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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.
Birdie Group - May 2017
by Tim Wright - 19:57 on 17 May 2017
Nine of us set off early for a day trip to the RSPB reserve at Forsinard. The weather was sunny and we all sat out on deck looking at the feeding Terns, Puffins and Guillemots flying by. We were met at Forsinard by two wardens, who gave us a conducted tour to the new viewing platform. It looks out over the Flow Country and mountains in the distance. They explained the plans for returning the peat bogs to their natural state and removing the conifer plantations that are none native and are changing the ecosystem. We saw some very tame Lizards basking in the sun and lots of marsh plants but the birds were in short supply. After lunch we went a short way along a 7 mile walk into the hills looking for more birds. We then drove to St John's Pool Hide by Dunnet. We arrived just in time as the heavens opened and the rain poured down. Luckily we found a profusion of birds with nesting Sandwich Terns as well as some hatched Black Headed Gulls to keep our attention over the next hour. There were plenty of ducks too including Shovelers, Gargany and Tufted and all in close proximity to the hide. We looked in at the Mey Loch hide but decided it was too far to walk to with the time we had left. We finished with a quick walk to view the Stacks of Duncansby and the familiar bird species nesting on the cliffs nearby. Then, back home again sitting out on deck, watching the passing seabirds. In total 33 species seen but what an interesting and informative day out for all involved.
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