Gannet

I headed over to Westray for the day. The ferry left Kirkwall in bright sunshine but we soon we ran into banks of haar, which persisted for much of the day. The bus took me to Pierowall and I walked along to Noup Head to see the gannet colony there. Just past Noltland Castle I was delighted to hear the 'crex crex' call of the corncrake, only the second I've heard here in Orkney. Then I heard another. Then another! Three in just two fields. I carried on to the cliffs where the nesting gannets were in their thousands with masses of guillemots, razorbills, kittiwakes, fulmars, puffins, arctic skuas, great skuas and about 130 grey seals on the skerry off the cliff.