The Shetlands - Part 4

I never intended that I would have so many posts for the Shetlands, but I don't want to make the posts too long, so anyway here's part 4 and we are still on Unst, but after a couple of stops we are heading back to Mainland Shetland and our Hotel at Sumburgh.

So stop one was a rare flower special, we aren't particularly interested in this but I suppose we should be, it was a fascinating hour though, Hugh really knows his stuff, you couldn't as for a more knowledgeable guide.
Of main interest was one alpine that only grows in this area on Shetland and nowhere else in the world, so I had to take a snap!

Edmondston's Chickweed

So back to the Fauna...
After looking at plants we headed off to Saxa Vord for the much awaited Bonxie fest. There is a place on the headland where the non-breeding Great Skuas congregate and practise for the next season, this means they are much closer together and give great views and let you get really close. Now this bit is on MoD land so you have to go with an authorised guide otherwise you may never be seen again!

I wont apologise for the number of photo's (I took hundreds!) Choosing which ones to put here was nigh on impossible:

It was truly amazing among the Bonxies and one of the highlights of the week, if you ever get the chance to do this go for it!

So from here we headed back to the ferry, with a very brief stop for a a Whooper Swan and a record shot on the loch side near the ferry:

The day before a Scops Owl had been seen on Yell and we were hoping it would still be around as we drove through, but it was proving elusive to the local birders and as we had a fair way to go back to Sumburgh we missed out on that one.

Although being Shetland we couldn't miss out on some Pony photos, could we: