March musings

Jings, March has flown by in a flurry of... well, mainly snow.

I have ventured outside occasionally, but half of the photos below were taken from indoors.

It was so cold that even some Fieldfares were tempted from the surrounding fields into the garden to forage. They were very flighty, possibly due to the local Blackbirds not being so keen to share the apples we put out.

The seed feeders were busy with House Sparrows, Greenfinches, Starlings, the occasional Robin, a Rook and these Goldfinches. Meanwhile, beneath the feeder, Dunnocks, Rock Doves, Blackbirds and an even more occasional mouse helped themselves to spillages.

The Hoy Head departing Houton bound for Lyness as another snow shower rolls in. The Rock Doves are waiting for a few messy eaters to show up (yes, Starlings, I mean you).

Venturing out along the bay between wintry showers, wrapped up warm against the bitter wind. I seem to have spent the month never far from a hot beverage.

The Hoy Head again, this time approaching Houton, with Northlink's Hamnavoe in the background. If there's a big swell out in the Atlantic, the Hamnavoe sneaks through Scapa Flow to give passengers from Scrabster a slightly more comfortable crossing of the Pentland Firth.

This photo was taken during a shore survey of Houton Bay. It was bitterly cold and I suspect that I whinged the whole time (Megan nods). I am such a wuss.

However, I was the only one who was fit enough (without a cold and a throaty cough) to carry out a survey in Orphir Bay. Here's a feather which was just sat on the strandline like this. It had previously belonged to a Great Northern Diver (or Loon, if you're in North America), and a knowledgeable colleague has identified it as being a scapular feather from an adult.

Returning from the survey, I spotted this Brown Hare hunkered down in the shelter of a wall. And I didn't blame it, it was absolutely Baltic.

Could we have some pleasingly warm weather now, please?