The next day was mostly on our own. First, we visited RSPB Cottacscarth:
The Eddie Balfour hen harrier hide was a very nice place to watch for birds, with some great decoration by school children:
Then we visited RSPB Birsay Moors which is located just over a hill with a wind turbine on it:
As with many RSPB reserves, there is a very nice hide overlooking a small lake.
We saw several red-throated divers, some young ones:
And we saw a hen harrier!
Then we joined a tour of Maeshowe cairn:
Once I saw how short the entry was, I decided I couldn’t bend over for long enough to get into the cairn. So, Ralph went in and I stayed out taking pictures of the countryside and the birds. Across the way, the Stones O’ Stenness can be seen:
I saw many flights of graylag geese who kept flying around, then landing back in the fields below the cairn:
There were also a lot of swallows flying above the barley fields:
