Waulkmill Bay

The sun was actually shining this morning, so we set off early to Waulkmill Bay, where Pete had been asked to assess the fauna of some ancient aspens growing on the cliffs. Despite their age they were only a couple of metres in height, and had very few leaves, thanks to the harsh conditions. Not surprisingly they didn't have any specifically associated insects!

Further along the cliffs we found a much more interesting area of soft rock and seepages. This little corner was sheltered from the prevailing north-westerly wind, and was catching the full force of the sun. For the first and only time in Orkney we actually felt hot! There were meadow browns and common blues fluttering around, and the seepage had a wide range of plants including grass-of-Parnassus, northern marsh-orchid and butterwort. The adjacent cliff had a fine stand of stone bramble.

The tide had been coming in all morning, so just before lunch we retreated from the beach to go and meet the warden of the nearby Hobbister RSPB reserve. This is a large area of peatland, part of which is used as the extraction site for the Highland Park Distillery at Kirkwall. In the past this has caused damage to the peat surface, but restoration is underway, and Pete was asked to give an opinion on its success for invertebrates.

Then it was back to the bay where I took advantage of the warm weather to have a snooze in the sun while Pete surveyed the saltmarsh behind the bay. I actually felt myself starting to relax and unwind, and just enjoyed watching the sea and the birds, most noticeable of which were the oystercatchers. Gradually the sky began to cloud over and the wind picked up, so we decided to retreat to the cottage.

After a welcome cup of tea we popped down to Brodgar again, and ticked off a large colony of holy-grass, a northern species that I hadn't seen before - not as spectacular as the Scottish primrose though!