I really wasn't expecting to see very much when I took folk around on yesterday's "Birds for Beginners" walk on the Brodgar reserve. Not having been round for a while, I did a recce on Monday and saw far fewer birds than in previous weeks. It didn't help that the vegetation - crops and weeds - is so high now that it is easy for the oystercatchers and lapwings to hide. A sedge warbler singing in competition with the skylarks was a bonus but it wouldn't necessarily be performing for me when I brought folk along. So I resigned myself to brushing up on my plant life - at least all the marsh/bog-loving plants and flowers are putting on a superb show.
Yesterday started out quite wet but was drying up by the time the walk started. After pointing out meadowsweet, northern marsh orchids, flag iris, ragged robin and water mint on the boardwalk from the car park we crossed over to the reserve. There was no sign of a sedge warbler or the resident reed buntings and even the meadow pipits refused to put in an appearance. Explaining which birds are attracted to the reserve and why is always easier if you can point to that bird by way of illustration - it is after all "Birds for Beginners". However once we had passed the massive stone slabs, which make up the Ring of Brodger - the heart of Orkney's World Heritage Site - the smaller birds started popping out. We could hear the skylarks first and then saw meadow pipits swooping and then perching on the heather with insects or vegetation in beaks. Again, we could hear curlews calling from the next field but the tussocks of grass and the uneven terrain did a good job of hiding them.
Ever hopeful, we continued down the path to the edge of the Loch of Stenness - a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation which makes it doubly important and doubly protected. After pointing out black-headed gulls and common gulls in the distance, and the many round entrances to Orkney vole runs, we reached the loch edge in time to be hit by the shower we had watched coming towards us from the other side of the loch. It was at this point that our hope was rewarded. Swimming on the loch, close into the shore, looking just like a photo in a bird book was a Great Northern Diver in its sharp black and white summer plumage. What a treat. It seemed quite unbothered by us and carried on swimming alongside the loch shore, almost in company with us. Every so often it would dive and come up a surprising distance further on.
Things really picked up after that. A lapwing chick escaped being spotted by a Bonxie (Great Skua) flying overhead and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Just before the Bonxie appeared, the adult lapwing was posing for us on the stones at the shore's edge. A bit further on, a female eider duck was shepherding her brood of four ducklings along the shoreline. And for the last stretch of loch edge, a small flock of linnets was fluttering in and out of the tall grasses. Every so often a male perched on the fence to give us a view of his crimson-streaked breast. After enjoying views of a short-eared owl perched on a post by the side of the road, we turned into the last field before arriving back at the Ring. Halfway through, we were privileged to watch a male skylark on a close-by post singing his heart out.
A rewarding walk with much more to see than I was expecting. There are still another two walks to go - on the 17th and 24th July - so if you want to join me, ring the office (01856 850176) to book a place. I can't promise any guaranteed sightings but it should be good fun.