Arctic Skua calling

John and I also had a day trip to Fetlar planned. The name Fetlar means 'the island of the fat land' in Old Norse due to fertile soil, and as such is known as the ‘Garden of Shetland’. Nowadays the island is famous for one of Britain’s rarest breeding birds; the Red Necked Phalarope. The RSPB have a site here at the Loch of Funzie, and most sightings of these little birds are from here. As they’re one of the rarest UK breeding birds, they’re listed under Schedule 1 of The Wildlife and Countryside Act, and therefore against the law to view them at their nesting grounds without a licence. Known locally as “peerie deuck” which means ‘small duck’, every summer they come to fresh water lochs on Shetland to breed. If you’re lucky you’re able to find these confiding birds as they feed along the shores of the Loch of Funzie from the roadside.