A twelve hour car journey, broken by croissants warmed on the engine, and then coffee by a river watching dippers: that was the introduction to Thursday night’s wildlife talk “Discovering Scotland’s Western and Northern Isles” by Nick Martin.
The journey took us initially to Skye, followed by South Uist, Benbecula, North Uist, Harris, Lewis and finally the Shetland Isles. Supported by some wonderful images, Nick brought the different landscapes alive – the brooding Black Cuillin mountains; lochs, lochans and tarns; unbroken expanses of moorland dotted with crofter cottages, occupied and derelict, and tractors abandoned in the field where they broke down for the last time; the glorious machair, bursting with all manner of wildflowers, including orchids, and the many bays and beaches, some of which would not look out of place on a tropical island.
These all formed the background against which Nick described the abundant wildlife. Seals and otters all featured, but it was the range of birds that was so striking: smaller birds like twite, corn bunting, stonechat, meadow pipit and skylark, waders such as ringed plover, redshank, oystercatcher and curlew, seabirds that included puffin, guillemot and storm petrel, whooper swans, black- and red-throated divers, terns and fulmars, and predators including bonxies, merlin and white-tailed eagle. All were beautifully illustrated with Nick’s photos, many taken using his car as a mobile hide. The most memorable sequence of images was, perhaps, a white-tailed eagle on Skye, hunting alongside the boat, taking a mackerel and the herring gull that originally caught it – a different version of ‘surf and turf’ perhaps?
Thanks again Nick for a wonderful talk.
Join us for our next Wildlife Talk on Thursday 3rd March: “Kirtlington’s Hedgehog Superhighway” when Stephen Powles will describe how his brother, Chris, inspired the villagers of Kirtlington to take an interest in their hedgehogs and how they went on to create a “Hedgehog Superhighway” of interconnected gardens.
The talk starts at 7pm, is online via ZOOM and costs £3 per device (including booking fee). Please visit http://www.southnottswildlife.org.uk/content/?page_id=234 for more info and how to book.