A week in wildlife

Saturday - a pair of Linnets appeared on the lawn, and proceeded to munch their way through some Dandelion seed heads.

Sunday - very early o'clock, I was woken by a Willow Warbler singing from the top of a tree in the garden. Excuse the odd angle of the movie clip, but I was dangling my camera out of the top light of a window, all the while trying to ensure that my dressing gown remained the correct side of decent.

Monday - an oddly-familiar caterpillar appeared on the wall of the house, its markings were fascinating. I didn't immediately recognise it, so had to ask for help from local experts, who informed me that it was the larva of a Magpie Moth. The adult insect has the same colours, which explained the 'oddly-familiar' vibe.

Tuesday - a trip to the Wideford Burn to look for any early damselflies was a bit of a damp squib. But there was plenty else to see. Here's a smattering: Grey Wagtail; Garden Tiger Moth larva; hoverfly of the genus Eristalis; Green Dock Beetle.

Thursday - if you're wondering "What? No islands this week?". well, yes, here's a trip to Stronsay and some of the scenery and wildlife of the east coast around the Vat of Kirbister.

Oystercatchers

It doesn't show well in the photo, but there's a bazillion Primroses in this shot.

Photo-bombing Fulmar

A tempting spot for a dip? Er.... no.

The Vat of Kirbister

On one particular clifftop, there was a spread of fish bones, eggshells and feathers. Obviously something used this spot to consume its varied diet. A few feathers were collected for later ID. The eggshell (not shown) was probably from a species of auk.

Lapwing feathers

Friday - prepped and gave a short talk for the Orkney Field Club about the spread of Emerald Damselfly in Orkney 2010-2020. I hadn't previously done a Zoom talk, so all the screen sharing malarkey was a bit nerve-wracking, but apparently when I got into my groove things went well. Phew.

Now it's Saturday again, so you'll probably have to tune in next week for the next episode.