Nearly There

 A day of not covering a lot of ground, and not doing a great deal, and yet finally making some significant progress.

After a squally morning killing time in Thurso I headed the short distance to Scrabster late morning, way earlier than necessary but as much as anything for something to do.

I had lots more time to kill once I'd checked in, but thankfully there were a few birds in the harbour, most enjoyable of which was a very photogenic Black Guillemot; always a charismatic species, but one I have a special affinity with after finding the bizarre Barton bird in July 2021.

I took an awful lot of pics, but there wasn't really much else to do!

That said there were other birds in the harbour, including cooing Eider

And Shag

Guillemot  and Razorbill were also present but more distant, and a Chiffchaff skulked in bushes whilst a couple of House Martins braved it overhead.

Once on the boat there were atmospheric photo opportunities with Gannets and rainbows.

Whilst I may not yet be at my final destination (tomorrow morning!!) it was such a relief to drive off the ferry and onto Orkney, a place I absolutely love. After the short drive from quaint Stromness to homely Kirkwall, taking in the view of the Stones of Stenness en route, I checked into my hostel, paid Tesco a visit for provisions, then gave the Peerie Sea (a just-inland artificial body of water) a half hour look before wandering up to St Magnus Cathedral and having dinner in the St Ola Hotel, both more or less essential.

The Peerie Sea actually provided me with two Orkney ticks (not that my Orkney list is much to shout about despite having spent four months on the islands):

A Goosander

And a couple of Scaup

But most importantly: Sanday tomorrow!!