Natural highs and lows

The weather in Orkney has finally improved a little, almost like it is Summer. Which means it is insect time! A Large Red Damselfly at Happy Valley (with less crime and drama), Stenness   Tipula maxima , rather a large cranefly at Happy Valley, Stenness Cheilosia illustrata, a hoverfly at Lyness, Hoy A pool by the track to Wee Fea, Hoy. Home to many damselflies Three small holes in a sandy bank, each home to a larva of the Green Tiger Beetle. The heads (ok, jaws) of the larvae are visible, waiting for some poor unfortunate invertebrate to wander by. Wee Fea A Four-spotted Chaser which Megan found at Wee Fea Whilst there are historic records of this species at this site, we had never seen one in this location before Prime Odonata habitat, Wee Fea A female Common Blue Damselfly, Wee Fea An atrocious photo of (possibly) a Thistle Root Borer moth, Wee Fea A pair of Red-necked Footmans... er... Footmen... er... Feetmans... er... Podpersons. And yes, they are propagating the sp...

Last weekend we visited the nearby pond at Brinkies Guest House where the owner kindly allows us to monitor damselfly numbers through the flight season. A few days earlier there had been some torrential rain and so, sadly, we found several damselflies which had obviously been emerging at that time. During emergence their bodies are soft, only hardening up later in the process, so any strong wind or heavy rain can cause mayhem as the fragile creatures are thrashed around against vegetation. Although they were still alive, their abdomens were bent in zigzag shapes and their wings were often crumpled. Some were unable to fly, but even those who were able would be unlikely to be capable of mating.  Thankfully, we also found plenty of other damselflies, either emerging in calmer conditions, foraging for food or looking for love. A mature male Large Red Damselfly An immature female Large Red Damselfly A female Blue-tailed Damselfly A pair of Blue-tailed Damselflies mating Back at home, t...

In Orkney, the Nature Festival and Folk Festival both occur during May. Perhaps surprisingly, due to our busy lives, we attended more events of the latter than of the former. We did, however, visit the seabird cliffs at Marwick Head and have a good chat with RSPB staff who had set up telescopes to allow members of the public to view the various Gannets, Kittiwakes, numerous species of auk and Fulmars. For the folk festival, on the opening night we went to see Anna Massie of Blazin' Fiddles and RANT fame (plus BBC Radio Scotland's Travelling Folk trad music programme), who shared the bill with Polenta, a Finnish quartet of three fiddles and an acoustic guitar. The following evening, to indulge our trad/funk/electronica yearnings, we went to see Elephant Sessions in a nightclub in Kirkwall. The gig didn't start until 10.30pm so we didn't arrive home until after 1am. Then, 24 hours later, Megan went to see The Chair, another late gig. I reckoned I wouldn't manage two l...

Time for a bit of a round-up of the last month's nature watching since we returned from holiday. Our weather has continued to be rather mercurial, the occasional warm, sunny day in between dreich periods with chilly winds. For the season, some things are early, some things are late, the wildlife is not sure what to make of Spring 2026. Neither does it help an amateur naturalist with his sartorial decisions, so if in doubt it's four layers and a set of waterproofs. A trip to Sanday saw me visiting a bit of the island which I not previously seen. After a walk along the beach at Backaskaill Bay, I detoured to investigate a large metal construction. It commemorated a sad event which happened more than 30 years ago. Back at home, we're slowly adding more aquatic plants to the pond as friends donate things from their gardens. We now have our very first Bogbean flower! The dragonfly season in Orkney started in mid-May, but it was only last week, as more sightings came in, that we ...