Due to the increasing fog
I took the boat off the island a day earlier than I was supposed to for my trip
down south; despite the visibility changing from poor to very poor it was a
productive trip on flat calm seas, the highlight was a subadult Pomarine Skua seen briefly flying past the boat while other birds included a
single Sooty Shearwater sat on the sea with a group of Auks, a single Manx
Shearwater, loads of Auks with many of the Guillemots having small chicks in
tow and 5 Porpoises (very scarce this year).
The following morning, I walked from Kirkwall for a
few hours NE along the Bay of Weyland where the highlights were brilliant views
of a Short-eared Owl along the coast and an amazing flock of 510 Curlews
feeding in fields at the back of Kirkwall (the biggest flock I’ve seen for
ages!) along with a Red-throated Diver, a Sparrowhawk and a dead Stoat.
Guillemots with chicks
Short-eared Owl
Stoat - an individual trying its best to help out the eradication programme a bit early!
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