UNST Autumn 2024: part 4 the long journey home (17-19 October)

 UNST Autumn 2024: part 4 the long journey home (17-19 October)

Thursday 17 October. In mist and heavy rain Dave took me to the bus stop for the 07:45 connecting service to Lerwick. The bus arrived at Belmont on time to find a single ferry service was in force due to a cement mixer rolling of a trailer and onto a pickup, fortunately with no injuries. The ferry from Fetlar arrived and we were loaded but had to wait half an hour or so to cross. We switched buses at Gutcher and raced across Yell arriving at Ulsta just in time for a Toft ferry. We arrived in Lerwick about an hour late, not that it mattered to me as I wasn’t leaving until 19:00. I brought my ticket forward by a day, left my rucksack in lost property and set off to Cope where I found 5 old Ross Macdonald paperbacks at £1 each. Leaving those with my rucksack I spent all afternoon in Lerwick, along the harbor (visiting French frigate Aquitaine, Jimmy Perez’s house and 5 Black Guillemots), Clickmin (11 Oystercatchers and 81 Turnstones roosting on the playing fields and a Blackcap in the willows) and Helendale (nothing) and down Sea Road (2 Purple Sandpipers but only Mallard on the lake). After a brief visit to Tesco I was back at the ferry terminal at 17:00 (noting the Aquitaine had departed), boarded Hjaltland at 18:00 and left Lerwick at 19:00.

Black Guillemot in Lerwick Harbour

a more wintery indvidual

Jimmy Perez's house in Lerwick

model village at Clickmin

Friday 18 October. A more comfortable night on cushions, rather than the floor or my ‘reserved’ reclining chair, despite being a little bumpy at times. We docked just before 07:00 and I sorted my gear and disembarked an hour later. My hotel, OYO Aberdeen City, was about 15 minutes walk and had left luggage facilities so I dropped my bag and walked out to Girdle Ness spending several hours there seeing a selection of mainly female or immature duck and roosting waders: 8 Eider (3 males), a Goldeneye, 2 red-head Goosanders and a Red-breasted Mergansers, 95 Oystercatchers, 45 Turnstone, 32 Purple Sandpipers, a Dunlin and 30 Redshank. Also a Kingfisher from the bridge over the Dee, at least 13 Shags (one with a green colour ring WNA), 50+ Cormorants, a Rock Pipit and 3 Dolphins. Offshore in heavy swell there appeared to be an Air Sea Rescue drill with a man being winched into a helicopter from a small catamaran fishing boat which then steamed into the harbour.

Goldeneye in Aberdeen Harbour

Goosanders in Aberdeen Harbour

Aberdeen Harbour Inner Breakwater

Shag, Oystercatchers and Turnstones on the Inner Breakwater

Redshank, Turnstones and Purple Sandpipers on the Inner Breakwater at high tide

outer Breakwater

Eider passing Girdle Ness

Air Sea Rescue drill

Saturday 19 October. I put my rucksack in store and left OYO at 08:50 to walk back out to Girdleness. It was a lovely morning, sunny with a gentle breeze, and I spend a couple of hours on the headland seeing 6 Eider (3 males), 3 red-head Goosanders, 40 Oystercatchers, 25 Turnstone, 30 Purple Sandpipers, 60 Cormorants, 55 Shags (including WNA and JIX), male Stonechat, 2 Rock Pipits and a Dolphin. I was back at the OYO just before 13:00 to collect my bag, having been informed of a 30 minute delay to my flight when halfway there. I caught a bus to the airport to find the flight had been put back again. It was two hours late when it finally arrived in Aberdeen and although we made up a bit of time I missed the bus I’d booked from Gatwick. I had over an hour to wait for the next one and was home soon after 23:15. Another very enjoyable trip staying the Dave and Brenda although increasingly the travelling seems to take its toll – it would be almost quicker to fly to New Zealand to see my sister!

Aberdeen Shag JIX on the Inner Breakwater

Aberdeen Shag WNA on the Inner Breakwater

colour-ringed face-off

presumed Dolphin off Aberdeen

Goosanders on the bank of the River Dee