Hopping and hoping

Fear not, gentle reader, for despite the interconnectedness of all things, this is not a continuation of the recent rabbit-inspired blogpost. 

In the last week or so, there have been numerous trips to some of the smaller islands of Orkney, all work-related, but with the occasional opportunity for a bit of wildlife watching.

My first port of call was Westray, on a cold, rainy and windy day. I recall eating my lunch in the car, parked by a pool and reedbed near the shore of the Bay of Tuquoy Bay. No photos from the day, but I did manage to add Moorhen and Coot to my year list.

Next up was Sanday for a couple of satellite tv repairs. Once these were completed, I drove to the eastern end of the island and wandered along a track towards Start Point lighthouse. 

I remember having driven along this track in previous years to reach another customer, so I suspect that the route to the cottage is now by a different route.

None of my previous visits to Sanday have ever been at low tide to allow access to the lighthouse area. This day was no exception.

The following day, I swapped the inter-island ferries for a small 8-seater aeroplane to head to North Ronaldsay for a satellite broadband repair. On arrival, I realised that I had not visited the island at all in 2025. With a few hours to spare before the return flight back to Kirkwall, I headed to the new (to me) bird hide at Ancum Loch.

The remains of the old hide

Black-tailed Godwit

Lapwing

Hen Harrier

Long-billed Dowitcher

Ancum Loch

A distant flock of Golden Plover framed by the structures sited at Dennis Head

Lowering the Bar (-tailed Godwits)

After numerous delays, postponements and subsequent rescheduling, I finally managed to reach the island of Egilsay (population approx 16) to install satellite broadband at the Community Hall. Again the weather was dreich, with the sun only putting in an appearance once I had reversed my car onto the little boat for the return sailing. The tower on the horizon is part of the ruined 12th Century kirk dedicated to St Magnus who was martyred nearby in 1117, and subsequently had a cathedral built in his memory in Kirkwall.

Closer to home, in fact in the back garden, the proto-pond had some more attention last weekend after an Autumn and Winter to bed in. This allowed us to see where the overflow actually was, and Megan's dad popped over to lend a hand with adjustments. The soil on the bank over the liner was scraped back, adjustments made to the height of the bank, the edge of the liner was then reburied and the bank made steeper. A step was built at the front of the pond (nearest the patio) and several seed mixes were broadcast around the bank to, hopefully once they germinate, hold the soil in place. We chose a wet meadow mix which has 24 wildflower species and 6 grass or sedge species, and also a pond-edge wildflower mix which has 22 species in it. There is some overlap between the two species lists but, funnily enough, we don't think that will be a problem.

At the back of the pond, where we removed a slab to create the step at the front, there will now be a pebble beach to help creatures escape from the water and also to allow birds and insects to drink. Without even the remotest whiff of a dragonfly or damselfly last year, I am hoping that more vegetation is the answer to lure them in. It would be rather ironic, in the classically-accepted Alanis Morissette sense, if the county odonata recorder failed in this endeavour.