The Nature of Scotland

SNH Area News
Northern Isles
Correspondents: Juan Brown, Denise Woodford, Tim Dean
Studying sick fairies
Festival time
Heavenly rain
The famous colony of storm petrels
on the uninhabited island of Mousa
in Shetland will be studied this year
by Glasgow University PhD student
Hannah Watson. She’ll be looking at
the effects of environmental stress on
this tiny mysterious seabird, which looks
for food far offshore and only returns to
the colony in darkness.
Mousa has the largest storm petrel
colony in Britain and supports perhaps
2% of the world population. The RSPB
manage the island reserve, and there
are night-time boat trips during the
summer months. Visitors head for the
Iron Age broch, which is an iconic
Shetland landmark that provides
nesting sites for many of the petrels.
This dramatic setting comes alive with
purring and hiccuping calls (likened to
the sound of a fairy being sick!), as batlike
shapes flutter around the mighty
stone walls.
A recent census suggested that
the storm petrel population on Mousa
is thriving, in contrast to many seabird
species that have suffered in recent
years because of a shortage of
sandeels. The petrels feed on surface
plankton and can perhaps cope better
with food shortages because their
chicks remain inactive while the adults
search far and wide for food.
Shetland Nature Festival will be taking
place from 3 to 11 July. Now in its third
year, the festival celebrates the wildlife
and wide open spaces of Shetland,
with events and activities to suit all
ages and interests.
Holding the festival in July
allows everyone to make the most of
Shetland’s nature, when daylight lasts
until late evening, cliffs are teeming with
thousands of seabirds, wildflowers are
blooming and there’s a good chance of
spotting sea mammals.
This year’s family-friendly events
start with an open day on Noss National
Nature Reserve, which is a highlight
in the diary for many local people and
always popular with visitors.
Throughout the week there will be
workshops such as ‘butterfly feeders’
and ‘creepy crawlies’, along with family
fun days including ‘Shetland Rocks!’
and ‘Go wild with your child’. Local
organisations will also be giving guided
walks (pictured above), taking in some
of Shetland’s most spectacular scenery
and highlighting the varied wildlife of
the islands. Other events include boat
trips and talks.
The festival is a joint venture
between the main partners Shetland
Amenity Trust, RSPB Scotland and
SNH. Check out the website
www.shetlandnaturefestival.co.uk
for further details.
Weary and blackened fire fighters
were spread along the slopes of Grut
Fea on the island of Hoy in April.
Armed only with fire beaters, they
represented the thin line of defence
between the onrushing tongues of
flames crackling through the tinder-dry
heather and the ancient woodland in
the Berriedale valley.
The valley is home to the most
northerly natural woodland in Britain,
holding Orkney’s largest stretch of
native ancient forest. It’s thought
to date back thousands of years to
before the arrival of people on the
Northern Isles. Its sheltered slopes
give refuge to a special range of island
plantlife, including downy birch, rowan,
willow, aspen, two of Orkney’s three
hazel trees, tree lungwort and other
woodland plants. For many, it’s a place
of pilgrimage.
And then, with hungry flames
barely 30 paces from the wood and
with the fire fighters in retreat, the
wind swung round 180 degrees. As it
did, the rain began to fall. The fatigued
cheered and the local councillor
described it as ‘divine intervention’.
Who knows, maybe it was.
44 The Nature of Scotland