A vertebrate fauna of the Orkney Islands / by Thomas E. Buckley and J.A. Harvie-Brown.

Abstract

THE ORKNEY ISLANDS, separated from the mainland of Scotland by the Pentland Firth, lie between 58 41" and 59 24' north latitude, and between 2 22' and 3 25' west longitude, thus extending over an area of more than 2000 geographical miles.Including the Pentland Skerries, the number of inhabited islands is twenty-nine, and the number of small islands, called holms, covered with herbage fit for grazing purposes, is said to be thirty-eight, besides the small half, or nearly entirely submerged rocks, called Skerries, which have none.Shirreff in his General View of the Agriculture of the Orkney Islands, published in 1814, gives the acreage of the whole group of islands as about 384,000 acres, of which 84,000 were then supposed to be in a productive state.With few exceptions, the whole coast-line of the islands is rocky, the highest part being the well-known cliffs of Hoy on the west and south-west.The average height of the sea-cliffs is certainly higher on the west side than on the east, though there are many places on the latter where they rise to a considerable altitude, such as Copinsay, and parts of S. Eonaldsay. Quantities of seafowl breed through all these heights ; where the ledges are small, narrow, and bare, Guillemots, Kazorbills, and Kittiwakes have taken possession, while the greener slopes are occupied by Herring Gulls, mixed here and there with a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls.Any extent of sandy beach is rare, though there are some patches on the Mainland.By far the greatest extent of such sea-board, however, is at Sanday, but all these sandy reaches are situated either on the east side of the islands, or else in some sheltered bays well out of the reach of the heavy wash of the Atlantic. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION AND PHYSICALThere are many large and well-sheltered bays scattered throughout the islands, well suited for wild-fowl, which can shift their locality with ease from one side of the island to the other, according to the wind, but good and safe anchorage for vessels of any size in all weathers is rather scarce ; the best of these per-

The Breeding Birds of Orkney

“…Numerous, breeding on ploughed land, grass pastures and low-lpg moorland. Buckley and Harvie-Brown (1891) record it as still abundant, though not nearly so many as formerly. Recently, since the passing of the special Act of Parliament to protect it, the Lapwing has been increasing rapidly (D. J .…”

“…Not elsewhere. Buckley and Harvie-Brown (1891) found it on Hoy, Rousay aad Mainland, probably having increased, as Baikie and Heddle (1848) sawlittle of it. In the last twenty years greatly decreased on Mainland, where formerly common (G. T. Arthur),…”

“…Common on all the main islands. Buckley and Harvie-Brown (1891) .summarize evidence indicating a considerable increase in the nineteenth century, and there has certainly been no decline since. (Linnaus).…”

“…Bbck-throated Diver. Buckley and Harvie-Brown (1891) quote Millais that eggs were once taken on a small loch on Hoy, while Buckley saw a pair on Rousay during most of the summer of 1883, but did not find a nest. I n 1941 I visited every loch in Orkney except some on Mainland, and these were visited by G. T. Arthur.…”

Rewards for teaching excellence: practice in South African medical schools

“…The current realization that medical curriculum reform is urgent if medical practice is to remain relevant as we approach the 21st century impacts on the issue of acknowledging and rewarding excellence in teaching (Fraser 1991;McManus 1991;Towle 1992;Buckley 1993). The requirements of new curricula call for new teaching and learning paradigms.…”