Well, I'm back.
31 July
We were an hour late getting away, not much in the scheme of things. You should have seen Marion half way to Scotland when she couldn't find her mobile phone - you would have thought civilisation had ended right there, talk about panic in the streets...... Luckily it was in her rucksack in the back.
Stops were particularly important since we had Tansy, the world's only lesbian vegetarian disabled German Shepherd dog stretched out on the back seat. We had fretted about how she would manage the long drive but she slept most of it and enjoyed all the walks at new places.
Our major break of the day was at Chanonry Point, not that far off our route really, and a great display from the Bottlenose Dolphins (though apparently it had been even better earlier....)
From there its only a hop skip and jump to Gills Bay where we were booked on the 1930 catamaran. There were Common Seals on the rocks by the ferry terminal, though too distant for pix, and Black Guillemots bobbing on the water. Unfortunately the ferry turned into the 2030 cat and by the time we got round to Finstown it was too dark to see whether the Bearded Seal was there. We had seen three Harbour Porpoises in the entrance to Scapa Flow on the way over as well as Gannets, Fulmars and a few Bonxies, which were all nice, but the best bird was a Leach's Petrel that crossed the bow going West.
Because of all this it was well and truly dark (and beginning to rain) as we started to put our new tent up for the first time on the site at Stromness. Tansy watched from the comfort of the car as we struggled with not-terribly-helpful instructions, bendy poles with a life of their own, and the general enormity of a four man tent (fifty quid at Argos, bargain). The next morning we worked out one or two poles weren't quite in the right sleeves but hey the tent was up and it kept us warm and dry overnight.
Needless to say Marion wanted a lie-in after the gruelling travelling and needless to say with a Bearded Seal up the road she didn't get it. I thought I was being ever so kind in allowing time for a cooked breakfast which she cooked while I walked the dog, funny how women never see the logic.
Soon we were on our way and discovering there is an easy two-lane road round the back of Stromness instead of threading our way through the narrow winding cobbled town centre.
Back at Finstown we peered across at the slipway by the rusting white van and sure enough there was a seal on it. With scale not obvious and at rainge whiskers not apparent either I was assailed by doubts, but a closer view quickly dispelled them and Bearded Seal was number 62 on Marion's British mammals list.
Finn (what a coincidence that a Bearded Seal called Finn should haul out at Finstown!) was not disposed to move an inch off his comfy bed of bladderwrack and Ascophyllum, so I was able to get great pix with the 500mm without causing him any disturbance. I was no closer than about thirty yards and since he spent part of the time I was closest actually asleep, I can be confident he wasn't worried.
So there we are. 1000 hrs on our first non-travelling day and the pressure right off already. I rang the seal in to RBA and texted Paul Higson as well.
More later....
John
