Foula lies 14 miles to the west of mainland Shetland, and although it is only three miles wide by four miles long, it boasts the second highest sea cliffs in Britain, towering at a breathtaking height of 1,220 feet along the north west coast. The north and west of the island is dominated by wild, remote and rugged hills and cliffs while in the south and east the area is much flatter and more fertile. With a population of only 21, it is the most remote inhabited island in Britain. Foula has not only become renowned for the quantity and quality of birds found there, but also the weather conditions they arrive in. The island seems to have the magical ability to attract rarities when nowhere else does, and regularly produces migrants from the east - even after a north-westerly!

DAY 1  Saturday

Late afternoon / early evening rendezvous at the Sumburgh Hotel. In the late evening we head north to Sandwick for an evening ferry trip across to Mousa. During the 20 minute crossing we should encounter our first Arctic and Great Skuas and Arctic Terns - all of which will have recently arrived in the islands after wintering off the coast of Africa. We will have to wait to darkness for our ultimate quarry, though, when hundreds of tiny Storm Petrels will come ashore to visit the spectacular Iron Age Broch where they will commence breeding in the next few weeks. If we are very fortunate we might even see an Otter or Harbour Porpoise. We will return to the Sumburgh Hotel in the early hours of the morning.

DAY 2 Sunday

We spend the day exploring the south Mainland's many migrant hotspots to take advantage of any scarce migrants that might have arrived in the previous few days - at this time of year Bluethroat, Red-backed Shrike and Wryneck are all realistic possibilities. Our first port of call will be Sumburgh Head where we will check the scant cover around the lighthouse built by the famous Stevenson family. One of the great advantages of birding in Shetland is the lack of cover - making it that much easier to unearth a skulking warbler or two, and the bushes here have held Subalpine Warbler, an overshoot from the Mediterranean, in more than one recent spring. We'll also check several nutrient rich lochs in the south Mainland. These often hold a good variety of ducks and waders on their way north to their tundra breeding grounds. Garganey and Wood Sandpiper can often be found and we will keep our eyes open for something much rarer - Lesser Yellowlegs, Black Duck and Great White Egret have been just some of the highlights of recent years. We will probably encounter a few flocks of hirundines too, and we should keep a sharp eye out among the Swallows and martins in case a rarer visitor like a Red-rumped Swallow lurks among them. We also explore Shetland's largest expanse of inter-tidal mud at the Pool of Virkie. Here we should find a good variety of Arctic-bound waders stopping off to refuel on their long journey north. Knot and Sanderling should be present in their less familiar - but more colourful - summer plumage and we must check carefully for any rarer visitors. Overnight at the Sumburgh Hotel.

DAY 3 Monday

After breakfast we travel north to Tingwall Airport to board our plane. After a short fifteen-minute flight - and much to the envy of the rest of the birding nation - we arrive on the remote and magical island of Foula, the edge of the World! We'll check in to our cosy and homely guest house at Ham, which is located halfway along the eastern side of the island and just happens to be one of the best areas of Foula for migrant birds! After familiarising ourselves with the surroundings, we will check the Ham Burn and adjacent gardens for migrants and, depending on news available to us, we may take a stroll to the south of the island to look for a few more new species.

DAYS 4 - 6 Tuesday - Thursday

It's hard to define a day on Foula, as our activities are so diverse! Our day will typically start with an optional pre-breakfast walk to check for newly arrived for migrant arrivals. After judging the weather prospects for the day ahead we could find ourselves on a daily migrant census or may head out with a packed lunch for a day on the north and west cliffs, completely immersed in the vast seabird colonies for which the island is so famous. During our visit, Foula is alive with over 250,000 seabirds of 18 breeding species, ten of which nest in nationally or internationally important numbers - Fulmar, Gannet, Shag, Arctic Skua, Great Skua, Kittiwake, Arctic Tern, Guillemot, Razorbill and Puffin. We'll also be exploring the meadows and cliffs for mosaics of wildflowers, keeping an eye offshore for whales, dolphins and porpoises.

Searching for migrant passerines on Foula is an original and exciting form of birding! There are no trees or bushes of significant size on the island and thus cover for migrants is extremely sparse. A large proportion of birds tend to be found in the southern and eastern part of the island but as with birding anywhere else, we are at the mercy of the weather. We'll hope for a few days of the fabled east winds that can produce spectacular numbers of common migrants like Ring Ouzels, Pied and Spotted Flycatchers, Redstarts, Whitethroats, Wood Warblers and Blackcaps. We would hope to find a few goodies - Corncrake, Marsh and Icterine Warblers, Bluethroat, Wryneck, Golden Oriole, Red-backed Shrike, Common Rosefinch and Ortolan Bunting are all likely candidates. Rarities recorded with some degree of regularity include Short-toed Lark, Red-throated Pipit, Thrush Nightingale and Subalpine Warbler.

We'll also seek out breeders like Shetland Wren, Wheatears, Twite and both Rock and Meadow Pipits and scour the seaweed-strewn beaches and rock pools for arctic-bound shorebirds, most of which will be in handsome summer plumage. Typical coastal species like Turnstone, Dunlin, Sanderling, Purple Sandpiper and Ringed Plover will be present and we should also encounter Golden Plover, Common and Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank and Whimbrel. Red-throated Divers also breed on Foula in good numbers and there should be plenty of birds on territory.

DAY 7 Friday

After one last check of Ham Burn, we will leave Foula in the morning and return to mainland Shetland. We will spend the rest of the day in the central Mainland where we will hope for a few remaining winter visitors and maybe a stunning Great Northern Diver in resplendent summer plumage. Then it is on to Kergord where we will walk beneath the trees - something of a unique experience in Shetland - and hope to find a few summer migrants - Pied Flycatchers, Wood Warblers and Redstarts often feel more at home here than on un-vegetated headlands while Golden Orioles are annual in spring but can be frustratingly elusive. Blyth's Reed Warbler and Thrush Nightingale have also briefly held territory here in recent years. On route back to Lerwick we will check out one or two more spots that may yield an unusual migrant or two, as well as Red-throated Divers, Red-breasted Mergansers and Britain's only breeding Whooper Swans. In Lerwick we will see if any migrant Iceland or Glaucous Gulls have joined the local gulls. If not we will be amply compensated by the antics of the local Grey Seals! We will gradually return south to our accommodation at Sumburgh Hotel, making strategic detours along the way to take in any exciting new migrants we may have learned of. Overnight at the Sumburgh Hotel.

DAY 8  Saturday

After breakfast we will transfer you to Sumburgh Airport or make arrangements for you to travel to your onward destination in Shetland. You may however wish to consider joining our follow-on Ultimate Shetland holiday operating from Saturday 23rd - 30th May.

Holiday Information 2009 Operating Dates

EXTEND YOUR HOLIDAY!

Combine these two holidays and receive a 5% discount per person off the total cost!

RECENT HIGHLIGHTS

White-billed Divers Green-winged Teal Ring-necked Duck King Eiders American Coot Little Egret Great White Egret Common Crane Upland Sandpiper Temminck's Stint Kentish Plover Red-rumped Swallow Ring-billed Gulls Franklin's Gull Long-tailed Skuas Pomarine Skuas Bee-eater Golden Orioles Wryneck Bluethroats Paddyfield Warbler Marsh Warblers Icertine Warblers Sardinian Warbler Subalpine Warblers Red-backed Shrikes - 20 on one day! Collared Flycatcher - wow! Great Grey Shrike Hawfinches Arctic Redpoll Rustic Bunting Common Rosefinches Serin

Otters - lots! Killer Whales Minke Whales White-beaked Dolphins White-sided Dolphins Risso's Dolphins Harbour Porpoise Grey Seals Harbour Seals Arctic Hare - lots!