The Road Less Traveled

Nearly 20 years ago I visited Shetland and Orkney for the first time.  And fell in love with the landscape.  The windy cliffs, where you can stand and experience four seasons in an hour.  The standing stones and stone age villages, full of questions and a tangible link to people from so long ago.  It really is a magical place – one I was especially excited to revisit with my camera.

And so it was that my two good friends and I braved the threat of volcanic ash in search of birds, cliffs, and stone.  We were not disappointed.

For this post, I’ve gathered some of my favorite bird shots, to share.  Look for more photos in future posts.

Cliff Birds of Scotland

One of the amazing things about visiting the cliffs of Scotland (and Ireland, and probably many places) is how close you can get to nesting birds without disturbing them.  You get the advantage of height, a rarity in bird watching, from which to look down.

Fulmars are amazing to watch as they ride the wind currents blowing up the cliff faces.  You can watch how the shifting of their feet, the waggle of a tail helps them stay stationary relative to us landlubbers.   They’ll take a pass to look you in the eye, or hover with their butt towards you as they watch the spectacle below.

A fulmar flyby

Bird love

More birds, after the jump…

(more…)