Natural History

 

 

Both Common and Grey seals are found in large numbers around the island and being creatures blessed with a naturally inquisitive nature may follow you on your walk around the shoreline. The Common seals give birth in Ekkars, Bennie and Hunns geos during June and July, with the Grey seals pupping around October. During the summer there are frequent sightings of Harbour porpoises and Killer Whales. The elusive otter frequents many of the voes and has been breeding successfully for many years in Papa Stour.

 

There is a wide variety of wild flowers and lichens on both the open scattald and cultivated area of the township. On the heath the plants are exposed to salt laden winds and so creep close to the earth and are miniaturised. They include Ling, Thyme, Mountain Everlasting, Spring Squill, Sea Plantain and many others. The late David Spence, botanist and author, found over 60 different plants on an afternoons walk including a Willow ‘tree’ only one and a half inches high. In contrast the croft land is sprinkled with red and white Clover, Sorrel, Eyebright and wild orchids. Along the cliffs there are Pinks, Campion and Birdsfoot Trefoil.

 

With the removal of the topsoil from the scattald an ideal environment has been created for the ground nesting birds such as Ringed plovers, the Great and Artic Skuas and Artic Terns. In recent years many of these birds have experienced difficulties in rearing their young due to scarcity of food and possible disturbance by visitors during the breeding season.

 

Papa Stour has 18 species of breeding sea birds including Fulmars, Shags, Guillemots, Razorbills, and Puffins. In the fields are to be seen and heard Skylarks, Lapwings, Curlew and Wheatears.

 

The Papa Stour coast supports some of the richest marine communities in the United Kingdom, with a range of seaweeds and animals adapted to the strong wave and tidal action. In the caves and voes other plants and animals are able to survive in the more sheltered conditions and these communities are again among the finest in the U.K.

 

 

Special Designation

 

The importance of Papa Stour for conservation and scientific interests is recognised by 3 overlapping designations. First, the spectacular coastal region of Papa Stour is designated as a Special Area of Conservation, to protect and enhance the reef and sea cave habitats that have formed there. Second, birds for whom Papa Stour represents important breeding grounds are protected by the Special Protection Area (SPA). Third, the designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) serves to further protect a suite of important features, including breeding birds, coastal and maritime habitats, geomorphological features and paleontological specimens.

 

Papa Stour SPA

 

The European designation of SPA, covering 569 hectares on the island, was awarded to Papa Stour as it regularly supports large breeding populations of Arctic terns and ringed plovers. In the breeding season there is often approximately 1,000 pairs of Arctic tern, representing more than 2% of the British population. This is the largest breeding colony of tirricks in Shetland. With up to 89 pairs of ringed plovers, Papa Stour has the highest density in Britain, and represents nearly 1% of the breeding European population.

 

Although they are not key species for the conservation status of the island, Papa Stour also has significant breeding populations of many other bird species. These include fulmar, shag, guillemot, razorbill, black guillemot, great black-backed gull and kittiwake. In all 15 seabird species have bred in recent years – as wide a variety as can be found at any single British location.

 

Papa Stour Marine SAC

 

The European designation of SAC is applied to an area of over 2,000 hectares, from subtidal areas to the high tide line of Papa Stour and the Sandness coast. This area is primarily conserved for its fantastic reef and sea cave habitats.

           

            Reefs

 

The complexity and variability of the shoreline around Papa Stour provides reefs that supports fantastic species richness and diversity. The tidally scoured Sound of Papa, the sheltered voes, the exposed skerries, rockpools and even shipwrecks, are all inviting to different kinds of marine plants and animals. Various fish, lobsters, crabs, gelatinous sea squirts, anemones, sponges and many more can be found in abundance. Killer whales have also been sighted in the summer months, but marine mammals more regularly seen around Papa Stour include seals (common and grey), harbour porpoises and otters, all of whom feed on fish and shellfish living on the reefs.

 

            Sea caves

 

Papa Stour has a selection of submerged and partly-submerged sea caves, carved by the erosive forces to which Papa Stour is so exposed. The island is renowned for possessing some of Britain’s best sea caves, penetrating deep into the rock and providing habitat for a fascinating array of organisms. Red, brown and coralline seaweeds make up the basis of these habitats at cave entrances, giving way to encrusting animal communities as the light diminishes further into the cave. Limpets, snails, crustaceans and other fauna forage throughout the caves, occasionally accompanied by recreational divers marvelling at their underwater realm.

 

Papa Stour SSSI

 

An SSSI is a national designation, protecting the best examples of natural features across the country. SSSI’s can be for plants, animals or habitats, their rocks or landforms, or a combination of such natural features. The Papa Stour SSSI is 629 hectares, covering the northern and western parts of the island and the entire coastal fringe.

 

The predominant vegetation and the main habitat of terrestrial conservation importance is the maritime lichen-rich heath. Dominated by ling (Calluna vulgaris), this heath is also abundant with thyme, mountain everlasting, spring squill, sea plantain, heath spotted orchids and woolly hair moss.

 

As for the SPA, this designation protects the important populations of Arctic tern and ringed plover. The SSSI, however, also recognises the nationally important population of Arctic Skua that breed on Papa Stour (previously up to 3% of the British total).

 

Papa Stour is also recognised for its coastal geomorphology.  The coast comprises igneous rocks of Old Red Sandstone. Its landforms includes cliffs, caves, geos, stacks, blowholes, storm beaches, wave-stripped bedrock and some of the best subterranean caves in Britain. Overall, the assemblage of rocky coast landforms on Papa Stour is one of the best of its kind in Britain. Paleontological materials are also protected by the SSSI, with beds of fish remains providing great research potential.