St Kilda, Outer Hebrides, Scotland. Day 20 , 18th July.

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These images are all from the Atlantic coast of Soay (the north-western island of the St Kilda group) as we slowly sail by….

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St Kildan hunting parties frequently came here to gather birds and eggs from the cliffs of this wild landscape.  There are 40 cleits on Soay, though I didn’t notice any from the ship (and certainly not in this image!).

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There are no trees here on Soay, so the gannets cannot use leaves, branches and twigs to build their nests but make do with whatever materials are available, mainly probably flotsam and jetsum.  Notice the number of pieces of rope hanging from the underside of the nests.

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This is another panorama available in large size.  Click on the image to zoom in for detail.