Natural highs and lows

Last week, I had planned to blog about a recent birthday, not a particularly significant birthday, but one with plenty of punning opportunities if one happened to be of a Beatles frame of mind. In fact, as part of the punning, I was going to post on the following day, thereby introducing a further song title. As I said, "I had planned", but somehow the muse struggled to leave the ground and the moment was lost. Anyhow, it was a lovely day, with a nice lunch at a gin distillery and a bit of wildlife watching afterwards (including my first Brambling of the year). Instead, here's a round up of October's natural history happenings. Parsnip Moth (on the bedroom wall, not in the vegetable patch) Our first Blackcap of the Autumn, which instigated a search for an apple source Whilst putting out the swiftly-purchased apples, we noticed that the recently-strimmed and mown lawn was riddled with Orkney Vole tunnels running through the grass. Unbeknownst to us, we had been sharing...

As may have been discerned from the comments at the end of the previous blogpost, we have been away on our "Summer" holiday, fortuitously discovering some balmy weather but sadly missing out on a serendipitous meet-up with Mark, the beinn bicycling bard of Blogger . Whilst he and Deb were pedalling by our home in Stromness, Megan and I were driving by their holiday accommodation near Melvich. For 2025, our holiday location was Blairgowrie, on the south west side of the River Ericht in Perth and Kinross. This was a little further south than our usual jaunts but, as the meteorology proved, was certainly near enough to the Equator for this scribe. The journey down through northern Scotland and the Cairngorms was done in several sections, with overnight stays in Dornoch and Aboyne, before finally arriving in leafy and blossomy Blairgowrie. Whenever the narrowness of the road or the speed limit dictated that we keep below 40mph, the car windows were opened and we listened intently...

Usually, having spent at least a day travelling to a holiday destination, I like the first full day on holiday to not involve a car. So, having carelessly forgotten to check the weather forecast, we woke to a wet Sunday morning and immediately resolved not to be so carless. Instead, we drove to RSPB Loch Garten to see a pair of Ospreys. The visitor centre has a wall of tv monitors showing camera close-ups of various scenes. Two large monitors showed the Osprey nest and a favourite perch in a neighbouring tree. Another monitor was split-screened into four, giving a view of a bird feeder; a couple of nest cams (Goldeneye and Great Tit); and a mammal box baited with nuts which had a Bank Vole foraging busily. The female Osprey had very recently (within the hour) laid her first egg for the year, so the staff were very excited. Her mate was sat in the neighbouring tree, having just caught a Brown Trout, which he was undecided whether to offer to the female or eat himself. After watching for...

Sunday afternoon saw us pottering out and about, armed with binoculars (Megan) and camera (me). Despite a chilly northeasterly breeze, a brief sunny spell tempted us to walk across the brae to the other end of town in the hope of seeing a few migrating birds. As it turned out, we only managed a brief view of a female Blackcap, which I helpfully failed to photograph. Leaving the narrow lanes behind, we ambled downhill through flagstone alleys until we reached Alfred Street, then headed homeward along the main street with its cobbled strip. In Victoria Street, we were pleasantly surprised to find the delicatessen open on a Sunday afternoon, so we popped in for a cup of hot chocolate to warm ourselves up, as well as a couple of pistachio cannoli. It's important to support local businesses.  Stepping back outside, we sat down on a helpfully-provided bench to drink our hot chocolate, listen to small flocks of Waxwings trilling overhead, and gaze across the street at an art gallery. Cert...

Autumn has seemed to carry on where Summer left off, with the occasional pleasant day crowded out by a welter of wetness. At least I have been able to keep dry this week, with trips to Caithness and Shetland avoiding the worst of the rain and gales. Out and about in Orkney on All Souls Day, I found this newly-emerged moth as I was leaving a customer's property. It's an Angle Shades whose wings have not yet fully extended. I relocated it from a window frame to some sheltered vegetation.  Bonfire Night and its fireworks hold no great charm for me, but I was delighted to see this huge clump of Ivy in flower whilst on a walk in Finstown, which was a mass of exploding rockets as it provided a useful source of nectar late in the year. Nearby were a couple of Blackcaps, a male and a female, diligently foraging through the leaves and stems for food. However, before I could photograph the warblers, a muffled shout alerted me to an even greater wonder. Above us, in the branches of the tr...

Not been out much of late, although a walk around the bay yesterday yielded a vista of retreating and lightening horizons. Such views captivate me. Looking across to Hoy from Houton Bay However, there has been much staring out of the window at the comings and goings under the bird feeder. It is time well spent, for patience has its rewards. Firstly, a Blackcap...   And then a Brambling, It appears that the next storm will not trouble Orkney unduly, passing to the south. Stay safe down there!

Following Easter's icy embrace and as April progressed, Winter began to ease its grip upon Orkney. At least, temporarily. A fortnight ago, the archipelago hummed to the tune of a legion of lawn mowers, hastily unearthed from dusty corners of sheds and garages. This past week has seen some pleasant sunny days, albeit with a cool breeze at times. For a few days, there was a new visitor to the garden, a male Blackcap. Apples were quickly deployed as an enticement to hang around, but this fella was already in Summer mode and hunting insects through the bare bushes and trees. He was constantly on the move, which made photography difficult, and the salt-encrusted windows didn't help either. This week also saw some volunteer training for the Orkney Native Wildlife Project, an initiative which aims to protect an endemic sub-species of rodent, the Orkney Vole, as well as all our ground-nesting birds (for the avoidance of doubt, that's most of them). Several years ago, I had signed u...