Natural highs and lows

I'm not big on plans, or perhaps more accurately, I am quite big on plans but even bigger on continuously re-assessing the situation with each new snippet of information, so that the initial plan morphs into something completely different. I am told that this is intensely annoying to any prospective plan-ee. So, last weekend, I did have a plan, a fairly simple plan, but it was a secret as the planned thing was a surprise. However, I had done a bit of groundwork mid-week, suggesting an outing once the Monday to Friday grind was over and I was now on the point of enacting said plan to synchronise people, place, time and space. Megan: "My friend S has just messaged, her and I are going to go for a walk on Saturday morning, just into town, over the brae, popping by the new cafe and then the deli. OK?" Me: [Inwardly] Aarghh! [Out loud] "Yeah, no worries... maybe we could have our walk tomorrow morning?" Also me: [Hastily checks weather forecast for Sunday] And so it ...

With the coming of the new year, thoughts of Nature turn inevitably to lists. Records of sightings from the previous year are sent off to the appropriate county recorder, and if one happens to be a county recorder, then there's the job of checking the data for accuracy before uploading to the relevant recording scheme. Less officially, there's the matter of the household bird lists: species seen during the year (anywhere); species seen in Orkney; species seen on patch (a notional area loosely defined as "Did we walk from home?"); and species seen from home (aka the garden list). Megan's quite competitive about these, me less so, but if I ever manage to be temporarily ahead, I milk it for all it's worth.  I was roundly trounced (again) for 2023, but on a positive note, my year total for species seen was a personal best of 179, up 10 from the previous year. And so to 2024. The Ramble on New Year's Day kicked things off nicely, but there's always a bit of...

Last Tuesday, soaring temperatures south were widely reported on national media. Indeed, even in Orkney, folk were reported to have gone outside without a coat on. I think our forecasted high temperature was 19 degrees C, which is actually quite high for these parts. I was working in Stronsay, but had time to spare whilst waiting for a return ferry, so hit the beaches and clifftops to take in the glorious weather and wildlife. Sand Martin A male Common Blue butterfly Not found by me, a stunning Garden Tiger Moth Ragged Robin One of the Water Crowfoots (Crowsfoot? Crowfeet?) I think this is Amphibious Bistort One of the vetches A Blue-tailed Damselfly, a first official record for the island A Middle-Barred Minor moth nectaring on some Sea Rocket At a quarry pool, Swallows were splooshing onto the surface. I don't think this is drinking behaviour, which is more of a skimming action, but I wondered if they were soaking their breast feathers with water to take moisture back to their ne...

Today is dreich, with driving rain being helped along by a gale force easterly wind. I am supposed to be working in Shetland, but yesterday afternoon I was informed that the return ferry sailing was under review with a likelihood of cancellation, and we all know how that game ends. I made my apologies to customers and rescheduled the visit for later in the month. So, what to do on a day when staying indoors is by far the best option? Well, there's always admin to wrangle, but I couldn't even make that last until lunchtime. This afternoon I have been drafting minutes for a meeting that was held weeks ago. Zoom recordings are useful in this regard, but it does mean that you have to re-live the meeting again, effectively doubling the sense of "There's two and a half hours I won't see again", although, duh, I did! Now I need a bit of light relief, so I thought I would share a few photos of naturey shenanigans since my previous post. An early morning trip across Sc...

Saturday - a pair of Linnets appeared on the lawn, and proceeded to munch their way through some Dandelion seed heads. Sunday - very early o'clock, I was woken by a Willow Warbler singing from the top of a tree in the garden. Excuse the odd angle of the movie clip, but I was dangling my camera out of the top light of a window, all the while trying to ensure that my dressing gown remained the correct side of decent. Monday - an oddly-familiar caterpillar appeared on the wall of the house, its markings were fascinating. I didn't immediately recognise it, so had to ask for help from local experts, who informed me that it was the larva of a Magpie Moth. The adult insect has the same colours, which explained the 'oddly-familiar' vibe. Tuesday - a trip to the Wideford Burn to look for any early damselflies was a bit of a damp squib. But there was plenty else to see. Here's a smattering: Grey Wagtail; Garden Tiger Moth larva; hoverfly of the genus Eristalis; Green Dock Bee...