Today we sailed with Pentland Ferries from Gills Bay on the mainland to St. Margaret's Hope on Orkney. An occasionally bouncy but pleasant enough hour and fifteen minutes crossing and thankfully it remained dry with good spells of sunshine.
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| Black Guillemot |
On the sea several
Black Guillemots around the harbour, at least 20
Puffins, and many
Common Guillemots and
Razorbill. At one time we watched two
Great Skuas, the pirates of the sea harassing a
Gannet, obviously trying to steal a free meal.
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| Fulmar flying alongside. |
Plenty of
Kittiwakes enjoying the stiff breeze and often we'd be joined by the odd
Fulmar flying alongside the ship. Shortly after disembarking, we stopped briefly at Echna Loch and were amazed to find at least 100
Long-tailed Ducks. Also of note before we reached our accommodation at Stromness we watched a
Merlin flying low over the fields.
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| Puffins |
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| One of the two Great Skuas seen today harassing a Gannet. |
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| A small section of the Long-tailed Ducks on Echna Loch today. |
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| Highly cropped image of Long-tailed Ducks |
