and geos with crashing Atlantic breakers.
On the maritime heath of the clifftops, there are swathes of Eyebright.
And above the turbulent tumult of the geos, there are seabirds a plenty. This is a Black Guillemot (Tystie).
Did I mention crashing waves?
A clump of Wild Thyme on the cliff edge of another geo.
A pair of Common Blue butterflies were mating on the bank of one of the many burns which flow off the heath and over the cliff edge.
Also by the burns and in wet flushes, were small colonies of Bog Pimpernel, such a gorgeous wee thing.
It's that time of year when the Fulmar chicks are just cute bundles of fluff.
And occasionally, there's an opportunity to spend some time in the company of...
Puffins!
This is a rock stack known as North Gaulton Castle.
On the way back, there were more Puffins.
Whilst the rest of the group were looking for wild flowers, I spotted a few mason wasps, which I think are Ancistrocerus scoticus.
The wet flushes of the heath also contained much Bog Asphodel, adding a splash of colour to the landscape.
Try as we might, this butterfly wasn't keen on being photographed, so I had to make do with a distant shot. Later, we worked out that it was a Large Heath, which made sense bearing in mind the habitat. It wasn't very big, but is bigger than a Small Heath (which we don't have in Orkney).
And there was just time for one more gratuitous photo of rugged cliffs, crashing waves and turquoise seas.
2 comments:
A perfect start to my morning thank you. Fabulous photos especially the puffins. Lucky you. B
Thank you, B. I did take some video footage, but it was very breezy, meaning lots of wind noise and shaky images.
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