Loch of Spiggie is a beautiful place to visit at any time of year. However, at this time of year it is worth going just to listen to the birds of the loch.
I would like to share the sounds with you here, but can't quite do that. When I was a bairn, Scratch & Sniff stickers had just been invented (do they still exist?). I wonder if in these hi-tech days, someone will invent Scratch & Listen photos. For now though, look at my (rather rubbishy!) picture from beside the boatshed and imagine you can hear the whoop whoops of the swans, whistles of the wigeon and raucous quacking of the mallards (or check out each bird on the RSPB website and listen to recordings there). If you live in Shetland, it is best to visit Spiggie on a calm day to get the best sounds.
Spiggie Loch was once a voe (like a mini-fjord) but became seperated from the sea by the formation of sand dunes. It is now Shetland's largest eutrophic loch and an important place for passage and wintering wildfowl. The whooper swans stop off to "refuel" on their southward journey from Iceland. I particularly like seeing this years young swans (they are grey, compared to the bright white of adults) and imagining what there life has been like so far. The swans are most easily experienced at the north end of the loch (which is handy for as it is close to the road) where they feed on aquatic plants, including stonewort and pondweed (Chara aspera and Potamogeton filiformis in case you were wondering).
My BIG news for the weekend was that a great tit appeared in my garden - an unusual bird in Shetland. I was so excited at spotting it, my heart started thumping and I let out a little whoop too. What a beauty.
Thanks for reading and I hope you are having lots of heart-racing whoop-enducing wild moments this autumn :)
Cheers eenoo from 60N