Made It!

We spent about half an hour watching these swans struggling with the gales this morning. The two youngsters were flying directly into the wind which was gusting over 60 mph at the time but had been as high as 80. They were making no headway at all and seemed to be in danger of being blown into the sea until the adult bird suddenly appeared from a different direction and  led them to a spot near the shore where it was (relatively) calm. The shore nearest where they landed was too rocky so a 20 minute paddle onto the beach where they had a nibble and a rest. Given the severe weather  the beach will hopefully be deserted today and allow them to have a good rest as the wind is not due to drop at all until tomorrow. The extra photo gives an idea of what they were heading into. This is the end of the Sumburgh Airport runway just over the dune from where the swans were resting.