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Walking Group One 25th April 2024
Five hardy souls collected today at Happy Valley for the first Hill Walk of the year .The temperature was cool with a North Easterly wind blowing and a hint of rain on arrival.
Off we set heading towards Russadale Quarry, spotting a Buzzard on the way.Turning into the footpath we remained sheltered from the wind all the way to the top of the hill.
The sun was out at the Quarry and a Greenshank was feeding at the edge of the Lochan. Then it was up the Peat road to the summit with spectacular views across Stenness and Harray Lochs, plus a view of the Closed Road beyond the Watch Stone. On the other side we looked over the Flow and down towards the Oil Platform and South Ronaldsay
Then it was back down after a stop for a snack and finally a walk around Happy Valley itself. The Daffodils planted by James and others were looking lovely and the Bluebells are days away from opening. Then it was on to a well deserved lunch at the Pier Cafe, having walked 4 miles and gone up 800 feet (and down again )
The next walk will be on Friday 24th May and hopefully more hills and views.
Keep moving.
U3A Birdie Group - May 2018
by Liz Lea - 10:38 on 02 June 2018
On Wednesday 16 May eleven birders followed Tim Wright out along Northside's banks, starting at the Brough of Birsay carpark. It was a bright,sunny, breezy and thoroughly enjoyable morning. There were hirundines, skylarks, meadow pipits, wheatear and pied wagtails inland and a single glaucous gull,gannets and little parties of both auks and kittiwakes out to sea. On the stacks at Skipi Geo the arctic terns were busy "wenching", as one of our party described it - trying to catch fish to pass to their chosen partners in pair-bonding rituals. The choppy seas were proving a challenge but in the bright sunlight the wheeling, screeching cloud of birds made a fine spectacle.
At Whitaloo Point the party was able to look along the dark cliffs towards Costa Head and directly across the geo spy razorbills and puffins. In the geo itself rock doves and fulmars were well settled in.
Returning along the road through Northside village we were entertained by starlings and swallows disappearing into cracks in walls and barns and, once out on the coast again, saw sand martins swooping up to holes in the sandy cliffs.
After a short stop at the carpark picnic nousts, several folk walked towards the Palace to see more sand martins at their nest holes before going on to lunch at the Orkney Brewery, while others had to beetle back home to attend to afternoon commitments.
Around 30 species were seen. Many thanks to Tim and to the telescope he so kindly lugged round for us. It makes even the common species like eider or ring plover look amazing - as indeed they are.
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