Mousa and Fair Isle, Shetland
With the advent of large scale commercial fishing in the nineteenth century, Northern Fulmars had a population explosion. These relatives of albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels were able to feed on waste that was thrown overboard. Once nesting in the U.K. only on the isolated St. Kilda archipelago, fulmars can now be found on suitable breeding habitat around the British Isles. “Fulmar” is a corruption of the term “foul mouth”, an apt term for these birds whose defense is to squirt the noxious oil from their stomachs at potential predators. The fluid is not only foul of smell, it also has the ability to penetrate the protective oil that keeps the feathers of sea birds dry. This is an effective defense against skuas, jaegers and other threats.
On the island of Mousa stands the finest remaining example of a type of Iron Age fortification and residence called a broch, built about two thousand years ago. With a shape reminiscent of a nuclear power plant cooling tower, the stone structure stands about forty feet tall. After visiting the broch, many of us walked across the island to a protected cove where dozens of grey seals, mostly hauled out along the rocky shore, and a variety of sea and shore birds were seen. We gave the nesting fulmars a wide berth.
Our final stop this voyage was Fair Isle, the isolated home to about 70 people and thousands of sea birds. After an especially interesting Zodiac ride, we made our way to the Community Center where the local folks had prepared an afternoon tea (I highly recommend the shortbread) and had local crafts, including renowned Fair Isle sweaters, for sale. It was a wonderful opportunity to chat with people whose lifestyle is so very different than ours.
Isn’t that the reason that we travel - to see different places and what they have to offer, and to meet people and open ourselves to new ways of seeing the world?
With the advent of large scale commercial fishing in the nineteenth century, Northern Fulmars had a population explosion. These relatives of albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels were able to feed on waste that was thrown overboard. Once nesting in the U.K. only on the isolated St. Kilda archipelago, fulmars can now be found on suitable breeding habitat around the British Isles. “Fulmar” is a corruption of the term “foul mouth”, an apt term for these birds whose defense is to squirt the noxious oil from their stomachs at potential predators. The fluid is not only foul of smell, it also has the ability to penetrate the protective oil that keeps the feathers of sea birds dry. This is an effective defense against skuas, jaegers and other threats.
On the island of Mousa stands the finest remaining example of a type of Iron Age fortification and residence called a broch, built about two thousand years ago. With a shape reminiscent of a nuclear power plant cooling tower, the stone structure stands about forty feet tall. After visiting the broch, many of us walked across the island to a protected cove where dozens of grey seals, mostly hauled out along the rocky shore, and a variety of sea and shore birds were seen. We gave the nesting fulmars a wide berth.
Our final stop this voyage was Fair Isle, the isolated home to about 70 people and thousands of sea birds. After an especially interesting Zodiac ride, we made our way to the Community Center where the local folks had prepared an afternoon tea (I highly recommend the shortbread) and had local crafts, including renowned Fair Isle sweaters, for sale. It was a wonderful opportunity to chat with people whose lifestyle is so very different than ours.
Isn’t that the reason that we travel - to see different places and what they have to offer, and to meet people and open ourselves to new ways of seeing the world?
