Throughout the year you might see groups of Eider ducks (dunters in Orkney dialect); Shags and Cormorants (scarfies) and the Rousay school children have told us that Red throated divers (Loon in Orcadian) can be seen around the Rousay pier.
In summer you might catch sight of Arctic terns (in Orcadian: tirricks or pickieternos) which breed in Orkney and leave here by August to enjoy another summer in the Antarctic. They are slender, mainly white birds with a black head, orange beak and angular wings. They can sometimes be seen being pursued by Great skuas (bonxies), the pirates of the sea, which rob other birds’ food.
Shag (Scarfie) © Lindsay Reid
This video created by Westray Youth Club shows some of the birdlife you might see on your ferry journey
