Natural highs and lows

The internet informs me that today, 20th May, is World Bee Day.  This seems an apposite time to mention the many species of bee which we saw whilst on holiday in Perthshire.  In mid-April, when we set off for Blairgowrie, there weren't too many species on the wing in Orkney. Mainly White-tailed, Buff-tailed and Common Carder bumblebees, Honey Bees and a few species of solitary bee, such as the Clarke's Mining Bee we were fortunate to find in our garden.  Wending our way south (so not making a beeline) certainly increased the number of species we might see. In fact, the cottage garden was a good place to look for bees. With plenty of nectar- and pollen-rich flowers, plus a profusion of tree blossom, sitting in a sunny spot nearly always produced something buzzy. There were wasps too, busy making  papier mâché f or their nests  using shavings from the owner's garden fence. Before setting off, I had not even considered what sort of bumbles we might bumble into, mai...

We set aside a day for venturing to Loch Ruthven, south east of Loch Ness, in the hope of seeing Slavonian Grebes in breeding plumage. These birds are Winter visitors to Orkney, but do not breed here, and don't wear their Summer colours during the stay. Come the day, the weather was dreich, with a steady and unrelenting rain falling from a grey sky and dripping from the Scots Pines around the cottage. However, checking the forecast for Inverness, it appeared that it was a different day there. More in hope than expectation, we set off anyway, and as we crossed the Slochd summit, heading north, the sun was indeed shining. No sooner were we ensconced in the hide at the RSPB reserve of Loch Ruthven, when an Osprey drifted through. It being April, it was still chilly despite the drier weather, but we were eventually rewarded with a view of a pair of Slav Grebes. To warm up again, we decamped to a tea room and farm shop near Foyers for a well-earned bowl of soup and some cake. With no fi...