Natural highs and lows

Today was mainly about volunteering for Species on the Edge, carrying out March's wildlife surveys. In the morning, Megan and I went to the old Stromness Waterworks site to look for bumblebees, then in the afternoon, I went to Yesnaby on the west coast to search for Sea Plantain Leaf Beetles. The previous two days had been absolutely gorgeous, the warmest and sunniest of the year so far, leading to the appearance of two Small Tortoiseshell butterflies and a Buff-tailed Bumblebee queen in our garden. Today was cooler and cloudier, so hopes weren't high for either survey. At the old Stromness Waterworks site, some of the verges had a few Coltsfoot in flower, the reservoir dam head was liberally sprinkled with Primroses, whilst a few Daisies and a Gorse bush managed to push the nectar-providing count towards four species. Even the feral Daffodils which inhabit so many Orcadian verges weren't yet convinced of Spring's arrival. It was all meagre fare for a foraging bee, and ...

Around this time of year I get to thinking: 1. Jeez, still two months to go before dragonfly season; 2. Will Winter never end?; 3. I haven't seen any Coltsfoot yet. There's not much I can do about the first two items on that list, other than moving south. Whilst in another time and place, I regularly used to confuse myself with Coltsfoot flowering dates, seemingly always presuming it to be sooner than it actually is. In fact, one year, I sat down and looked back through that particular blog and made a spreadsheet of the first flowering dates I had recorded for Coltsfoot in Orkney. The trend was clearly mid-March, so here I am, bang on cue. Having moved into a new home only last Summer, and this being our first Spring here, we weren't sure where we would find any Coltsfoot in flower. The setting is more urban, fringing on the rural, but Megan did find some at the beginning of March whilst recceing a walk along the coast about three miles from home. Meantime I had seen the gr...

It's that time of year again, when our photo calendar begins to take shape. With the nights drawing in, we can spend some time recapping the images we took whilst wildlife-watching in 2023, and whittle down the shortlists we've both created to leave, hopefully, enough pictures to fill all the pages. As for last year, most of the flora and fauna were photographed in Orkney, with just one exception, although it is of a species that is resident in Orkney. For the 2024 calendar, there are two options of front cover, as one was... er... tailored... to the recipients. Of the 14 images, the split isn't quite 50/50, with 6 of Megan's and 8 of mine. The year covered the time when we moved from Houton to Stromness, and obviously the calendar reflects this. And to think I was worried that we wouldn't be able to see as much wildlife "in the town". We have tried to be varied with our subjects, rather than concentrate on one topic, so for 2024 we have landscapes, a skys...

Whisper it quietly, there have been tentative signs that Winter is loosening her grip on the land. Yesterday, a short walk between showers was memorable for singing Skylarks and feisty Robins. There were a few floral surprises too. In a very sheltered verge, some Common Hogweed was in bloom, blatantly not waiting its turn in the normal order of white umbellifer flowering dates. Nearer to home (just across the road) another verge was beginning to reveal the shoots of dozens of Coltsfoot. During a sunny spell last week, when I was wandering around the garden, I noticed some insects buzzing about the flowers of Snowdrops and Crocuses. On closer inspection, these turned out to be honey bees, how very hardy of them! Chatting with a local beekeeper later that day, she confirmed that the daytime temperatures had been just about bee-friendly, so she wasn't too surprised. So, in celebration of that joyous sign of Spring, here's the Afro Celt Sound System, and their wonderful fusion of A...

Friday was so peachy that it could've only been peachier with the addition of raspberry sauce and vanilla ice cream. The weather was easily the most pleasant of the year so far, with blue skies and warm sunshine. In fact, it was so Spring-like, that I cleared my diary and offski'd to the beach at Churchill Barrier 4. The footpaths through the dunes were liberally edged with Dandelions and Coltsfoot, with plenty of bumblebees making the most of the pollen and nectar bonanza. This is likely a Common Carder. Nearer the tide line, a colourful fragment of urchin shell and a pearlescent periwinkle (?) caught my eye. Further up the beach, there were several species of bird foraging for insects, including this Pied Wagtail and Wheatear, but much excitement ensued when a Little Tern flew by. This tiny sea urchin shell is only about an inch across, it's pastel green colour making it stand out against the shell sand. Towards the South Ronaldsay end of the beach were about half a dozen...