It was supposed to be a wet and windy day today and there was a U3A old farts bird watching walk on. As the day actually looked as though it may not be as bad as they forecast I thought that I would give it a go.
The weather forecasts up here are notoriously innaccurate. It is probably not the forcasters fault. I think that Orkney is often on the edge of a lot of the weather systems and a few miles either way and they either hit or miss us. The weather also changes so fast. The local saying is that if you don't like the weather then wait 5 minutes and it will change.
I do not normally like paying for clothes but I have lashed out and bought a decent weather proof insulated jacket, a good pair of waterproof over trousers and a decent set of boots. I think that the winter weather here makes it worth having a good set of outdoor clothing or I would have to either stay indoors or just get cold and wet.
Anyway, back to the plot. I got all dressed up and insulated better than the space shuttle and so of course the weather was really pleasant with just 2 or 3 light showers. Although it is supposed to be a bird walk we did not see many birds,a hen harrier and a brambling being the highlights.
As we are all, including myself, old and slow, I was not quick enough with the camera to get a decent photo of the harrier so just to add a bit of interest and colour,this is somebody else's photo of a male hen harrier so that you know what they look like.
Impressive birds eh!
These U3A walks are really just an excuse for a load of oldies to get together and go for a reasonable stroll in good company. They do this very well. Although we are new up here i am welcomed and get on well with all the others and it is nice to have a reason to go for a bit of a walk in various places that I may not otherwise get to. The walks are normally only about 5 miles so it is not to demanding so suits me well. It's nice to see a few birds and adds interest to the walks but they are really just incidental.
One of the ladies on the walk is very knowledgeable about birds but another two people seem to know half the people in Orkney and who lives where, who's cows are in this or that field and all the local scandal so we just wander round chatting like a bunch of old farts which is where we came in.
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