St Kilda World Heritage Site NTS

In summer the slopes of St Kilda turn pink with campion and thrift

St Kilda is home to the largest colony of northern gannets in the world.

This eider duck made her nest inside one of the many cleits

Soay sheep enjoy the rich grass of a St Kilda summer

Low cloud makes the landscape magical but can also obscure the cliff edges

What's behind today's advent window? A lovely view of the Bay from behind the village

It's that time of year again! Welcome to St Kilda World Heritage Site advent calendar. We'll share an image of this amazing site every day until Christmas.

Whilst giving a talk about #stkilda to the local #WI group in north Wales, Janet Crummy produced a mailboat that she’d found on Lewis when she was living there in 1975! 10 were sent by the Ranger Hugh Brown, 2 were found on Lewis and 4 found in Norway. @n-t-s.bsky.social #stkildaclub

Great to see our #NTSSeabirds and marine life well represented at #EdinburghZoo 's #GiantLanterns exhibition last night 🙂
Thanks to #StKildaClub for the invitation to speak at their annual reunion.
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@edinburghzoo.bsky.social

Delighted to receive this late season record of a 1cy Ring-necked Duck on #StKilda yesterday from @soaysheep.bsky.social researcher Xavier Bal. A 2nd island record after the first in 2000!
Thanks for this fab 📷 @barnardlucy.bsky.social 🙂
@birdguides.bsky.social
@hebridesbirds.bsky.social

#landscape, #31daysofgraves. The small graveyard on the remote St Kilda archipelago now only echoes to the sounds of birds and bleats of sheep

We miss these views over winter! That's the last of the
@n-t-s.bsky.social #StKilda team off the island now, after a fabulous last couple of days birding to cap off an excellent autumn and an excellent season. Thanks to all that enjoyed it with us and helped make 2025 a special year! 🙏

A cruise ship made the most of this fine calm autumn weather to make a late season visit to #StKilda yesterday. Grateful to them for their understanding as I was running around in search of that wagtail 😅 🙏

Two firsts for #StKilda in one day is pretty special for a last day on island! A Cattle Egret flew over as the wagtail was being searched for, landed briefly, then appeared to head straight back out of Village Bay!
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@birdguides.bsky.social

Eastern Yellow Wagtail on St Kilda today! Sound recording on a phone isn't easy, but the bird had a short raspy call, not dissimilar to a Citrine Wag.
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@birdguides.bsky.social

The rarest bird of the day was this Curlew Sandpiper. There have been lots in the country this year, but this is just the 3rd #StKilda record, and the first since 1993! Frustratingly flighty with its Ringed Plover companions...
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@birdguides.bsky.social

7 species added to the #StKilda yearlist today, including a least 90 Fieldfare, 1 Song and 2 Mistle Thrush, Water Rail, Reed Warbler and Grey Wagtail.
@hebridesbirds.bsky.social

A fantastic day's #birding today on #StKilda, one of the highlights being a significant arrival of Jack Snipe- 21 counted, but could've been more. They were popping up everywhere!
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@birdguides.bsky.social

A flurry of 'common' migrants today, including a Robin (first since early April), 4 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff (first of the autumn!) as well as a Chaffinch yesterday (new for year). Our Tree Pipit is still showing very well, and the Starlings are looking splendid!
@hebridesbirds.bsky.social

Our two most common buntings were on Hirta yesterday, with a single Lapland on the hill and a flock of 9 Snow down in the village.
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@birdguides.bsky.social

A 1st winter Iceland Gull was in among the seals on the rocks at Dùn today. Always nice to see those white wings 🙂
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@birdguides.bsky.social

Presumably the same Corncrake that we found a few days ago is still scurrying around near the cemetery on #StKilda.
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@hebridesbirds.bsky.social

The first pulse of Redwing are back on #StKilda, with 50+ flitting between cottages, cleitean and dykes over the last few days.

Delighted that our visiting European White-fronted Goose from Netherlands has found some Pink-footed friends to graze with in the Village over the last couple of days.

Our second Pectoral Sandpiper of season was much more obliging than the first, even coming to the helipad to say farewell to Will after another great autumn with him here!
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@hebridesbirds.bsky.social

This collar-ringed European White-fronted Goose (T7Z) was ringed in Netherlands in Nov 2024 and had previously been reported at 2 other sites in Netherlands before turning up on #SKilda today. Reported to cr-birding.org. Incredible what we can learn about birds' movements from ringing projects!

This makes you wonder how many times we actually miss Short-eared Owls on the scree slope on Conachair. There were two tucked away in there today.
@hebridesbirds.bsky.social

This morning's Corncrake was eclipsed by the Brown Shrike today, but they're always a smart bird to see out here. Pretty good start to October!
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@hebridesbirds.bsky.social

Thanks Bruce! Yeah, here's hoping for a few goodies all round this weekend 🤞