Thousands of puffins, fulmars, guillemots, kittiwakes and razorbills would gather on these rocks every spring as they fed their screeching chicks.
Or at least they used to.
For the last few years, Sumburgh Head on the southern tip of mainland Shetland – one of Britain’s biggest seabird colonies – has been eerily quiet.
While puffins have long suffered from overfishing and the impact of ocean plastic, they are now a symbol of the climate crisis.
As the North Sea heats up, it is disrupting seabirds’ food chains, resulting in their numbers crashing. Extreme storms are also playing a big part.
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Helen Moncrieff, manager of RSPB Scotland’s office in Shetland, said: “It is hard to remain optimistic when living through a biodiversity crisis and climate crisis, witnessing the struggles of seabirds.”
In 2000, there were more than 33,000 puffins on the island in early spring. That figure dropped to 570 in 2018.
Kittiwakes have also plummeted from more than 55,000 in 1981 to 5,000 in 2011.
It is understood numbers have declined even further in the past few years.
Helen said: “We need governments to commit to conservation actions that will maximise the resilience of seabird populations.”
It is a similar tale on Rathlin Island, off Co Antrim in Northern Ireland.
Puffin numbers have plummeted from 2,400 pairs in the late 1980s to 700 pairs in 2011.
Early indications from a count carried out this year suggest the decline has continued at a similar rate.
A report by Birdwatch Ireland and RSPB NI found 54 of the 211 species studied in the survey are on the red list.
Global warming is also threatening some of Britain’s most treasured wildlife including hedgehogs, dormice and butterflies.
This year, a review by the Climate Change Committee warned many of our plants and animals will be wiped out by the end of the century if temperatures continue to rise.
Habitat loss, agriculture and pollution have already hit wildlife hard.
On the moors and hills, 75% of species will be under threat by 2100 and just under a third of those at coasts are in danger.
In woodlands, 45% of species are at risk while the figure for wetlands is 40%.
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Bluebells and daffodils could become rarer as they bloom out of sync with spring.
Bumblebees are also at risk while hares in the Scottish Highlands are keeping their white coats too long as snow cover falls, leaving them vulnerable to predators.
WWF chief Tanya Steele said world leaders must seize the chance at climate summit Cop26 in Glasgow in November to cut harmful greenhouse emissions.
She added: “If we are to secure a future for some of our most iconic species and habitats, and indeed ourselves, then 2021 must be a turning point.”
