What goes around comes around

A few weekends ago, after several days of dreich weather, Orkney mainland was bathed in some late afternoon sunshine. Cabin fever was soothed with a trip to Happy Valley.

A Hen Harrier quartering the fields, much to the annoyance of many small birds

A Vapourer moth caterpillar sunning itself on a Hawthorn leaf

A sawfly

A hoverfly, Rhingia campestris

The following weekend, during a temporary lull in lawn mowing, I found another hoverfly, Leucozona lucorum, nectaring on an Ox-eye Daisy.

Through late Spring and early Summer, there were a pair of Goldfinches in the garden, the male often singing from the top of one of the alder trees in the hedge. This isn't something that usually happens, they're more of a Winter visitor to the bird feeder, so we wondered if they were actually nesting in the garden. Activity seemed to centre on this Fuchsia, but we were loathe to disturb them, despite our intense curiosity.

When, eventually, a few days had passed without either sight or sound of a Goldfinch, we sneaked a peek into the bush and found this empty nest, so I think we can safely say that they raised a brood to fledging.

Likely the local Hen Harrier will be pleased too.