Orkney and Shetland

by John George Flett Moodie Heddle; T. Mainland

The common hare appears to have been introduced into Orkney by a Mr Moodie of Melsetter, early in the eighteenth century, but both that attempt at acclimatisation and one by Malcolm Laing, the historian, in 1818, proved comparative failures. Better success, however, attended the efforts of Mr Samuel Laing and Mr Baikie of Tankerness about 1830, and at the present day, hares are found in the Mainland, Rousay, Eday, Shapinsay, Hoy, and South Ronaldshay. The white hare occurred in Hoy at an early date, as recorded by Jo Ben, a resident in Orkney, in his Descriptio Insularum Orchadiarum, in 1529:—“Albi lepores hic sunt, et capiuntur canibus.” It died out, however, and has only recently been reintroduced. The rabbit is common throughout the Islands. Of other and less desirable rodents, the black rat was once general in South Ronaldshay, and probably still occurs there. The brown rats, common in most parts of Orkney, have been known at times to forsake certain islands altogether, taking to the sea in a body in search of a new home. The field mouse, and the house mouse are universal. The common field vole is plentiful in most of the islands, and there is a doubtful record of the water vole from Hoy. Microtus orcadensis, or the Orkney vole discovered in 1904, is a highly interesting species peculiar to Orkney and certain parts of Shetland. The common shrew has been found in Walls and Orphir, and the water shrew in Walls. Bats are rare in Orkney, but occurrences of vesperugo pipistrellus have been recorded from Walls, Sanday, and Kirkwall, of vespertilio murinus from Walls; while there is an interesting but doubtful record of a specimen of vesperugo noctula having been captured in South Ronaldshay.

Appearances of the walrus in Orkney waters have been recorded from Eday, Hoy Sound, and Walls at various dates from 1825 to 1864; and Orkney seals include phoca vitulina, which breeds on several islands and skerries, phoca groenlandica, and the grey seal. The occurrence of the hooded seal is doubtful. Among Cetacea, the Greenland and sperm whales are rare visitors, the hump-backed whale, still rarer; but the common rorquall, Sibbald’s rorquall, the lesser rorquall, the beaked whale, the grampus, the common porpoise, and the white-sided dolphin are all fairly common. The bottlenose is, however, the Orkney whale, occurring at times in schools of 500 in number. The bottlenosed dolphin and the white-beaked dolphin are also on record.

The ornithology of Orkney comprises about 235 species, and owing to the special physical characteristics of the Islands bird-life forms a more conspicuous feature of landscape and sea than it does perhaps anywhere else in the British Islands. In a district where travel is more usual on sea than on land, and where the lakes, the fields, the hills, and the moors are unshrouded by woods, not only are aquatic birds a more constant object of the view than in districts otherwise conditioned, but the commoner land birds also are more frequently and readily observed.

The Great Auk

(Alea Impennis)

Crannie in which last Great Auk lived

Of the Falconidæ 17 species have been killed or observed in the Islands, being practically all of this family known to Britain, except the orange-legged falcon and the bee hawk. The golden eagle and the white-tailed eagle, however, both of which formerly bred in Hoy, are now only occasional visitants. The peregrine falcon is still fairly common, and in old days the King’s falconer procured them from the Islands for sporting purposes. Of the Strigidæ, the long-eared owl, the short-eared owl, the snowy owl, the tawny owl, Tengmalm’s owl, and the eagle owl have all been observed; but recorded occurrences of the barn owl and the little owl are of doubtful authenticity. Of the order Anseres, of which some 32 species have been observed in the Islands, the rarest locally are perhaps the greylag goose, the pink-footed goose, the Canada goose, the gadwall, the shoveller, the Garganey teal, the king eider, the harlequin duck, the common scoter, the surf scoter, Bewick’s swan, and the goosander. The common eider duck is plentiful. Regular winter visitants, but not unknown at other seasons, are the long-tailed duck, the velvet scoter, and the smew. Other visitants are the bernacle goose, the brent goose, the white-fronted goose, and the hooper, the last two in particular being common frequenters of the larger lochs, such as Stenness, Harray, and Boardhouse at this season. Of some 18 species of the Laridæ found in Orkney, the rarest are perhaps the Iceland gull, the glaucous gull, the common skua, the pomatorhine skua, and Richardson’s skua, the last-named, however, breeding in Walls. Of the Colymbidæ, the red-throated diver breeds in Walls, while the black-throated and great northern divers are winter visitants, both suspected to have occasionally stayed to breed. Of the Alcidae, the razor-bill, common guillemot, black guillemot, puffin, and little auk are usual. In the crevice of a cliff in Papa Westray lived the last Orkney great auk, alca impennis, shot in 1813, and now in the Natural History Museum, South Kensington, an interesting specimen of a bird probably now everywhere extinct. Of the Scolopacidae about 22 species are on record. Yarrell is perhaps in error when he mentions the avocet as having been found in the Islands, but the red-necked phalarope was first recorded as a British species from Stronsay in 1769. The gray phalarope is rare. The woodcock comes in winter, and has bred in Rousay. The common snipe is plentiful, and the jack snipe and double snipe come in autumn. The little stint, purple sandpiper, sanderling, knot, ruff, bartailed godwit, black-tailed godwit, spotted redshank, and the greenshank are all found, but some of these are rare. Of the Charadriidae, the golden, grey, and ringed plovers, the lapwing, dotterel, and turnstone are common, while the eastern golden plover has been found. Of the order Tubinares, the stormy petrel and the Manx shearwater breed, and the fulmar petrel has become a common visitant of recent years. The Rallidae are represented by the land-rail, water-rail, spotted crake, moor-hen, and common coot, and the Gruidae by the common and demoiselle cranes. The common heron alone is usual among the Herodii, although the bittern, little bittern, white stork, spoonbill, and glossy ibis have all been found. Of the Podicipitidae, the Sclavonian, great-crested, eared, and little grebes are known, the last-named, however, being the only nester. Of the Pelicanidae, the solan goose breeds on the distant Stack, near Sule Skerry, and the shag and cormorant are common. Of the Columbidae the rock-dove is common, the ring-dove occasionally breeds in plantations, and the stock-dove and turtle-dove are seen at times. Of the order Passeres, the usual nesters include the song-thrush, blackbird, redbreast, wren, pied wagtail, rock pipit, linnet, twite, greenfinch, yellow bunting, skylark, and common starling, the last a bird perhaps more frequent in the Islands than anywhere else. Scarcer breeders are the missel-thrush, stonechat, ring-ouzel, golden-crested wren, sedge warbler, grey wagtail, yellow wagtail, hedge-sparrow, meadow pipit, pied flycatcher, swallow, sand-martin, chaffinch, lesser redpole, and reed bunting. Common winter visitants are the redwing, fieldfare, and snow bunting, while rarer or only occasional comers are the dipper, redstart, blackcap, chiffchaff, fire-crested wren, willow wren, great titmouse, blue titmouse, common creeper, grey-headed wagtail, tree pipit, great grey shrike, red-backed shrike. waxwing, spotted flycatcher, rose pastor, goldfinch, brambling, mealy redpole, common bullfinch, common crossbill, and wood lark. Orkney Corvidae include the grey crow, the rook, the jackdaw (South Ronaldshay only), and the raven as breeding species, while the magpie and nutcracker are rare visitants. Of the Picidae, the great spotted woodpecker is an irregular autumn and winter visitant, while the lesser spotted woodpecker, the green woodpecker, and the wryneck are seen at times. Of the order Coccyges, the cuckoo is fairly common, while the roller, hoopoe, and common kingfisher have been found. Of the order Macrochires the common swift and the common nightjar are occasionally seen.

Of game and other sport-yielding birds, the red grouse breeds in the Mainland, Rousay, Eday, Hoy, Walls, Flotta and Fara. Grouse disease is unknown in Orkney, and the birds of Walls and Rousay are the heaviest in Scotland. Various attempts to acclimatise the black grouse, partridge, red-legged partridge, and pheasant have all practically failed. The ptarmigan bred in Hoy until 1831. Pallas’s sand grouse at times visit the Islands in considerable numbers, and are surmised to have bred in several islands. The quail comes in much the same way, if in fewer numbers, and has nested, though rarely.