Natural highs and lows

At this time of year, more than six months since my last sighting of a dragonfly or damselfly, I feel their absence keenly. Currently, amidst this low ebb, I serendipitously turned to binge-watching the BBC's detectorists , a programme to which I had been oblivious until the recent Small Prophets series also written by Mackenzie Crook.  I was expecting the same gentle comedy and (like many of you, I'm sure) I was not disappointed.  However, what was completely unexpected was the beautiful framing of the landscape and the wildlife within it, which flowed throughout the three series. It was an absolute joy to watch.  Indeed, amongst the abundant wildlife featured, including flowers, beetles, butterflies, mammals and hoverflies, there were also a couple of damselflies and a dragonfly. Azure Damselfly, male, Series 1 Episode 3. © BBC detectorists Common Blue Damselfly, male, Series 3 Episode 5. © BBC detectorists Common Darter, male, 2022 Special. © BBC detectorists  Bu...

The weekend just gone saw a trip to Edinburgh to celebrate Megan's birthday and attend a Valtos gig. I have never spent much time in Scotland's capital city, with the previous highlight being a junior school trip to the zoo many, many years ago. Megan on the other hand, spent her student days there, and the venue for the gig, La Belle Angele, was one of her old stomping grounds. Megan had spent the previous week visiting friends in Inverness and Glasgow and taking in a Belinda Carlisle gig with her besties. I met up with her outside Waverley Train Station and we walked to our accommodation via a coffee and cake stop. Wildlife-wise, I was struggling to see many species of bird as we pottered the streets, but the walls and pavements provided plenty of flora to identify. When we reached our accommodation, maybe 25 minutes from the city centre, the view from the lounge window was not what I was expecting. Renting a top floor flat gave us a vista across Holyrood Park towards Arthur...

About a month ago, I received two separate reports from reputable observers of a small dragonfly which was red in colour. The Orkney list of resident Odonata does not include any size of red dragonfly (although we do have Large Red Damselfly). These reports came from two different islands, which lessened but didn't totally discount the possibility that what was seen was the same insect. With only brief views and no photographs to go on, an identification could not be given. For context, at that time throughout the UK, there were various species of dispersive dragonfly being reported, some possibly of UK origin, many more likely to have been migrants from Europe or North Africa. One of these species was Red-veined Darter. Meanwhile, slightly closer to home across the Pentland Firth, Caithness and Sutherland (like much of the UK) do have a resident species of red dragonfly, the Common Darter, but none have ever been reported from Orkney. I chalked this experience up to "Gah!...

We've been on holiday, experienced some rather pleasant weather, caught up with family and friends and returned home just before Storm Whoever hit Orkney. Now, here I am writing a blogpost whilst rain lashes the windows and all thoughts of colourful leaves have disappeared downwind at a rate of knots.  In our absence, Cookie and Mocha were well looked after in the comfort of their own home by Auntie Kat who, despite an allergy, is not anti-cat. It all started very early one morning, bleary-eyed and barely awake, stumbling out of bed at 5am to catch the morning sailing from Stromness to Scrabster. This was followed by a chilly drive to Inverness as the climate control module doesn't work in my car and, although at any point during the Summer I could have arranged for it to be fixed, we're now into Baltic season and a second hand unit off Ebay is awaiting the services of a skilled mechanic. Once in Inverness, I dropped off some books at Leakey's Bookshop and we hit variou...

After a week in the Cairngorm area, it was all change for the rest of the holiday. Between cottages, there was time for a pilgrimage to Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve in the hope of seeing a male Azure Hawker dragonfly (readers who have followed me from another place may remember expeditions in 2012 and 2015 where there was only a sighting of one female). With fours hours available before resuming the journey, it was always a long shot, but hope springs eternal, as they say, even in overcast conditions. Walking past the first wooden bench shortly after leaving the visitor centre resulted in a double take, as there, bold as brass, was sat a male Azure Hawker. Woohoo! Now I could enjoy the scenery... Beinn Eighe Slioch and Loch Maree The cottage for the second week was located just off a single track road between Lochinver and Achmelvich. After all the driving, it was good to be leaving the car to its own devices for a few days. Harbour Seal with pup, Achmelvich A beach at Achmelvic...