Birdwatching on Orkney (Part One)

As we drove into Dounby after arriving in Orkney, an Oyster Catcher flew across the road. Their cries mingled with the call of the Curlew could be heard in most parts of Orkney Mainland. In the fields we saw Linnets, Meadow Pipits, Lapwings and heard the songs of numerous Larks soaring above us. There were other small birds we were unable to identify. Along the coast, the shore and cliffs were covered with sea birds.Orkney must be a birdwatcher's paradise. I've never seen so many birds in one place before.

Eider ducks and drakes seen from the Broch of Gurness

  

 Artic Terns seen from the Broch of Gurness

Mutes swan on nest near Standing Stones, Stenness

Oyster Catcher near Brough of Birsay trying to lead people away from its nest.

Oyster Catcher eggs.

Eider duck on nest. I suddenly saw her as I walked along the path on Birsay and she was doing her best to be invisible.

Eider ducks and ducklings seen from Lamb Holm

Neolitihic Orkney

Last Monday we walked in the beautiful sunny Orkney landscape and journeyed back 5,000 years to Skara Brae, the remains of a small Neolithic village of stone houses with indoor plumbing and an enclosed walkway linking the houses.

Skara Brae, Skaill Bay, Orkney

Before Stone Henge was built, . . .

                                 




. . . . before the Pyramids existed at Giza . . .

              . . . Neolithic people were building stone houses and henges in Orkney.

Skara Brae Neolithic Settlement

When Skara Brae was built it was much further from the sea than it is now. There has been considerable erosion over the last 5,000 years and it is thought some of the houses have been lost as a result. Based on what has been seen at other sites it's thought there could have been up to 12 houses in this complex.

The Maes Howe burial chamber is thought to date from the same period, as do the Ring of Brodgar, the Standing Stones at Steness, the buildings at Barnhouse next to them and the Ness of Brodger, which is thought to include a large temple-like structure. These are all very close together and not far from Skara Brae. This suggests there were a fair number of people in the area to move all the stones into place, even if these structures were built by several generations.

Maes Howe is older than New Grange in the Boyne Valley, Ireland. It is bigger on the inside, but smaller on the inside and seems to have been simply covered in turf. We weren't allowed to take photos inside.

Approaching the Maes Howe cairn. Was it a burial chamber or an observatory?

It was necessary to bend down to enter the low tunnel that leads to the central chamber. The sun enters the tunnel at the time of the Winter solstice.
 

Ring of Brodgar

Standing Stones at Steness

Broadhouse Neolithic Settlement