It turns out that the upcoming heatwave forecast to arrive on a Bank Holiday weekend isn't playing a gig in Orkney (neither is the BH, to be honest). So I was rather glad for a couple of warm sunny days last weekend.
We took a trip down to the southern tip of Orkney, at Burwick in South Ronaldsay, to walk along the clifftops towards Barth Head. There were still plenty of flowers about, especially the frothy domes of Angelica, and these were attracting all manner of insects.
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| A hoverfly, Scaeva pyrastri |
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| Small Tortoiseshell butterfly |
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| Norwegian Wasp |
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| Not a clue, but a stunning wee beastie |
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| Five-banded Mason-wasp |
And here's a bit of footage of a Mason-wasp collecting mud to create a pot in which to store caterpillars to feed its larva.
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| Three-banded Mason-wasp |
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| An Eyebright |
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| Stoat |
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| Painted Lady butterfly |
There were birds aplenty too, lots of Gannets and Bonxies, even a Hen Harrier spotted out over the sea, but the day belonged to the insects.
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