Monthly Report, August 2023

Another 31 Days of Shetland

Anyone who watches the stream of photographs I share - on Instagram, Threads, X, Facebook and Flickr - could have made two observations over the last month, firstly "He seems to spend a lot of time on Quendale Beach" and secondly "There are a lot of photogenic locations at the south end of Shetland".

But second things first.  Having had a very auk-centric July (which meant a lot of time spent at Sumburgh Head), I decided that I needed to ring the changes for August, and try and take photographs at 31 different places during the 31 days of August.

And Quendale Beach? Q Beach is the closest beach to the house, about 700 metres down a farm track from doorstep to sand.  And this summer I've got into the habit of walking to (and along) the beach pretty much every morning (30/31 in August) and sometimes later in the day too. At low tide and at high tide. In fair weather and in less fair weather too.

By the Numbers

Reporting Days: 31

Location: Shetland

Distance Walked: 388 km

Distance Driven: 915 km

Distance Rowed: 30 km

Photographs Taken: Thousands

Cameras Trashed: 1

31 Locations

Brough Head, The Castle, Lerwick, Quendale Beach, Fitful Head, Scat Ness, Sumburgh Head, Broken Brough, Gulberwick, Grutness, Bight of Laward, Garths Ness, Scord Beach, Hoswick, St Ninian's, Scalloway, Boddam, Scousburgh Sands, Toab, Compass Head, Quendale Mill, Broch of Burland, Helli Ness, Beach of Mail, West Voe of Sumburgh, Jarlshof, Horse Island, 60N, Sandsayre Pier, Meal Beach & Corston.

Sumburgh Head

Lerwick Harbour

Quendale Mill

Broken Brough

Garths Ness

Helli Ness

60N

Sandsayre Pier

Quendale Beach

Where there are usually gentle waves, blue skies and no people (but not always)

10th August

12th August

13th August

21st August

25th August

31st August

Camera Juggling

I've had a good run for my money.  I've been carrying digital cameras since 2004 (and analog ones for years before that), and this month I finally bounced one.  All I can say is, always check that your camera bag is properly done up before hoisting it onto your shoulder..

Next month

Current plan is to spend a few more weeks on the beaches and headlands of Shetland, before heading south by car, boat, bus and trains.

Monthly Report, July 2023

Totally Shetland. 

There's always an element of satisfaction when I get to the end of the month and I can report that's been an entirely Shetland month, and in this case a month spent almost entirely at the south end of Shetland watching auks!

By the Numbers

Reporting Days: 31

Location: Shetland

Distance Walked: 343 km (mostly on the beaches)

Distance Driven: 776 km (mostly shopping trips to Lerwick)

Distance Rowed: 156 km (entirely stationary)

Photographs Taken: Many thousands, mostly auks

Puffins 

July is peak puffin at Sumburgh Head - the breeding birds are busy feeding the pufflings, the non-breeding adults are just hanging around on the cliffs and the youngsters (the pufflings) are starting to emerge from their nests. And the photographers and other visitors spend many hours just looking over the walls watching the puffin antics.

Shout

Meeting

Pairs

Fab Four

Big Meeting

Looking Out

Exploring

Razorbills

If you want a change from the showy bills (and feet) of the puffins, can I suggest that you spend a bit more time watching the razorbills (also available at Sumburgh Head). These are without question (at least I won't consider any question) the coolest auks. 

Razorbill

Razorbills with chick

Razorbill

Tsyties

Black Guillemots (unlike the other local auks) stay around all year but change from their distinctive breeding plumage at the end of the summer.  They don't (as far as I know) breed at Sumburgh Head, but do find lots of local nesting holes around the West Voe of Sumburgh and on Scat Ness.  And you will (if you've got decent high frequency hearing) almost certainly hear them before you see them.

Calling

Tystie Dynamics

Guillemots

Guillemots are probably the most numerous Shetland auk, they 'nest' huddled together in big colonies above the sea on every side of Sumburgh Head.  I find it really difficult to get good guillemot pictures, the colonies are quite a distance from the cliff top vantage points and the fact that the birds huddle together so tightly makes it challenging to pick out individuals.  Once the youngsters (the jumplings) get a bit bigger the adults give them a wee bit of space and it gets a bit easier to see individual birds. 

Guillemots with jumplings

The Last Jumpling

Beaches

I very rarely go a day on Shetland without a beach walk - and this month I've walked Quendale Beach almost every day!

Quendale Beach

Last light, Quendale Beach

Low tide, Quendale Beach

Orca

July is also an excellent time for orca spotting around Shetland - and they put in several appearances around the south end of Shetland. Orca sightings can never be guaranteed and should always be treasured!

27 Pod passing Sumburgh Head

27 Pod passing Sumburgh Head

Waves

I think there is a risk that the pictures from this month give a misleading picture of the Shetland weather - the weather has been good but that doesn't mean that there haven't been a few stormy and somewhat bleak days too!

Scat Ness Waves

Scat Ness Bleak

Next month is likely to feature fewer auks, lots of beaches and almost certainly more waves.

Monthly Report, June 2023

Oxford and London, and then, when it all became too hot and hay-feverish, Shetland. 

It was good to shake off May's COVID symptoms, but the heavy-duty hay-fever did at times feel like a relapse.   In all, I was relieved to get back to the rather cooler fresher air on offer at the south end of Shetland and to the puffins, razorbills and guillemots!.

By The Numbers

Reporting Days: 30

Location: Oxford, London & Shetland

Kilometres Walked: 286 (henceforth I'm logging stuff in metric)

Driven: 1250 km (it's now 800 km between Oxford & Aberdeen)

Cycled: 107 km (static bike in Oxford)

Rowed: 31 km (rowing machine in Shetland)

Photographs Taken: Thousands (mostly in the last 10 days of the month)

English Orchids

Bee Orchid, Hartslock

Common Spotted Orchid, Milham Ford

Common Spotted Orchid, Whitecross Green Wood

London Waterways

River Thames at Tower Bridge

Grand Union Canal / Capital Ring

River Thames at Kew

Scottish Orchids

Marsh Orchid at Scat Ness, Shetland

Marsh Orchid at Scat Ness, Shetland

Common Spotted Orchid, Roadside at Ecclefechan

Shetland Auks

Puffin in the Pinks, Sumburgh Head, Shetland

A Circus?, Sumburgh Head, Shetland

Guarding the Nest, Sumburgh Head, Shetland

Razorbills, Sumburgh Head, Shetland

Puffins in the sunshine, Sumburgh Head, Shetland

And in next months exciting instalment - auks, lots of awesome auks - and a promise to at least try to get the monthly report done a bit more promptly.

Monthly Report, May 2023

And just when it was going so well.

At the start of the month I woke up in the middle of the night shivering in a northern Italian hotel room. 

After three years of sidestepping COVID,  it finally caught up with me. This wasn't how I had planned to start my third week of Italian spa town pampering!

But first the numbers.

Reporting Days: 31

Isolation Days: 5 

Location: Italy & Oxford

Miles Walked: 152

Miles Driven: 149

Miles Trained: 740

Photographs Taken: Hundreds 

Room with a View

Italian rules, after testing positive for COVID, say stay put for 5 days, then wear a mask wherever possible for the next five.  To which I would add, make sure you are staying in a nice bright hotel room with enough space to walk up and down, good room service, a sunny balcony and a decent view.  And a phone with a good collection of audiobooks.

Balcony View, Boario Terme

Released

And no matter how good the view - it was good to get released and do a couple of short walks before heading back (by train!) to Oxford (via Milan, Zurich, Paris & London).

Waterfall on the River Dezzo, Boario

Back to the Old Montecchio Bridge over the River Oglio

Springtime in Oxford

Having fast forwarded through Spring as we arrived in Italy last month - it was almost a surprise to find that it was still Spring back in Oxford, with bluebells still out in force and early orchids still around.

Bluebells

Lots of Bluebells

Early Marsh Orchids

Miniature Garden, Fence Post Version

Next month: Orchids, London & Shetland (hopefully)