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Stickleback photograph for all the right reasons

Last week I had some work in Stronsay, so took our guest Alan along for the day, giving us the opportunity to explore an island he had not previously visited. The early morning ferry journey was spent out on deck, watching for seabirds and cetaceans. There wasn't much of anything about, which we thought was a little worrying. As it was still quite early by the time we arrived on the island, we walked along Rothiesholm beach in gentle rain, seeing a dozen or so Bar-tailed Godwit at the westerly end. As we returned to the car, passing Bu Loch, there were an astonishing 81 Shelducks, a mixture of broods of different sizes. I dropped Alan off in Whitehall Village to explore the shore whilst I went to sort out a satellite tv problem.  Meeting up again, we popped into the Stronsay Hotel for a spot of lunch before heading back out to look for more wildlife. We visited a disused quarry to check in on some Blue-tailed Damselflies, and also found several Three-spined Sticklebacks. Then it wa...
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Accentuate the positive

It has been brought to my attention that of late, very occasionally, my words regarding the weather in Orkney have not been as positive sounding as they might be. In an effort to rebuff this accusation (and in no way is this an indication of my guilt), here is an upbeat post about the climes in current times. Reasons to be cheerful: 1. Our garden pond is full to overflowing; 2. The vegetation in the garden is oh so very lush; 3. The slugs and snails are having a whale of a time; 4. Yesterday, at Rerwick Head, I noticed that it was an indicated 30 degrees; 5. The weather is mainly vertical, which is eminently preferable to the other option. Part of the azimuth ring from an abandoned war-time gun emplacement Alan, our guest from Buckinghamshire, is certainly enjoying his time here.
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Rock and larva

Here we are... July. How did that happen? So we had better have a June round-up of wildlifey happenings since our last blog outing. It is another insect-laden post, but with a few other things thrown in for good measure. Nearing the end of the month, we welcomed Alan, an old friend of mine from the Milton Keynes days (aka The Admiral, for those of you with good memories), who arrived for a three week holiday. Just before he drove up to the house, Megan discovered a female Blue-tailed Damselfly egg-laying in our pond. Our second Odonata species, and already ensuring that there may be more next year. In the evening, we took Alan on a wander around Stromness Loons to stretch his legs after his long drive from Englandshire. We managed to hear a Corncrake and enjoyed the light from the setting sun giving a golden glow to the wet meadows. A couple of days later, I took Alan along on my monthly Sea Plantain Leaf Beetle survey. June isn't a time of year which produces many records for the ...
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Insectivarious

The weather in Orkney has finally improved a little, almost like it is Summer. Which means it is insect time! A Large Red Damselfly at Happy Valley (with less crime and drama), Stenness   Tipula maxima , rather a large cranefly at Happy Valley, Stenness Cheilosia illustrata, a hoverfly at Lyness, Hoy A pool by the track to Wee Fea, Hoy. Home to many damselflies Three small holes in a sandy bank, each home to a larva of the Green Tiger Beetle. The heads (ok, jaws) of the larvae are visible, waiting for some poor unfortunate invertebrate to wander by. Wee Fea A Four-spotted Chaser which Megan found at Wee Fea Whilst there are historic records of this species at this site, we had never seen one in this location before Prime Odonata habitat, Wee Fea A female Common Blue Damselfly, Wee Fea An atrocious photo of (possibly) a Thistle Root Borer moth, Wee Fea A pair of Red-necked Footmans... er... Footmen... er... Feetmans... er... Podpersons. And yes, they are propagating the sp...
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Loads of odes... and just one more

Last weekend we visited the nearby pond at Brinkies Guest House where the owner kindly allows us to monitor damselfly numbers through the flight season. A few days earlier there had been some torrential rain and so, sadly, we found several damselflies which had obviously been emerging at that time. During emergence their bodies are soft, only hardening up later in the process, so any strong wind or heavy rain can cause mayhem as the fragile creatures are thrashed around against vegetation. Although they were still alive, their abdomens were bent in zigzag shapes and their wings were often crumpled. Some were unable to fly, but even those who were able would be unlikely to be capable of mating.  Thankfully, we also found plenty of other damselflies, either emerging in calmer conditions, foraging for food or looking for love. A mature male Large Red Damselfly An immature female Large Red Damselfly A female Blue-tailed Damselfly A pair of Blue-tailed Damselflies mating Back at home, t...
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Festivals

In Orkney, the Nature Festival and Folk Festival both occur during May. Perhaps surprisingly, due to our busy lives, we attended more events of the latter than of the former. We did, however, visit the seabird cliffs at Marwick Head and have a good chat with RSPB staff who had set up telescopes to allow members of the public to view the various Gannets, Kittiwakes, numerous species of auk and Fulmars. For the folk festival, on the opening night we went to see Anna Massie of Blazin' Fiddles and RANT fame (plus BBC Radio Scotland's Travelling Folk trad music programme), who shared the bill with Polenta, a Finnish quartet of three fiddles and an acoustic guitar. The following evening, to indulge our trad/funk/electronica yearnings, we went to see Elephant Sessions in a nightclub in Kirkwall. The gig didn't start until 10.30pm so we didn't arrive home until after 1am. Then, 24 hours later, Megan went to see The Chair, another late gig. I reckoned I wouldn't manage two l...
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