A trifecta of wary, scary and hairy

Today marks twelve windswept years since I moved to Orkney. To celebrate, Megan and I are self-isolating at either end of the sofa whilst we struggle with another bout of Covid, all the while trying to keep hydrated and push the value of Kleenex shares to an all time high.

Fortunately, I did manage to be out and about earlier this week, before succumbing to a virus which will pretty much discourage me from sealing the envelopes of this year's batch of Christmas cards.

Rothiesholm Bay, Stronsay. A cold Winter's day for a post-work amble

Sandy shore. Some distant Sanderlings foraging at the tideline

Trigger alert: the following photographs feature a harvestman (an arachnid, but not a spider).

Returning from a foray to the garden to recycle some coffee grounds, I noticed a harvestman sat on the door frame. It looked rather different to the species we see more regularly, so my interest was piqued. The ObsIdentify app reckoned that it was Dicranopalpus ramosus, but subsequent research and input from greater minds than mine revealed that:

• the first record of D. ramosus in the UK was in southern England around 1970;
• by the year 2000, it had reached Scotland;
• in 2015, it was discovered that D. ramosus was in fact two separate species which can't be separated without microscopic examination;
• my sighting is definitely a Dicranopaplus, but might be the species ramosus or caudatus.

A characteristic of the Genus is that they sit with their legs spread sideways

In close-up (sorry), the eponymous forked palps can be seen

A local repair in one of Stromness's quaint hillside alleys was described to me as "the dish is flat" and, indeed, I can confirm that none of the Astra satellites are in a geostationary orbit directly overhead in Orkney.

 

The culprit was a rusted bracket (always likely here)

However, I didn't spot the wildlife interest until I was realigning the dish. Tucked away on the side of the LNB at the end of the arm was a snail shell. I couldn't be sure that it was occupied, but ObsIdentify suggested it was a Hairy Snail Trochulus hispidus. Its hairs had worn off, which added to my thoughts that this might be an old shell without an incumbent. In a television context, there aren't many terrestrial gastropod molluscs which spring to mind, but older readers may already have a name in their heads!