Puffin

The obligatory but charming blip of a puffin. 

I'd had a notion to climb the path up Fitful Head this morning. I looked at the OS map and saw that the contours were pretty close together at one point and that put me off a bit. What put the tin lid on it was the bonxie (great skua) warning. I am wary of bonxies - in fact I'm quite frightened of them. It was a romantic but daft idea to walk on the head and good sense prevailed. 

We went to Sumburgh Head instead where, although there were bonxies, they were high above us. And there were puffins, lovely wildflowers and coffee. We then went to Quendale Bay for a walk on the lovely beach and Hoswick for a sandwich and walk along the footpaths. 

The unusual thing about Sumburgh Head was that there was no wind. It was really still and sunny. It also wasn't too busy which was a bonus. The day is sunny and although not hot at 15° the absence of wind makes all the difference. It really is very pleasant. 

We have an exciting treat later when we set out for an evening boat trip to the Island of Noss. Noss is a famous bird sanctuary and I think we will see some interesting sights. I might want to add some extras to today's puffin but I know I'll be tired when we return and I'll not be in the mood for sorting photos. We are fortunate to have a still, dry day for this trip and I am looking forward to it very much. 

Thanks for all the lovely comments on yesterday's beach scene. And for the people who were so kindly concerned about the music coming from the flat downstairs I'm happy to say that it stopped quite soon after I blipped. 

Edit: I added extras of the beautiful, elegant gannets, a bridled guillemot and a shag. There were bonxies too - but I was too busy spotting birds that I didn't even mind.