Handa Island Seabirds
Handa Island off the northwest Sutherland coast near Scourie is one of the finest seabird colonies in Britain, a small uninhabited island accessible by ferry from Tarbet whose combination of the great sandstone cliffs on its northern and western faces and the extraordinary concentration of breeding seabirds including approximately 200,000 individuals of various species creates one of the most impressive wildlife watching experiences available in Scotland. The Scottish Wildlife Trust manages the island as a wildlife reserve.
The great stack of Handa, a detached column of Torridonian sandstone separated from the island's northern cliff by a narrow channel, supports one of the densest concentrations of breeding guillemots in Britain, with approximately 100,000 birds occupying every available ledge in a mass of activity, noise and movement that is one of the most impressive wildlife spectacles in the British Isles. Razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars, great skuas and puffins also breed on the island in considerable numbers.
The walk around the island perimeter, a circuit of approximately six kilometres, provides access to all sections of the cliff colony and includes the most dramatic viewpoints over the stack from the cliff edge above. The combination of the stack scenery, the bird numbers and the completely unspoiled island landscape of heather moorland, lochs and Torridonian sandstone geology creates a wildlife island experience of exceptional quality that rewards the effort of the ferry crossing.