Hiyi Shetland Group. As I type this blog, the wind is absolutely howling outside. It took a bit of strength just to open the car door. I'm glad that yesterday was a lot calmer as we had our monthly Shetland RSPB Wildlife Explorer Group meeting.
With fellow volunteers Sharon and Sarah, we headed west (stopping for good nosh and an art fix at the Bonhoga) to the lovely community of Aith, situated at the head of the sheltered Aith Voe. We'd hired the Community Room in the Leisure Centre, and (being fans of alliteration) called the day "Mad March Mammals" so to discover more about the land mammals which occur in Shetland.
Due to the Ice Age, all Shetland land mammals are introduced by people, by accident or on purpose. We had a chat about the mammals of Shetland and had a giggle at Sharons' quiz "Who Dung That?" which you can imagine. We decided to go down to the shore, to collect some beach stones to do some arty stuff with and see what wildlife we could find. A local brother and sister led the way for the group, who had come from all over the isles.
Seashores are excellent places to explore with children. Straight away the youngsters and their adults were discovering what life was in amongst seaweed, the burn and under rocks. Discoveries included butterfish, some kind of eel-type fish (maybe, as a parent suggested, a young conger eel), dahlia anemones, sea pen casts, and massive mussels. One boy even found a whale bone! Time flew by, so all living things were retuned to the shore and we returned to the Centre to make mammal art using stones, paints, pipe cleaners, sea shells and the all important googly eyes.
Sharon pointed out that Aith was about the only place in Shetland she's been and not seen a rabbit. In fact, the only kind of mammal we saw was of the woolly variety. However, a good time was had by all. One of the most rewarding thing for us volunteers was seeing the children, dressed in wellies, waterproofs and warm hats, make new pals. What more can you want from a Wildlife Explorer day on a Shetland Sunday afternoon?