Natural highs and lows

Here we are, galloping through the year as though we're living in a microwave oven... that analogy might be too close to the truth for comfort. Anyway, let's have a late August round-up. I often help out KH with her bumblebee surveys at Skaill Bay. August's trip wasn't in ideal conditions as there was a cold north westerly breeze coming off the Atlantic Ocean, coupled with the fact that many species of wildflowers had now set seed. The first transect was saved by swathes of Red Clover in the beach car park and the rare sighting of a Great Yellow Bumblebee (the project's target bee species). The second transect began even worse, nary a buzzy thing in sight: cattle had grazed a field; contractors had mowed Skara Brae; and the final section was just Ragwort as far as the eye could see. However, when we reached said Ragwort, it was heaving with bumblebees, mostly face-planted into a flower, mainlining nectar to fuel their way through such a cold day. Totals for the day ...

The last few days of Alan's holiday with us featured a run of island trips. Megan took him to Graemsay when she was wildlife guiding there, then we all went to Flotta for a day and, after that, spent the next one over in Hoy. The forecast for the Flotta trip was grim, but the rain held off until lunchtime, so we were able to see plenty of wildlife before we were soaked on the return journey. Fortunately, the community cafe was open, so we could have a hot brew and a little respite from the showers. The day belonged to Common Blue butterflies. They were everywhere, fluttering along verges and nectaring on Bird's-foot Trefoil. As the rain approached, they began to congregate in sheltered places, in ones, twos, threes, fours and fives. Megan found a few newly-emerged Six-spotted Burnet moths, and then whilst waiting for the ferry home, a Common Marbled Carpet, which had taken cover in a bike shelter. Northern Eggar caterpillar A female Blue-tailed Damselfly Three Common Blues Four...

Last week I had some work in Stronsay, so took our guest Alan along for the day, giving us the opportunity to explore an island he had not previously visited. The early morning ferry journey was spent out on deck, watching for seabirds and cetaceans. There wasn't much of anything about, which we thought was a little worrying. As it was still quite early by the time we arrived on the island, we walked along Rothiesholm beach in gentle rain, seeing a dozen or so Bar-tailed Godwit at the westerly end. As we returned to the car, passing Bu Loch, there were an astonishing 81 Shelducks, a mixture of broods of different sizes. I dropped Alan off in Whitehall Village to explore the shore whilst I went to sort out a satellite tv problem.  Meeting up again, we popped into the Stronsay Hotel for a spot of lunch before heading back out to look for more wildlife. We visited a disused quarry to check in on some Blue-tailed Damselflies, and also found several Three-spined Sticklebacks. Then it wa...

Here we are... July. How did that happen? So we had better have a June round-up of wildlifey happenings since our last blog outing. It is another insect-laden post, but with a few other things thrown in for good measure. Nearing the end of the month, we welcomed Alan, an old friend of mine from the Milton Keynes days (aka The Admiral, for those of you with good memories), who arrived for a three week holiday. Just before he drove up to the house, Megan discovered a female Blue-tailed Damselfly egg-laying in our pond. Our second Odonata species, and already ensuring that there may be more next year. In the evening, we took Alan on a wander around Stromness Loons to stretch his legs after his long drive from Englandshire. We managed to hear a Corncrake and enjoyed the light from the setting sun giving a golden glow to the wet meadows. A couple of days later, I took Alan along on my monthly Sea Plantain Leaf Beetle survey. June isn't a time of year which produces many records for the ...