📌 Isle of Fetlar, Shetland Isles
★★
Fetlar is home to all the wonderful seabird species that call Shetland home, but there’s one particular bird here which humans flock to see. Around 90% of the UK breeding population of red-necked phalaropes are drawn to the island’s water bodies in June and July; these small, lobed-toed waders spend the winter in tropical seas and return to Arctic regions to breed, with Scotland placed at the southerly extremity of their range. The RSPB maintain a viewing hide overlooking ponds to the east of the Loch of Funzie, but on our June 2024 visit the birds were viewable from the roadside at the Mires of Houbie (2.5 miles further west) instead; they may also be spotted on the Loch of Funzie itself. Staff at Fetlar Interpretive Centre may have useful info regarding the current best vantage points! Viewing tends to be from a distance, so binoculars are recommended.
🌍 Location
📌 Viewing hide is off the B9088 immediately west of Loch of Funzie, Isle of Fetlar
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: HU 658898
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 60.585805,-0.800319
🚌 Bus (booking required) connects with certain ferries to Unst / Yell
🚗 Car park at west end of Loch of Funzie, 🧭 HU 653900 / 🛰️ 60.587696,-0.810393
📝 Key info
⌚ Always open
🎫 Free
💬 From the car park it’s a 10-min walk (each way) to the hide (⬤ Easy). Follow the main road east past the loch, turning right onto a track at the far end. Fork left onto a path after 100m, with the hide at the very end.
