Funa & Flora.

Flora.

Like everything on the islands, the sea and the weather influence the flora of Orkney. Whether walking along a coastal footpath or across an inland meadow or over the hill's you will be amazed by the diversity of the wildflowers, grasses and other plants. With over 500 species of native plants and another 200 introduced species, there will be plenty for us to photograph,although Jill is responsible for most of the Plant pictures.

Bird’s

As with the flora, the bird life of Orkney is diverse, being in the far north a fair number of birds are at the edge of their range. It is rare to see such common birds Magpie, Bullfinch, Song thrush or any of the Tit family, but bird’s like Divers, Grebes and sea ducks can be seen in good numbers at certain times of the year. In the spring the sea cliffs around Orkney are full with Fulmar, Guillemot, Puffin and Razorbills, there are colonies of Terns on some of the islands and a colony of Great Skua on the Island of Hoy. On the moorlands you can see Marsh Harrier, Merlin,& Short eared Owl, While other birds like Curlew, Redshank, & Lapwing breed all over the island’s where ever there is a suitable nest site. Golden Plover breed on the high moorland and numbers increase in winter with birds from Scandinavia . The Island’s are a good place to see spring and autumn migrants and some times vagrants from America brought in by winter gales or from Europe and further afield by cold North easterly winds. Winter sees the arrival of large numbers of Ducks, Geese, Divers & Grebes and small birds like Snow Bunting & Twite can be seen in good numbers each winter. Other winter birds include large numbers of Lapwing, Redshank, Redwing, Fieldfare & Curlew. Wherever you go on Orkney whatever the season there is always plenty of bird life to watch.