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Going coastal

At the beginning of the week, a work trip took me to the island of Westray. The repair didn't take too long and, with no midday sailing available, I had a lengthy wait until the return ferry.  As the weather was mainly dry and sunny, I opted to fill the time with a couple of walks, one on the west coast of the island and one on the east coast. Despite 20 years of either holidaying or living in Orkney, I had never walked the four mile circular route around Noup Head, with its lighthouse, coastal scenery and seabird cliffs. It was time to put that right. I parked in the designated place next to Backarass Farm and followed the waymarked route through a few fields down to the coast. Heading north, I was aware of the constant to and fro of Gannets collecting nesting material and returning to their colony at Noup Head. Fulmars glided back and forth along the cliff edge, seemingly revelling in the joys of a stiff breeze. I spotted a few new species for the year: Bonxie (Great Skua), Kitti...
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Nature Notes #14

At this time of year, more than six months since my last sighting of a dragonfly or damselfly, I feel their absence keenly. Currently, amidst this low ebb, I serendipitously turned to binge-watching the BBC's detectorists , a programme to which I had been oblivious until the recent Small Prophets series also written by Mackenzie Crook.  I was expecting the same gentle comedy and (like many of you, I'm sure) I was not disappointed.  However, what was completely unexpected was the beautiful framing of the landscape and the wildlife within it, which flowed throughout the three series. It was an absolute joy to watch.  Indeed, amongst the abundant wildlife featured, including flowers, beetles, butterflies, mammals and hoverflies, there were also a couple of damselflies and a dragonfly. Azure Damselfly, male, Series 1 Episode 3. © BBC detectorists Common Blue Damselfly, male, Series 3 Episode 5. © BBC detectorists Common Darter, male, 2022 Special. © BBC detectorists  Bu...
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Surfin' Westray

A recent work-related trip to the island of Westray gave Megan the opportunity to tag along   to carry out a recce for Wild Orkney Walks  whilst I was attending to a couple of repairs.  The walk in question is to the Castle o' Burrian, a rock stack on the east coast of Westray, which will soon be seeing the welcome return of a colony of Puffins for their breeding season.  Once I had completed my tasks, I drove to the small car park by the ruined Corn Mill and headed north along the clifftop path above Rack Wick. Here too, in a few weeks, will hopefully be yet more Puffins. I say "hopefully", because over the Winter severe storms in the Bay of Biscay resulted in many dead Puffins being washed ashore around the coasts of Spain, France and Britain. Megan and I sat on the cliff top opposite the Castle and ate our lunch, watching the comings and goings of Fulmars, Rock Doves and various species of gulls. In the surf at the base of the rock stack, a Shag was diving for fo...
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A week in pictures

When writing yesterday's blogpost, I completely forgot to look at the photos on my phone so here's a brief summary of the last seven days through its camera lens. 3 pallets and a floorboard repurposed as a potting bench Evening sky A wood gnat of the Genus Sylvicola which kept me company whilst washing up Some of the plants in flower in the front garden Panorama of section 3 of our bee transect - the path across the moor The weather forecast for the next few days shows the winds ramping up to 60mph gusts... oh, those poor blooms. Ah well, there will be some vases of daffodils about the place then.
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Let it bee

Today was mainly about volunteering for Species on the Edge, carrying out March's wildlife surveys. In the morning, Megan and I went to the old Stromness Waterworks site to look for bumblebees, then in the afternoon, I went to Yesnaby on the west coast to search for Sea Plantain Leaf Beetles. The previous two days had been absolutely gorgeous, the warmest and sunniest of the year so far, leading to the appearance of two Small Tortoiseshell butterflies and a Buff-tailed Bumblebee queen in our garden. Today was cooler and cloudier, so hopes weren't high for either survey. At the old Stromness Waterworks site, some of the verges had a few Coltsfoot in flower, the reservoir dam head was liberally sprinkled with Primroses, whilst a few Daisies and a Gorse bush managed to push the nectar-providing count towards four species. Even the feral Daffodils which inhabit so many Orcadian verges weren't yet convinced of Spring's arrival. It was all meagre fare for a foraging bee, and ...
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Hopping and hoping

Fear not, gentle reader, for despite the interconnectedness of all things, this is not a continuation of the recent rabbit-inspired blogpost.  In the last week or so, there have been numerous trips to some of the smaller islands of Orkney, all work-related, but with the occasional opportunity for a bit of wildlife watching. My first port of call was Westray, on a cold, rainy and windy day. I recall eating my lunch in the car, parked by a pool and reedbed near the shore of the Bay of Tuquoy Bay. No photos from the day, but I did manage to add Moorhen and Coot to my year list. Next up was Sanday for a couple of satellite tv repairs. Once these were completed, I drove to the eastern end of the island and wandered along a track towards Start Point lighthouse.  I remember having driven along this track in previous years to reach another customer, so I suspect that the route to the cottage is now by a different route. None of my previous visits to Sanday have ever been at low tide t...
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