Birdwatching in Orkney: choose Mainland, seabird cliffs or an island stay

Map of the region’s birdwatching sites

Numbered links locate the reserve destinations. Use each guide’s official arrival directions for the entrance and its watching table for public viewpoints.

1. RSPB Marwick Head
2. RSPB Cottascarth and Rendall Moss
3. RSPB Hoy
4. RSPB Noup Cliffs
5. North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory

Best birdwatching sites in Orkney

Where should I start birdwatching in Orkney?

Choose RSPB Marwick Head for a first Mainland coastal outing when the seabird season and conditions suit. The public cliff walk gives the day a clear focus and an impressive landscape to enjoy while watching. Read the guide before deciding whether the grassy ascent and exposure fit your party. An island holiday is easier to use when the first day is a manageable visit, rather than a test of how many famous places you can fit into the daylight.

RSPB Cottascarth and Rendall Moss provides a contrasting Mainland experience through its official public hide and approach. It is a place to watch an open moorland landscape patiently, with the RSPB naming Hen Harrier and other birds of prey among its interests. Pairing a coast day with a quieter hide-led session is our preference for an introduction. You can then decide whether an additional island should add more cliffs, migration watching or a longer walk.

When is the best time for birdwatching in Orkney?

Late spring and early summer usually suit visitors who want breeding-season seabirds and the longer days for careful watching. The RSPB describes Hoy’s cliff activity particularly in June, while the individual guides give the useful season for each public viewing place. Plan the holiday around the species and habitats you want to watch, rather than assuming every sea journey passes a busy colony throughout the year. An operating ferry is transport, not a calendar for Puffins ashore.

Autumn brings a different interest in migration, especially for visitors who want to spend time on North Ronaldsay. Winter can be rewarding for coastal birds and wildfowl, but short days and exposed weather change the practical rhythm. Our advice is to choose the season whose ordinary experience appeals to you, then enjoy any extra surprise. A holiday planned entirely around an exceptional rarity is much harder to satisfy than one built around the landscape and expected seasonal birdlife.

Marwick Head: a Mainland seabird day

Marwick combines a substantial colony outlook with the practical advantage of remaining on Mainland. Use the established cliff route and official viewpoint, giving yourself time to get comfortable with the height and scale of the view. Binoculars help follow flights across the scene; a telescope can add detail for birds that remain farther away. There is no need to approach an edge to improve a photograph. Your best position is the safe public one where you can watch steadily.

The RSPB also describes winter waders on the shore at the Choin, making the area a different outing outside the main cliff season. Keep those visits distinct in your planning rather than expecting one route to deliver every interest. Our choice is to choose either a full comfortable cliff walk or a shorter shore-focused session according to weather and mobility. Leave the rest of the day open enough for a sheltered break or another public watch if conditions improve.

Cottascarth and responsible raptor watching

The Eddie Balfour hide is the legitimate place to settle into the Cottascarth view. Let your eyes move slowly across the landscape, alternating wide scans with time on any bird that appears. Our preference is to spend a useful uninterrupted session here rather than judge the reserve after a quick look. If a harrier flies out of sight, remain with the public outlook instead of following its direction over the ground.

Sensitive species need a careful approach to sharing as well as watching. Describe the pleasure of seeing a bird from the official hide, while keeping nests, territories and unadvertised resting places out of directions. Follow signs and give other visitors room at the windows. The approach and absence of some visitor facilities matter to the day, so read the reserve guide before setting out. Comfort and a realistic return plan help you watch with attention rather than constantly checking the time.

Hoy or Westray for a seabird outing?

RSPB Hoy is our choice when the walk and dramatic landscape are as important as the seabird watch. The reserve covers a varied setting of moorland and high cliffs, and its famous coastal scenery deserves a full, carefully judged day. Choose the public route you can comfortably manage within the available transport window. A view of the Old Man is part of a walking plan, not a quick ferry-side stop that can be squeezed into any connection.

RSPB Noup Cliffs on Westray suits a holiday in which another seabird coast is the priority. Treat the Noup Coastal Trail as its own outing and allow time for the island journey, transfer and return. Comparing Hoy with Westray is more useful than automatically planning both: one may fit the available sailings and your walking preferences much better. Keep the second as a possible future visit instead of sacrificing all weather flexibility to collect another island name.

When to stay on North Ronaldsay

North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory is a different kind of decision from a Mainland day trip. Its operator describes a changing mix of wetlands, shorebirds, passage seabirds and spring or autumn migrant landbirds, with a month-by-month account to help visitors choose a season. Our preference is to consider a stay when migration watching and learning the island’s rhythm are central to the holiday. Time in one place gives you a better chance to notice a change than an anxious rush between connections.

Contact the observatory about the visit you want and follow its current advice for accommodation, shared activities and access around the croft. Keep to public or permitted routes across the wider island and respect residents, livestock and working areas. A bird-observatory base does not make every field available to explore. Leave room for ordinary island watching as well as any news, and contribute observations through the appropriate daily or county reporting arrangements when invited.

How to plan Orkney ferries for birdwatching

Start with the operator’s route and date-specific timetable, then add the reserve approach and your return margin. Orkney Ferries lists different services for Hoy and the outer north isles, so the correct port and product are important. A passenger journey to one harbour cannot be treated as a vehicle arrival at another. Read the relevant guide’s complete travel chain before deciding whether a day trip is realistic for your party.

The operator recommends booking vehicles because unbooked passage cannot be guaranteed. Our planning choice is to confirm the outward and return transport before building the day around a long walk. Check service updates again close to travel and keep the booking information available away from a reliable signal. If the useful sailings do not give enough time ashore, choose a stay or a different outing. Rushing the return from a cliff path is a poor substitute for selecting the right day.

Build weather flexibility into an Orkney holiday

Typically, wind, visibility and the sea journey can matter as much as the bird calendar. Keep a Mainland alternative for an island day and a less exposed option for a cliff outing. A hide-led watch and a warm break may be a better use of poor conditions than trying to hold binoculars steady on a headland. The correct decision can be to shorten a route or wait for another day, even when you have travelled far to be there.

For an outer-island stay, leave a sensible margin between its return journey and an important onward connection. Confirm the operator’s current arrangements rather than assuming another sailing will rescue a missed or cancelled service. Our preference is fewer transfers with more time in the places you reach. The island landscape is enjoyable at a slower pace, and a flexible final day can prevent a memorable holiday ending with an avoidable transport scramble.

An Orkney birdwatching week that leaves room to enjoy it

The Orkney birding week is the starting itinerary for combining Mainland and selected island visits. Use it to compare the shape of the holiday with your actual travel dates and interests. Give Marwick and Cottascarth separate sessions, then choose an island day or stay that adds the experience you value most. Leave a return visit available rather than filling every remaining hour with another departure.

Our suggested emphasis is quality of watching: one proper colony session, one patient raptor landscape watch and one island experience with enough time ashore. A migration-focused visitor may reasonably give much more of the week to North Ronaldsay; a walker may choose a substantial Hoy day. Neither version needs to imitate the other. Write down the two experiences that matter before booking, then let the rest of the itinerary support them.

Where to stay and how to travel without a car

For a first Mainland-based holiday, choose accommodation around the journeys you actually intend to make, including the relevant ferry harbour. Compare the reserve and trip guides before deciding whether one base works. An outer-island stay is a deliberate change of rhythm and luggage planning. It can be worthwhile, but several single-night moves may leave too little time to settle into any public watching place.

Without a car, work through each connection separately: arrival on Orkney, the local journey to the reserve or pier, any island transfer and the return. A foot-passenger sailing does not by itself solve the journey to a remote coastal trail. Where a taxi or arranged collection is needed, settle that before departure. Our advice is to reduce the number of places and extend the sessions, allowing public transport and walking to become part of the outing rather than a sequence of tight deadlines.

What to bring and how to watch responsibly

Pack for exposed standing as well as the walk. Layers, waterproofs, appropriate footwear and a means of protecting lenses are useful even when the day begins gently. A telescope is valuable for distant seabirds or waterbirds, but should be something you can comfortably carry and secure in the wind. Binoculars remain the first choice for locating a flying bird. Give yourself permission to put the camera away and enjoy the full scene for part of each watch.

Stay on authorised routes, obey temporary closures and avoid pushing nesting birds ahead of you on open ground. Follow biosecurity and dog instructions wherever the operator gives them. Share views from public places while keeping sensitive locations private, and respect working farms and island residents throughout the journey. At the end of the week, keep notes of the habitats and behaviour you enjoyed. Orkney offers far more satisfaction as a place to understand than as a list to complete.

Trips and related reading

Sources and review

Reviewed 2026-10-19. Practical details remain in the linked reserve guides.

• RSPB Marwick Head public viewpoint and winter shorebirds
• RSPB Cottascarth official hide and raptor watching
• RSPB Hoy seasonal seabirds, habitats and public access
• RSPB Noup Cliffs current reserve guidance
• RSPB Noup Cliffs official Coastal Trail
• North Ronaldsay Bird Observatory month-by-month visitor season
• Orkney Ferries official route timetables and vehicle booking advice