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Showing posts with the label Bilberry

Mainly at ankle height

On a recent trip to Hoy (not looking for dragons this time), I was obviously in close-up mode. Weather conditions were dry but blustery, so I'm not too sure why my macro shots worked better than my scenic or panorama ones. But my photos of Rackwick Bay and the Old Man of Hoy were all less than satisfying, so here's a selection of the views that were mainly at ground level. Actually, now that I think about it, for many of the flower/insect shots, I was holding the plant stem with my other hand! Ling Bell Heather Bearberry Arctic Bearberry (and Crowberry and Bearberry and Ling) Norwegian Wasp An early instar caterpillar of the Fox Moth On the path back from the Old Man, heading towards Rackwick Bay Crowberry Goldenrod Blaeberry (Bilberry). There should've been more berries in this shot, but I wasn't quick enough with my camera before someone ate them 🙄 Hoverfly, Volucella bombylans On the return route, whilst watching a couple of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on some t...

National Dragonfly Week 2021

Another year, another National Dragonfly Week, yet they always find a way to be different. For 2021, NDW straddles the change in Covid levels, but here in Orkney we were already in Level 0 and the chances of more than 15 people turning up for a dragonfly walk on a small island are fairly minimal. No, what we're contending with are the effects of a cold Spring and a dry Summer (not hot, you may note, but definitely dry). A graphic produced by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency last week, showed Orkney with the lowest soil moisture reading in the country. Orkney?! Dry?! What the actual?! To compound matters, rather than start the week with a bang, I was working. Admittedly on the correct island for maximum chances of dragonflies (Hoy), but working nevertheless. Kindly, my partner was more than happy to wander off searching for dragons and damsels on my behalf (into 40+mph winds), and found a very respectable six species, including the first Common Hawker and Black Darters of ...