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 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...

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!...

On the wildlife front, things have been quite low key this past week, perhaps we've reached that mellow point of Summer when it is noticeable that the year is turning. Until I moved to Orkney, I had never considered which species of wildflower was the last to come into bloom in Summer - it's Devil's-bit Scabious, here - and that feels like more of a slippery slope to mid-Winter than the departing of Puffins or other auks. Yes, it is also much quieter bird-wise, with an end to the frantic feathered fecundity for our breeding species, little in the way of birdsong and a steady trickle of migrants heading back south. Looking at the images I have taken during the last week or so, there's a preponderance of insects, beginning with a moth discovered on the rear bumper of my van whilst visiting Stronsay. I think this is a Dark Arches. Whether I took it with me from Mainland, picked up a stowaway on the ferry or it was a Stronsay resident, I will never know. A late afternoon wa...