Orkney Odyssey: Autumn Wildlife and Ancient Landscapes

by Craig Round

Our recent Orkney Odyssey was full of beautiful scenery, great birding and wildlife, along with some awesome prehistoric sites. During the week, as well as exploring Mainland Orkney and South Ronaldsay, we visited the small island of Egilsay, the wonderful seabird cliffs of Noup Head on Westray and the Brough of Birsay.

Orkney is famous for its prehistoric sites and we explored the 5,000-year-old burial tombs of Unstan, Maeshowe and the Tomb of the Eagles. The latter involved lying on a trolley and pulling yourself along the length of the entrance passage to get inside. Great fun!

We also visited the spellbinding Neolithic sites of the huge Standing Stones of Stenness and Ring of Brodgar, as well as the settlements of Barnhouse and Skara Brae.

There was some great birding throughout the week, with good views of the many waders passing through the islands on their autumn migration. These included Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits and Ruff amongst large flocks of Golden Plover, Lapwing, Oystercatchers and Curlew.

The sandy beaches were busy too, with flocks of Sanderling, Dunlin, Redshank and Turnstone. When we weren’t watching the waders, we did a little beachcombing, finding Northern Cowrie shells, or ‘Groatie Buckies’ as they’re also known, and some enormous egg cases from the rare Flapper Skate!

Hen Harriers were seen daily, with multiple birds on most days. We had some fantastic sightings of birds hunting, including two stunning, ghostly-grey male Hen Harriers amongst the many ‘ring-tailed’ juveniles and females.

A wonderful week combining the wildlife, landscapes and extraordinary history that make Orkney such a special place.

If you would like to join our next Orkney Odyssey trip, you’ll find further information and bookings here. Please email us or phone 01479 812498 if you have any queries.