Hermaness

Last updated

Hermaness National Nature Reserve
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) [1]
View north from Toolie, Hermaness - geograph.org.uk - 1611317.jpg
View north from Toolie
Shetland UK relief location map.jpg
Red pog.svg
A map showing the location of the Hermaness within Shetland.
Location Shetland, Scotland
Coordinates 60°50′14″N0°53′0″W / 60.83722°N 0.88333°W / 60.83722; -0.88333
Area964.4 ha (2,383 acres) [2]
Designation NatureScot
Established1955 [1]
Hermaness National Nature Reserve

Hermaness is the northernmost headland of Unst, the most northerly inhabited island of Shetland, Scotland. It consists of huge sea cliffs and moorland, making it an ideal habitat for a variety of birds. Hermaness was designated a national nature reserve (NNR) in 1955. The NNR extends over 965 hectares, including the whole of the Hermaness peninsula and the outlying Muckle Flugga and Out Stack. [2] The reserve has a path and boardwalk that extends out onto the moorland. [3] The reserve is managed by NatureScot, though it remains in private ownership, with most being owned by the Buness Estate, although the stacks and skerries around Muckle Flugga are owned by the Northern Lighthouse Board. [4]

Contents

Hermaness is renowned for its internationally important seabird colonies, including the world's third largest great skua colony, fulmars, gannets, shags, puffins and guillemots. [5] The blanket bog further inland also provides a good habitat for breeding waders, such as golden plover, dunlin and snipe. [3]

Hermaness is said to have once been home to a giant named Herman who fought with another giant, named Saxa, over a mermaid. During the fight the two giants threw rocks at each other, and the legend claims that this is the origin of the rocks and stacks that surround the headland. [6]

Birdlife

Gannets on Humla Stack Humla Stack - geograph.org.uk - 941066.jpg
Gannets on Humla Stack

Over 100,000 pairs of birds from 15 different species breed at Hermaness, which is internationally important for great skua, gannets and puffins. Gannets nest on narrow ledges on cliffs and stacks, and as of 2018 there were around 26,000 breeding pairs each summer. Hermaness, with around 6% of the breeding North Atlantic population, is the sixth largest colony of these birds in Britain. Guillemot and kittiwake also breed on the stacks and cliffs of Hermaness, with around 3,700 pairs of guillemot and 416 pairs of kittiwake recorded in 2015. Shags nest on boulder beaches on the west coast of Hermaness; due to relative inaccessibility of these areas counting is difficult, but NatureScot estimated a population of around 150 pairs in 2002. The fulmar population, numbering almost 7,000 pairs in 2011, is nationally important, representing 1% of the British population. Puffins can be difficult to count due to the fact they nest in burrows, however NatureScot estimate that somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 pairs can be found at Hermaness, representing around 6% of the British population. The coastline also hosts small numbers of breeding herring gulls, razorbills and black guillemots, all of whom tend to nest in more secluded areas such rock crevices and amongst boulders. [7]

Away from the coast, almost 1,000 great skuas, known locally as bonxies, nest at Hermaness, maintaining territories on the large expanse of moorland that covers the centre of the peninsula. Hermaness is estimated to host 4.5% of world population of these birds, and is the third largest colony in Europe. Until the 1960s large numbers of Arctic skuas also bred at Hermaness, however a rise in bonxie numbers led to these birds tending to favour other parts of Unst. A small number of red-throated divers (typically 3-9 pairs), breed on the moors. The moorland also provides a home for many other ground-nesting birds such as skylark, twite and curlew. There are also significant numbers of waders, with large numbers of dunlin and snipe, and smaller numbers of golden plover. In recent years greylag geese have also begun to nest at Hermaness. [7]

Hermaness was also home to a black-browed albatross – an extreme rarity in the Northern Hemisphere – every summer from 1972 until 1995 (except 1988 and 1989). This bird, nicknamed 'Albert', proved a major attraction to birdwatchers. [8] [9]

Other wildlife

The Shetland bumblebee, Bombus muscorum agricolae Shetland Bumblebee (Bombus muscorum agricolae) - geograph.org.uk - 951933.jpg
The Shetland bumblebee, Bombus muscorum agricolae

Otter can occasionally be seen at Hermaness, and the Shetland field mouse can also be found. Otherwise, few land mammals live on the peninsula. In contrast, the surrounding seas are home to many marine mammals such as seals, dolphins, whales and porpoises. Both grey and common seals visit the beaches regularly, and sightings of whales and dolphins have increased in recent years. Harbour porpoises, minke whales, killer whales, white-sided dolphins, white-beaked dolphins and Risso’s dolphins are all known to visit. [10] [11]

Moths species at Hermaness include the northern rustic, the autumnal rustic and the northern arches. Many of these moths belong to distinct sub-species found only in Shetland, often being darker in colour than those found on the Scottish mainland. Other invertebrates include 53 species of beetle, 46 species of spider, and the distinctive, orange-coloured Shetland bumblebee. [11]

Conservation

Conservation activities began at Hermaness in 1831, when the landowner, Dr. Lawrence Edmondston, began to protect bonxie nesting sites from egg collectors: by this time the population had declined to only 3 pairs. The population began to recover, but egg collecting remained an issue. In 1891 the Edmondston family employed a warden to protect the site, and from this point bonxie numbers grew strongly. Responsibility for watching the bonxies passed to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in 1906, and the role was widened to include monitoring of other seabird populations. [12] In 1955 part of the area was declared a national nature reserve, and the reserve was extended to its current extent in 1958. At this point the Nature Conservancy Council (the predecessor of NatureScot), took over responsibility for monitoring the bird population. [13] Since the 1980s seabird counts have been conducted on a systematic basis, and a whole-reserve count of the main species is undertaken every 6 years. [14]

In addition to being an NNR, the headland holds a range of other conservation designations for its spectacular wildlife, habitat and geological features. It is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), [15] and forms part of the Hermaness, Saxa Vord and Valla Field Special Protection Area (SPA) and the Shetland national scenic area. [16] [17] The Hermaness NNR is classified as a Category IV protected area by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. [1]

Watchers Hut

Once the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds took over the protection of the bonxie population in 1906, they built a hut on the southern slopes of Hermaness Hill [18] overlooking the nesting sites [19] to accommodate their "Watchers". [20] This hut burnt down after a few years and was subsequently replaced by a slightly larger one [21] which survived until 1991. It was constructed of corrugated iron on a wooden frame with windows facing south. [22]

For many years, Watchers were resident during the breeding season until the bonxie population had recovered. [23] After they were no longer required, the hut continued to be maintained as a place of refuge in bad weather and for use by researchers or people overnighting. It also contained the Bird Sanctuary Visitor’s Book. [24]

On 31 December 1991, an Englishman and his Canadian girlfriend hiked to the hut with the intention of seeing in the New Year there. [25] That night, or in the early hours of 1 January 1992, the hut was struck by one of the most severe storms ever recorded in the British Isles [26] with winds reaching Hurricane force, gusting up to 150 knots (280 km/h; 170 mph) as measured at the nearby Muckle Flugga Lighthouse. [27] The hut was blown away and completely destroyed, with debris scattered over the hillside and both lost their lives. The man was found on 5 January close to where the hut had been, his girlfriend half a mile (800m) away below a 300 ft (90m) cliff in Burra Firth the following day. [28]

Today, the site of the hut is marked by a cross made of large stones laid into the ground, a memorial for the two lives lost. [29] Access to the location is currently problematic, as the direct footpath to the top of Hermaness Hill that passed the cross closed in 2017. It traversed fragile blanket bog that was being severely eroded by the increased number of visitors. [30] However, there are plans to reopen this route in the future after installation of boardwalks. [31] The current footpath takes a different westerly route. [32]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve</span>

Caerlaverock is a national nature reserve (NNR) covering parts of the mudflats and shoreline of the Solway Firth about 10 km south of Dumfries, in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies between the River Nith and the Lochar Water, and consists of a variety of wetland habitats including bare mud and sand, merse and marshes, and is fringed by neutral grassland on the landward side. A nature reserve was designated in 1957 at the instigation of the Duke of Norfolk. The NNR covers an area of 82 square kilometres (32 sq mi) and is an internationally important wintering site for waterfowl and wading birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great skua</span> Species of bird

The great skua, sometimes known by the name bonxie in Britain, is a large seabird in the skua family Stercorariidae. It is roughly the size of a herring gull. It mainly eats fish caught at the sea surface or taken from other birds.

Unst is one of the North Isles of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is the northernmost of the inhabited British Isles and is the third-largest island in Shetland after Mainland and Yell. It has an area of 46 sq mi (120 km2).

The Isle of Noss or Noss is a small, previously inhabited island in Shetland, Scotland. Noss is separated from the island of Bressay by the narrow Noss Sound. It has been run as a sheep farm since 1900, and has been a national nature reserve since 1955.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muckle Roe</span>

Muckle Roe is an island in Shetland, Scotland, in St. Magnus Bay, to the west of Mainland. It has a population of around 130 people, who mainly croft and live in the south east of the island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Out Stack</span>

Out Stack or Ootsta is an island in Shetland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muckle Flugga Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse

Muckle Flugga lighthouse punctuates the rocky stack of Muckle Flugga, in Shetland, Scotland. Originally called North Unst Lighthouse, it was renamed in 1964.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muckle Flugga</span>

Muckle Flugga is a small rocky island north of Unst in the Shetland Islands, Scotland. It is often described as the northernmost point of the British Isles, but the smaller islet of Out Stack is actually further north. It used to be the northernmost inhabited island, but forfeited that accolade to Unst when Muckle Flugga Lighthouse was automated in 1995 and the last residents moved out.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Fleet</span>

Loch Fleet is a sea loch on the east coast of Scotland, located between Golspie and Dornoch. It forms the estuary of the River Fleet, a small spate river that rises in the hills east of Lairg. The loch was designated a National Nature Reserve (NNR) in 1998, and is managed by a partnership between NatureScot, the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) and Sutherland Estates. The NNR extends to 1058 hectares, including the Loch Fleet tidal basin, sand dunes, shingle ridges and the adjacent pine woods, including Balbair Wood and Ferry Wood. The tidal basin of the loch covers over 630 ha, and forms the largest habitat on the NNR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Abb's Head</span>

St Abb's Head is a rocky promontory by the village of St Abbs in Scottish Borders, Scotland, and a national nature reserve administered by the National Trust for Scotland. St Abb's Head Lighthouse was designed and built by the brothers David Stevenson and Thomas Stevenson and began service on 24 February 1862.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abernethy Forest</span>

Abernethy Forest is a remnant of the Caledonian Forest in Strathspey, in the Highland council area of Scotland. It lies within the Cairngorms National Park, close to the villages of Nethy Bridge, Boat of Garten, and Aviemore. The forest is an RSPB reserve, close to Loch Garten Osprey Centre, which is also owned by the RSPB. It is popular with walkers, as there are various trails throughout the reserve. The forest forms part of the wider Abernethy National Nature Reserve.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cairnsmore of Fleet</span>

Cairnsmore of Fleet is an isolated mountain in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. The mountain forms an unafforested granite massif, whose highest point is about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) east of Newton Stewart. It is the highest of the "Solway Hills" sub-range, and the southernmost of Scotland's 219 Grahams, thus making it, or rather its subsidiary top, Knee of Cairnsmore, the most southerly mountain in Scotland. The view to the south takes in the Cree Estuary and Wigtown Bay, and extends as far as the Lake District, the Isle of Man and Snowdonia. The highest summits of the Galloway Hills can be seen to the north, and Ireland is in the view to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flora and fauna of the Outer Hebrides</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site in Scotland

The flora and fauna of the Outer Hebrides in north west Scotland comprises a unique and diverse ecosystem. A long archipelago, set on the eastern shores of the Atlantic Ocean, it attracts a wide variety of seabirds, and thanks to the Gulf Stream a climate more mild than might be expected at this latitude. Because it is on the Gulf Stream, it also occasionally gets exotic visitors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1992 New Year's Day Storm</span>

The New Year's Day Storm, known in Scotland as the 'Hogmanay Hurricane', was an intense European windstorm that affected much of northern Scotland and western Norway on 1 January 1992. DNMI estimated the strongest sustained winds and the strongest gusts to have reached 103 mph and 138 mph, respectively. Unofficial records of gusts in excess of 170 knots (88 m/s) were recorded in Shetland, while Statfjord-B in the North Sea recorded wind gusts in excess of 145 knots (75 m/s). There were very few fatalities, mainly due to the rather low population of the islands, the fact that the islanders are used to powerful winds, and because it struck in the morning on a public holiday when people were indoors. In Norway there was one fatality, in Frei, Møre og Romsdal county. There were also two fatalities on Unst in the Shetland Isles. Despite being referred to by some as a 'Hurricane', the storm was Extratropical in origin and is classified as an Extratropical Cyclone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve</span>

Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve (NNR) is located southeast of Tayport in Fife, Scotland. The reserve is made up of three parts, encompassing Morton Lochs, Tentsmuir Point and Tayport Heath, and is managed by NatureScot. The different sections of Tentsmuir NNR were originally designated as separate national nature reserves at different times: the Morton Lochs section was designated in 1952; Tentsmuir Point in 1954; and Tayport Heath in 1988. While these discrete sections are distant from one another, they form part of the extensive dune system at Tentsmuir, and in 2003 SNH combined the three sites to form Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve. The adjoining Tentsmuir Forest is managed by Forestry and Land Scotland and covers most of the land between the three portions of the NNR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blawhorn Moss</span>

Blawhorn Moss is a raised bog located to the northwest of the village of Blackridge, about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) west of Armadale in the council area of West Lothian in central Scotland. It is the largest and least disturbed raised bog in the Lothians, and has been a National Nature Reserve since 1980. It is owned and managed by NatureScot, the public body responsible for Scotland's natural heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve</span> A nature reserve in Scotland

Loch Lomond National Nature Reserve (NNR) encompasses 430 hectares of land at the southeastern part of Loch Lomond in the council areas of Stirling and West Dunbartonshire, in Scotland. It covers the islands of Inchcailloch, Clairinsh, Torrinch, Creinch and Aber Isle, alongside areas of woodland and wetlands to either side of the mouth of the Endrick Water. NatureScot owns two parts of the reserve - the island of Inchcailloch and part of Gartfairn Wood - and the rest is privately owned. The reserve is managed by a partnership consisting of NatureScot, the RSPB Scotland and the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, along with the owners and tenants of the land under agreements. Within this framework NatureScot directly manage the islands of Clairinsh, Inchcailloch, Torrinch and Creinch, and land to the north of the Endrick Water. The RSPB manages the area to the south of the Endrick Water, and the national park manages visitor facilities on Inchcailloch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craigellachie National Nature Reserve</span>

Craigellachie is a hill lying to the west of the village of Aviemore in Strathspey, in the central Highlands of Scotland. Craigellachie was declared a national nature reserve (NNR) in 1961, and is managed by NatureScot through a lease from Reidhaven Estate. The reserve covers 257 hectares on the eastern slopes of the Monadhliath range of hills, lying between 225 and 535 m above sea level. It is dominated by birkwood, being one of the largest remaining areas of this type of habitat on Speyside, and is also of national importance due to the variety of moths present on the reserve. In addition to the birkwoods, the reserve encompasses a variety of other habitats, such as rocky crags, lochans and open heath with blaeberry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glen Tanar</span> Glen of the Water of Tanar and national nature reserve in northeast Scotland

Glen Tanar is a glen in Aberdeenshire, eastern Scotland, through which the Water of Tanar flows. Near the mouth of the glen, at Tower o' Ess, the Water of Tanar flows into the River Dee. This flows through Deeside into the North Sea at Aberdeen. Glen Tanar contains the third largest area of Caledonian Forest in Scotland, and is of national and European importance. It is around 18 miles East from the King's private residence at Balmoral Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Invereshie and Inshriach National Nature Reserve</span>

Invereshie and Inshriach is a national nature reserve on the western flank of the Cairngorms in the Highland council area of Scotland. The reserve covers habitats at a range of different altitudes, ranging from Caledonian Forest beside the River Feshie in the west, via bog and open moorland, to an arctic-alpine environment on the Cairngorm plateau. The Munro summit of Sgòr Gaoith (1118 m) lies on the eastern boundary of the reserve. The forested areas of the reserve form part of an expanse of Caledonian pinewood that stretches from Glen Feshie to Abernethy, and which as a whole forms the largest single area of this habitat remaining in Scotland. The reserve is owned and managed jointly by NatureScot and Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS): NatureScot own the Invereshie portion of the reserve and FLS the Inshriach area.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 "Hermaness". Protected Planet. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Hermaness NNR". NatureScot. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  3. 1 2 The Story of Hermaness National Nature Reserve. p. 5.
  4. ↑ The Story of Hermaness National Nature Reserve. p. 24.
  5. ↑ "Hermaness National Nature Reserve". NatureScot. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  6. ↑ "Visit Hermaness National Nature Reserve" (PDF). Scottish Natural Heritage. 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  7. 1 2 The Story of Hermaness National Nature Reserve. p.p. 8-14.
  8. ↑ Anon (1987) The Black-browed Albatross in Shetland Twitching Vol 1 No 6 Pages 160-162
  9. ↑ Haswell-Smith. p. 483
  10. ↑ The Story of Hermaness National Nature Reserve. p. 14.
  11. 1 2 The Story of Hermaness National Nature Reserve. p. 15.
  12. ↑ The Story of Hermaness National Nature Reserve. p. 18.
  13. ↑ The Story of Hermaness National Nature Reserve. p. 20.
  14. ↑ The Story of Hermaness National Nature Reserve. p. 21.
  15. ↑ "Hermaness SSSI". NatureScot. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  16. ↑ "Hermaness, Saxa Vord and Valla Field SPA". NatureScot. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  17. ↑ "Shetland NSA". NatureScot. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  18. ↑ "Hermaness Site Management statement #776". Scottish Natural Heritage. 23 September 2011.
  19. ↑ The Story of Hermaness National Nature Reserve p.7 Map
  20. ↑ The Story of Hermaness National Nature Reserve p.14
  21. ↑ "Burnt Down Photo # R03285 Caption". Shetland Museum Photo Archive. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  22. ↑ "Warden's Hut at Hermaness, Photo's # R03285, 00879 and 03311". Shetland Museum Photo Archive. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  23. ↑ "Discontinued Watchers". Geograph. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  24. ↑ "The Herald". 7 January 1992. Retrieved 11 September 2020. Visitors Book
  25. ↑ "The Herald". 7 January 1992. Retrieved 11 September 2020. Womans body found
  26. ↑ "Daily Star". 2 January 1992. p. 2. Retrieved 11 September 2020. 197mph storm hits Britain
  27. ↑ "Muckle Flugga readings". Net Weather. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  28. ↑ "The Sunday Times Scotland". 12 January 1992. Retrieved 11 September 2020. Death that came in a rushing wind
  29. ↑ "Site of the former hut on Hermaness Hill". Geograph. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  30. ↑ "Intrepid Conservers and Explorers, 20 Oct 17". Scotland's Nature. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  31. ↑ "Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund: Our Projects, Project #10". NatureScot. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  32. ↑ "Alternative Western footpath". Walk highlands. Retrieved 11 September 2020.

Bibliography

Coordinates: 60°50′14″N0°53′0″W / 60.83722°N 0.88333°W / 60.83722; -0.88333

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.