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Natural Connections

Modern life in Scotland is increasingly busy. The connections our ancestors had with nature and the land are being lost. As leisure time shrinks, or is filled with hi-tech experiences, opportunities to experience nature become fewer. And yet it is possible to connect with nature on a day to day basis. All around us, the great web of life continues to hold its shape, and nature continues its eternal cycles. Keep looking, listening, smelling, touching - and keep experiencing natural connections.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Today dawned grey, overcast and very wet, but would quickly turn into a full and enjoyable day. The first visit of the day was to the Viking longship and longhouse across the bay from Haroldswick. Thereafter, a short walk uphill took as to the fell-field landscape of the Keen of Hamar reserve. The attraction here is rare arctic/alpine plants and, after a bit of searching (sometimes on hands and knees) a fair few were found. These included Edmunston's Chickweed,  Mountain Everlasting,  Frog Orchid and possible Hoary Whitlow Grass. However the highlight (appropriately enough, given the almost lunar landscape) was a single frond of the tiny fern, Moonwort. Also present in the area were Ringed Plover (possibly nesting locally) and Raven.
Heading for the ferry to Yell, a modest roadside water body held a most unusual occupant in the form of a female-type Long-tailed Duck. The ferry over was unremarkable except for at least 150 Greylag Geese grazing on the Isle of Linga.
Once on Yell, the decision to search down the east coast road proved a good one with a pod of around 50 White-sided Dolphins found feeding offshore just north of the Wick of Gossabrough.  The animals were highly active (leaping out of the water at times) and probably feeding on a shoal of fish. After a while, they moved off south. We followed them to the Wick of Gossabrough where we watched them for another half an hour. We (and they) then moved south again to the headland east of Burravoe and finally on to Burravoe itself. Some good birds seen along the way included a Great Northern Diver off Gossabrough, an Arctic Skua taking fish from Arctic Terns at Heoda Ness and a family of four Ravens over Burravoe Manor House.
The final visit of the day was to the Copister area where the highlight had been a summer-plumaged Dunlin feeding on the rocks, until it was eclipsed by really fantastic views of an Otter. The animal was first seen swimming in the kelp. It then climbed out of the water, lay down in the seaweed and fell asleep. It slept for a few minutes before it stirred, swam out to a large rock, then went for another nap. We tried to slip away while it slept but it woke up once more and headed back into the sea.

Returning to Baltasound, a chance sighting of a single Swallow led to a late evening walk to check for breeding evidence. Sure enough, six birds (including at least one adult and several juveniles) were seen feeding between the distillery and nearby telephone wires. The adult's alarm calls suggest that the juveniles were a fledged brood. Other birds encountered during the remainder of the walk through the fields west of Baltasound included drumming Snipe,  bubbling curlew and alarm-calling Oystercatcher, Redshank and Ringed Plover.

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