Northern Highlights

For the inhabitants of Shetland, colder months may bring fewer human visitors, but wildlife abounds all year-round in the most northerly point of the British Isles.

- Sally Husband

Shetland out of season is something of a well-kept secret. It’s true that the weather at this time of year can be wild, but there are also days of intense calm, when the surface of the sea is so still that it’s easy to locate the pod of ‘neesicks’ (harbour porpoises) that visit the sheltered voe below my house in the west of Shetland’s Mainland. I see adult ‘draatsi’ (otters) in the same voe all year-round, but on calm winter days I’m on the lookout for young cubs venturing into the sea.

Shetland has one of the densest populations of otters in Europe. In these islands, otter cubs are usually born in late summer and emerge from the natal holt in autumn. By winter, it’s common to see a mother otter and her cubs fishing in a family group. Otter activity is also condensed by the shorter daylight hours, so winter in Shetland can be an exceptional time of year to watch these semi-aquatic mammals.

Photographer and wildlife guide Brydon Thomason grew up in the island of Fetlar, with snowy owls on the hills, red-necked phalaropes in the marshes, and otters along the coast. He now lives with his family in Unst and, together with a collaborating team of local naturalists, leads wildlife and photography tours. Brydon’s work encompasses all the wildlife that can be seen in Shetland, but his interest in otters began in childhood. He has studied this species for more than 30 years, in all seasons and all weathers.