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 ...

At the beginning of May, fate transpired to bring the wild a little closer to our door. Yes, it's those lovely, long-eared lagomorphs once more! The fields at the front and the back of our home extend northwards into the rough pasture of a little valley of the burn which once fed a mill. Across the other side of this valley are yet more fields. These are the places where we often see Brown Hares, at least if the hares are not actively seeking to be unseen! Of late, the field behind us was ploughed, rolled and sown, making it less than ideal hare habitat (that is, until the crop comes through), and all the other fields have been liberally 'enriched' with slurry. So, dear reader, you may be wondering, where does a discerning hare go to dine, rather than frequent the slim pickings of a ploughed field or the piquant plate of a shoddy sward? The three building plots adjacent to us are still a blank canvas as regards bricks and mortar, which means that they remain what, I am gues...