It was mostly a day of paperwork yesterday and organising the Shetland Nature Festival events, but I thought I would share a few images with you. There's the view of the approach by road to Sumburgh Head.
It's a single track road with passing places, leading up to the main car park. Here you will find information about the reserve, lighthouse, how to identify various whales and dolphins that have been recorded here, and leaflet dispensers with a trail guide and 'Seabirds of Orkney and Shetland' leaflet which helps you identify the birds you may see. The leaflet also gives local names for the birds, such as Solan for gannet, and Tystie for black guillemot.
Now, it may be difficult to believe, but you can get fantastic up-close views of puffins from your car. I stopped to take that photo whilst driving up to the office. Sumburgh Head is one of the best and most accessible places in Britain to get up close views of puffins. This is particularly good for people who are less physically able to hike out to remote sea cliffs. I was really vexed to get a phone call from a lady from Wiltshire who had intended to come on one of our Puffin Evenings this week with her friends. Unfortunately, due to ill health of one of the party, the ladies are unable to travel to Shetland. I was rather looking forward to meeting them, having had some communication over the last few months. I do hope they reschedule for the future. But in the meantime, if anyone can advise me on an easily accessible puffin site that is nearer to Wiltshire than Shetland I would gladly pass on information.The third photo is the view west and north from the reserve.
As well as picking out the seabirds, you can see Sumburgh Airport, the wonderful award winning West Voe beach, my house, and the site where the Braer oil tanker ran ashore. The RSPB played a major role during that particular incident, such as advising on bird-related matters, co-ordinating beach searches and working with the media. I was a 16 year old schoolgirl at the time, but took a month off from my Highers studies to help with the clean-up operation. That experience played a role in where I am today, working for the RSPB at my special Sumburgh Head. It was an interesting and emotional time, that wild windy January in 1993. At that time, the main focus of safeguarding our sea was about never allowing an oil tanker to pollute our shores again. It was, in some ways, a simple and tangible experience that everyone could relate to - be it the vision of a shag or eider covered in oil, how the food chain would be affected, or the vile stench in the air that you could not escape. However, the matter of climate change and the associated effects on marine life is a far more complicated concept (which I won't go into here). It is so important that the RSPB continues to raise awareness of this, and try to explain it in a scientific yet accessible way for people to relate to.
It's also so very important that we each do our bit and act as best we can to combat climate change. Go on - you know you want to! Find out what you can do.