A Shetland Voe - Snow and Winter Storms Episode 4

Snow and Winter Storms
00:00 Introduction
00:31 Snow and Ravens
01:22. Snow, Aerial Footage of the Voe and an Otter fishing
03:20 Starlings, Jack Snipe and shore birds
05:37 Shags diving for fish with underwater footage
07:14 A family of Otters, swimming, feeding and together on shore
10:16 Stenness, Atlantic Storm with big seas breaking over 100 foot cliffs.
12:13 A more tranquil day after the storm, Goldeneye and Seal
Shetland isn’t particularly known for having snowy winters, as we are very much a maritime climate, but we can get periods of snow and drifting, as we did several times this winter. It was a good chance to get some photos and footage of wildlife and snowscapes.
We had a few calm days among the many storms that battered the coast and I managed to put up the little drone to get some nice aerial shots of the snow. I was lucky on my return to spot an Otter fishing and with the really clear waters we get in January I was able to see the Otter swimming under the water. There’s also some footage of the Otter bringing in a Sea Scorpion fish, it took the fish ashore and had a good feed.
Those calm days with the snow right down to the waters edge allowed me to get some nice footage of shore birds such as Redshank, Turnstone, Mallard and even Snipe and Jack Snipe. The low afternoon sun shone on the Voe. In Shetland we are at latitude 60° North and the days are short, particularly for photography, but when the sun is out it is low and provides a lovely warm light that is hard to beat.
There’s always a good number of Scarfs fishing in the Voe. I was trying out the underwater camera to see if there was much marine life about. Several Scarfs near me were busy diving for fish and I managed to see a few swimming underwater. It wasn’t the clearest water after the storms but amazing to see the birds diving in the Voe.
Walking out along the shore I regularly spot a family of Otters fishing. They have a few favourite spots depending on the weather and tide. Here’s some footage of them swimming together and coming out onto the rocks to feed and groom their fur, a memorable encounter.
We get some big seas in the Voe over the winter months, especially with SE and Southerly storms, but these do not compare to Shetland’s Atlantic coast and the huge waves that can be seen at Stenness and Eshaness in the North Mainland. I took a run up there when the wind was blowing a Force 11 to show the comparison with our relatively sheltered Voe on the North Sea coast. With some seriously heavy hail showers the gusts must have been approaching 100mph. I had to shelter behind a crö, stone structure, with the sheep during the hail shower and I literally would not have been able to walk in that weather. The cliffs in the first shots at Stenness are about 100 feet high and you can see the waves breaking right over them, throwing spray hundreds of feet into the air. If you look closely you may see gulls flying among the waves. How they can fly in such fierce storms amazes me. The last scenes are up at the Eshaness Lighthouse and the cliffs there are between 100 and 200feet. It was a wild day, so I stayed in the car and actually only drove up there between the showers when the wind dropped as it didn’t feel safe in the powerful squally showers. It is a popular place for storm watching.
I finish the short film with some Goldeneye swimming in the surf after the storm, and a Seal snoozing in the Voe, not bothered at all by the hailstones.
I hope you enjoyed the winter scenes from Shetland. We are now in the Voar, spring, and the nights are getting lighter as we head towards the simmer dim and nearly 19 hours of daylight. I’ll hopefully manage to gather a few more clips from when I am out and about on walks to put together another episode of ‘A Shetland Voe - Nature and Wildlife’ later in the spring.
Music:
'Haal in da Drogue and Gie da Boys a Biskut' - Composed by Maurice Henderson
Recorded on the shore of the Voe of Sound
‘Da Greenland Man’s Tune” - Traditional Shetland
Music - Maurice Henderson
Fiddle - Maurice Henderson
Guitar - Ewen Thomson
Recorded, Filmed and Edited - Maurice Henderson
Gear:
Canon EOS R6
RF800mm f11
RF100-400mm f5.6-f8
EF 24mm f1.4
Mavic Mini
Mavic Mini Pro 3
Zoom F3 recorder

[@Clare-J]

Wow, absolutely amazing footage! Beautiful light… especially in the shots of the shore birds from across the water. The underwater film of the scarfs and the drone film of the otters is excellent and it’s wonderful to see that dimension of their world. Great footage of the otters close up too. I love that you’ve captured the feel of winter in all its guises. Experiencing Eshaness and Steness in those storms must have been really thrilling!! I look forward to seeing the Voe in the spring.

[@MauriceHendersonShetland]

Thanks for the lovely comment, glad you enjoyed the footage and you got to visit the Voe, it was great to meet you. Stenness in that weather really is amazing to experience.