its wildlife interest, while promoting marine conservation and offering an exciting visitor experience. We also support other conservation and research organisations. Our Area Office has been on the reserve since 1996.

  • Breeding birds - We are safeguarding the site for its breeding colony of more than 10,000 seabirds, which includes kittiwakes, fulmars and shags. We also maintain the sea-cliff grassland for breeding birds, such as puffins, by limiting grazing to 4ha in the north.
  • Keeping tabs - Aberdeen University monitors our breeding seabirds for the Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group (SOTEAG). Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) also help and the Shetland Ringing Group rings seabird adults and chicks. The RSPB monitor puffin breeding success throughout the summer by tracking which burrow an adult puffin brings fish back to, which means there is a puffling inside!
  • Spreading the word - We are using Sumburgh to promote marine policy issues to local and national government and other relevant organisations. When possible, the reserve also serves as an advisory, education and training resource.

Site information

The lighthouse complex at Sumburgh Head is operated by the Shetland Amenity Trust. To find out about opening times, facilities and events, please visit their website. 

Latest forum posts

  • Mousa and Storm Petrols in tonight's The One Show.

    Just to mention that a film about RSPB reserve Mousa and Storm Petrols and an evening visit at dusk featured towards the end of the The One Show on BBC 1 at 7.00pm this evening. For anyone that missed that programme, it will of course be available on...

    Posted 26/06/2015 by THOMO
  • Where are the two Sumburgh Head webcams

    Whats happened to the 2 Sumburgh Head webcams this year as they have both been unavailable to watch since the start of the 2014 breeding season. I like having a varied amountof webcams to choose from and i would like to know what has happened to them...

    Posted 05/05/2014 by THOMO
  • Where is the puffling?

    Can see two adults in the burrow, but no sign of the peerie een!!

    Posted 19/07/2012 by Lunklet
  • What's your favourite seabird in Shetland?

    I can't choose, but it has to be between storm petrels, Arctic skuas, puffins, razorbills, shags and Arctic terns.  Red-throated divers too.

    Posted 20/06/2011 by helen moncrieff
read our forum

Share this

  • Facebook Facebook Created with Sketch.
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest

You might also be interested in

We spend 90% of net income on conservation, public education and advocacy

Quick links

  • Contact us
  • Online Community
  • Vacancies
  • Media centre

Information for

  • Teachers
  • Policy makers
  • Farmers & landowners
  • Scientists

Our work in

  • England
  • Scotland
  • Wales
  • Northern Ireland
  • International

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram

Partnering with

Click-through to the BirdLife Website

The RSPB is a member of BirdLife International. Find out more about the partnership

Fundraising Regulator logo OSCR logo

© The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

  • Terms & conditions
  • Cookie and privacy policy
  • Charter and statutes
  • About our site

We use cookies on our website to help give you the best online experience. Tell me more