Hermaness was declared a National Nature Reserve in 1955 by the Nature Conservancy, and it is run as a nature reserve to this day by the Conservancy's successor in Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).
SNH have a visitor centre in the old Muckle Flugga Shore Station at Burrafirth and they employ a seasonal warden for the reserve. Contact the warden at (01957) 711278 or SNH at their Shetland office in Lerwick (01595) 693345. Two other visitor centres on Unst are the Boat Haven and the Heritage Centre at Haroldswick.
Although it is one of the most northerly points in Britain, with views of the most northerly lighthouse at Muckle Flugga and Out Stack, Hermaness is most famous as a seabird colony.
Possibly over 100,000 pairs of seabirds of 13 species breed on the reserve. The most popular with visitors are the 25,000 + pairs of Puffins (Shetland name: Tammie Norie), which are so tame that the careful visitor can get within a few inches of them. Noisier and smellier than the Puffins are the 10,000 pairs of Gannets (Shetland name: Solan Goose).
One of the most important breeding species on the reserve is the Great Skua (Shetland name: Bonxie or, on Unst, Skooie). Although only about 900 pairs breed the world population is only about 15,000 pairs, with about one third in Shetland. The Skooie has been protected on Hermaness since 1871 when the Edmondston family employed a watcher to protect the five pairs present. For more information on birds in Shetland see the pages of the Shetland Bird Club.
One of the most famous birds on Hermaness is Albert, the Black-browed Albatross, which has been sitting on a lonely ledge amongst the Gannets almost every year since 1972. More details on Albert can be found on his own Zetnet page.
The Hermaness peninsula is covered in blanket bog, a very rare habitat in world terms with Britain having a hugely important share. Blanket bog consists of a thick layer of waterlogged peat with vegetation dominated by Heather and Crowberry. More exotic plants include the insectivorous plants Butterwort and Sundew which both supplement their nutrition from nutrient-poor soil by trapping small insects on their sticky leaves. Large numbers of orchids grow in Unst, the pale pink Heath Spotted Orchid on the moors and the rich purple-red Northern Marsh Orchid around the crofts and houses. More information on plants can be found on the pages on the Keen of Hamar.
The lucky observer may be rewarded with the sight of Killer Whales or other cetaceans (whales or dolphins) passing Hermaness, with sightings around Unst annually in recent years. More on cetaceans in Shetland can be found on the Shetland Cetacean Group's pages. Otters are also common around Unst, with Belmont an especially favoured locality. Unst's insects attract much attention as well, with many showing distinct melanic (dark) forms, often restricted to Shetland. For more information see the Shetland Entomological Group pages.