The North Isles are an incredibly important landscape for wading birds, like curlew, oystercatcher, and lapwing, among others. Many of these species are struggling to adapt to changes in the land and climate across the UK. The North Isles are an incredibly important haven for wading birds, sitting below the East Atlantic Flyway, along which hundreds of thousands of birds migrate every year!
North Ronaldsay, get ready for Waderfest! Taking place on 9 September 2023, this will be a full day of wader related demonstrations, activities, and talks, followed by drinks at the North Ron Bird Observatory.
Waderfest is a celebration of the special role which North Ronaldsay plays for waders, and an opportunity to explore how we can help them to survive and thrive. We’ve got a full day of engaging activities planned, followed by a range of interesting talks, from a range of interesting people!
The majority of the day’s demonstrations will take place at Westness, where Tom Wells has been working with local landowners to create wader friendly habitats. If you would like to join us there, instead of meeting at the Obs, you’re most welcome. Lunch will be provided at the Obs, followed by a wader ID workshop and WEBS training at Bewan Loch. The evening - when the bar opens - will be given over to talks and socialising.
A full itinerary is available below. Please note, timings may vary slightly on the day!
North Ronaldsay Waderfest Line-Up
- 11:15 Landscape restoration demonstration
Tom Wells will demonstrate some of the work that he has been doing with local landowners at Westness to create wader friendly habitat.
- 11:45 Guided walk through site
This will be an oppotunity to explore the area around Westness and the work which has already been done.
- 13:15 Return to the Bird Obs for lunch
Lunch will be provided to all attendees, and may be taken at Westness if the weather is nice!
- 14:30 Wader ID skills
After lunch, we will head over to Bewan Loch to develop our wader ID skills. This is a great oppotunity to learn from local experts about waders in North Ronaldsay, from the common to the exotic!
- 15:00 WeBS survey training
WeBS stands for the 'Wetland Bird Survey', and is an important part of monitoring UK wetland bird populations. With a big year coming up in 2024 for bird monitoring in Orkney, we need as many people as possible to get involved! This will take place at Bewan Loch.
- 16:00 Free time at the lighthouse
This is a chance for anyone who wants to take the tour of the famous North Ronalsay Lighthouse.
- 18:00 Henry Memmott's talk on bird skulls
Back to the Obs! Henry is a biology teacher in Orkney, and will be talking about the evolution of bird skulls.
- 19:30 Evening talks, drinks, and socialising!
Allan Perkins on the Orkney Native Widlife Project's monitoring programme, Tom Wells on wader habitat restoration and its benifits, George Gay on the North Ron Bird Obs, and Allan Leitch on curlew colour ringing.
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