Orkney, you were outstanding!
What happened in June - part 1.
Well, Summer didn’t happen, that’s for sure! What a whirlwind of a month though. We were in Orkney at the beginning of June, then Clare was in Mull for a week co-leading a photography workshop with Robert Harvey from Natural World Photography. In between that we also went to see Taylor Swift at Murrayfield, which was without a doubt one of the best nights of our lives.
Let’s rewind back to the start of the month (well, to the end of May really) for our first trip to Orkney together. I (Clare) have been twice but never with Kate and it was an adventure we were both looking forward to a lot. Basing ourselves in Stromness, it was the perfect place for exploring the mainland and for our husbands, the golf course!
Whilst it might look warm, the blue skies and sunshine is very deceptive. If the multiple layers and hats don't give it away, we can confirm, it was not warm.
The main target was Short Eared Owls (Asio flammeus), which is the main reason I went to Orkney in the first place. We made a beeline for a location which proved successful in 2022 and were rewarded with a very obliging owl perched on a post by the side of the road who posed beautifully for pictures. We were joined by another photographer, which turned out to be Andrew Marshall. He was who we first went to Mull with and it was a wonderful surprise to see him again in such an unexpected place. As the owl flew off over the moors, it was lovely to have a wee catch up with Andrew.
There's an abundance of Brown Hares (Lepus europaeus) on the mainland and in some of the fields where we were watching owls. They were quite skittish and didn't pose nicely for photos, you only had to hope you could get a few shots before they set off at pace in the opposite direction.
Over the course of the week we continued to have some cracking encounters with owls. It was a foul morning on the moors and there was one hanging out in the heather, avoiding flying in the rain but quite relaxed. I love situations like this, where you know the animal is happy with you being there and it gives an opportunity to get creative with the shots. In this instance it was reducing the shutter speed to get some movement in the heavy rain. I saw this owl a few more times over the week in the same spot, so it clearly recovered from being a bit drookit (this is a Scottish word for drenched, or soaked). After all, if wildlife didn’t go out in the rain in Scotland, they wouldn’t go anywhere.
We didn’t have much luck with Puffins (Fratercula actica) with the Brough of Birsay being the main place on the mainland you can see them. There isn’t a huge population and they tend to come back around late evening and if the tide times don’t work, you can struggle to see them. To get there, you cross a causeway to reach the island which is only accessible at low tide and if you don’t watch your timing, you’ll need to call the coastguard or swim back. Whilst we were waiting on the causeway appearing, we were entertained by a group of people edging along as the tide got lower and lower, at the water's edge the whole time. They were clearly keen to get over to the small island, which is completely understandable. It's a great place to visit for wildlife, with an abundance of Fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) , some Razorbills (Alca torda), and a small population of Black Guillemots (Cepphus grylle), or Tysties if you go by the local name, there too.
Further along the coast, away from the Brough itself, there's also Arctic Terns (Sterna paradisaea) nesting on some small sea stacks. Having only experienced terns on seabird colonies, where you have to walk through their nesting territory to get anywhere, it was quite a treat to watch them without fear of being pecked in the head.
One of the things we love about Orkney is the food, more specifically the cakes. There’s many amazing tearooms, bakeries, and little cafes all over the place. They’re well worth visiting to sample some local food. We had a delicious lunch at Cafelolz (Kirkwall) my favourite triple cheese toastie at the Sheila Fleet Kirk Gallery and Cafe, and a vegan biscoff cake at the Birsay Tearoom, where we also saw a short eared owl. Sadly, there's no photos of these because we couldn't wait long enough to take pictures before tucking in.
We weren’t organised enough to get the ferry over to Hoy but Yesnaby Castle was a fine substitute. We spent some time hunting for the Scottish Primrose (Scotia primula) and thanks to another visitor, we managed to find the last remaining flower. It was tiny and you could absolutely step on it. It’s always rewarding when you finally find something after walking about staring at the ground for what feels like hours.
Visiting the coast at this time of year is good for the soul, the scenery is outstanding and the cliffs are covered in Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima), a pink flower that carpets the landscape as far as the eye can see.
Now, you might be wondering “that’s all well and good but did you see Orca” and the answer is YES! Well, I did. Kate and her husband were somewhere else on the island, my husband was charging the car, and I’d arrived back at the house just as the alert came through but minus any camera or binoculars. I hot footed it along to the Stromness campsite where I’d heard they were heading for and to my delight they appeared around the corner, whilst I shouted to no-one in particular “There they are!” As they got close the big ferry came through the channel and the orca moved a bit further out. I got some terrible footage on my mobile but the people on the ferry would’ve got a cracking view. Still though, an orca sighting in Scotland is never to be sniffed at!
The last owl encounter was a doozy, it was flying back and forth across the fields, right in front of the car. Thankfully, there was a big parking area so I could watch it without worrying about stopping in the wrong place. I saw a stone in the field and hoped the bird would land on it because I already had 3839 pictures of them on fence posts. The wildlife gods were working in my favour and the owl circled round before coming in to land on said stone. A perfect way to end an owl filled week.
What else did we do in Orkney? Well, we took in some of the more touristy things, like the Italian chapel and the Ring of Brodgar. Both of these are absolute musts when you visit Orkney. Both manmade structures built thousands of years apart but equally impressive in terms of the talent, skill, and thought process which went in to their construction.
I also spoke to some cows (this is not an unusual activity) and Kate met one of the very friendly Stromness cats.
You book these trips so far in advance, it feels like you're going to be waiting ages for it. Before you know it though, you're coming home and looking forward to your next adventure. Orkney, you are unbelieveably special. We can't wait to come back!
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