When the weather is not right for
photography less important things need to happen, like the shopping for food or
the use of free wifi in community cafes, this leaves your diary clear for when
the sun shines. Here on The Shetlands
the weather can change totally in less than an hour and this coupled with news
of wildlife sightings can force an immediate reaction. This morning we could see
the clouds starting to clear and we were just about to move when we got a tip
off that Orcas may be in the area, so we dropped everything and charged down
the coast trying to get one step ahead. We found a beautifully named headland
called the Scult of Laward, a rocky outcrop just north of Sumburgh lighthouse
that we had to ourselves and that gave us a view right up the coast past Mousa
towards Noss. These islands had been mentioned as the latest possible sightings.
This place was home to Arctic Terns, Eider Ducks, Oyster Catchers, Turnstone
and a couple of Grey Seals so watching the seas was never going to be boring.
Now the problem with relying on previous
sightings is that wildlife is, by and large, unpredictable. This seems doubly
so for cetaceans but all you can do is keep your fingers crossed. Eventually
patience paid off and three black fins broke the surface and headed straight
into our bay, circled around the headland close to the shore and us. Being able to watch these incredible creatures
at such close quarters was amazing and another reason for us making the journey
north. It turned out that there were at least four Orca and they swam around
the headland giving us superb views, views that in my opinion just can’t be
beaten by any other animal.
All too soon though they had disappeared from sight, leaving us with the dilema of whether to guess again and head off west or to leave them and move on.
Well of course we didn't leave them, well not intentionally! A quick drive around to another bay, to the west, gave us stunning views of the Sumburgh Lighthouse but alas no more Orca.
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