Natural highs and lows

As I type, Winter has arrived in Orkney, with sub zero temperatures, a dusting of snow and a personal preference for hibernating on the sofa. This change of weather was preceded by a weekend of gales and we had to spare a thought for any Grey Seal pups on a west-facing shore who will have had a miserable time of it. Shortly before our trip to Aberdeen, we visited the pupping beaches at Burwick in South Ronaldsay. We counted nearly 100 pups in various stages of maturity: from recently born; through the "white fluffball" stage; to moulted into a sea-worthy black pelage and about to take the plunge towards independence. Here are a few photos of the day: Pupping beaches A recently-born pup A suckling pup, piling on the pounds  A mum (on the right) warning off another mum who has strayed too close to her pup It's a wonderful bit of coastline Distant sun rays over mainland Scotland The walk also provided a bit of ornithological interest with a big flock of Barnacle Geese, a cou...

Contrary to all expectation, there have continued to be a few occasional balmy (for Orkney) days at the beginning of November. Here are some photos from three walks of varying distance and location. There's a comfortable three mile loop close to home, along single track roads which allow us to circumnavigate the Stromness Loons. I should say that 'loons' refers to marshland, rather than to any opinion of local mental stability. In the shelter of a bridge over a small burn, a Beech tree was hanging onto its leaves as only a Beech tree can. By one of the many ditches running through The Loons was a Grey Heron A couple of Hen Harriers seemingly uncomfortable sharing the same bit of sky A Fieldfare in a roadside garden November wouldn't be November without a trip across the Churchill Barriers and down to the southern tip of South Ronaldsay to marvel at the wonder that is Grey Seal pupping time. We set off from the car park at Burwick in a rain shower, but thankfully this so...

The 2023 calendar has now been posted out to family, with a spread of images from our wildlife year. Most of the flora and fauna were photographed in the county, with the one exception being in the Cairngorms but of a species that is resident in Orkney. Megan has more photographs here than I, so I was allowed to donate the cover photo. You will note that we don't do dawn landscapes! Maybe that needs to be rectified before the next edition? Cover - Puffins, Birsay; January  -  Fulmars, North Ronaldsay; F ebruary -  Whitehall sunset, Stronsay;  March -  Starlings, Orphir;  April -  Mute Swan, Kirkwall; M ay -  Spring Squill, South Ronaldsay;  June - Large Red Damselflies, Glen Feshie;  July -  Six-spot Burnet moth, Flotta;  August - Grey Dagger caterpillar, Orphir; September -  Devil’s-bit scabious, South Walls;  October - Grey Seal pup, South Ronaldsay;  November -  Autumn leaves, Firth;  December -...

It has been a week of highs and lows, has it ever. On Monday, my younger daughter gave birth to a bonnie wee baby boy, instantly promoting me to the status of grandad. The Winter thrushes are still very much in evidence, the field over the road constantly thronging with Redwings and Fieldfares. Redwing Fieldfare It is one of those universal laws of nature, brought to us through the medium of astrophysics, that if a photograph of the mid-winter sunrise is required, it is guaranteed to be cloudy. The same day I had a bit of a change of scene, finding myself not climbing up a ladder or crawling through a loft as usual, but working aboard the local authority's newest tug. As it's Christmas, I guess I should've launched into a rousing chorus of Posh! a la Grandpa Potts from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Yesterday, the male Sparrowhawk was back. Because we both had places to be, we weren't able to identify the victim straight away. However, once home again, I had a look at the fea...

This year, in Orkney, wildlife news has been dominated by one topic, bird flu. This might please Stoats, as they've been in the headlines a little less, but everyone else is very concerned about the effect on seabird, wader and wildfowl numbers. Scotland holds 46% of the world population of Northern Gannets and 60% of the world population of Great Skuas. It has been heart-breaking to witness so many dead and dying individuals of these two species during the breeding season. And dozens more species are affected by the disease. The current outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) amongst domestic and wild birds is the worst ever seen in the UK. Monitoring by DEFRA, whilst encompassing reports of wild bird mortality, seems to focus on the poultry industry. As a wildlife watcher this has been rather frustrating, with no outlet to be able to do anything to help wild birds. Fortunately, NatureScot have now launched an HPAI surveillance project which allows volunteers to assis...

Readers (either of you) may be wondering what has happened to the reporting of one of Orkney's annual natural events, a fixture in the calendar that is as reassuringly regular (in these most irregular of times) as it is, by turns, calming and dramatic. Yes, it is once again Grey Seal pupping time, a roller coaster blend of cuteness, doting motherly love (well, for the first six weeks of a pup's life) and testosterone-fuelled shenanigans. This year, our pilgrimage didn't occur until peak pup, which meant full beaches, frayed nerves and testy bulls, with more drama than we were anticipating. A few of the rocky coves in South Ronaldsay, where a coastal clifftop path gives good views of the pupping beaches without disturbing the seals. This was the only wildlife which was photographed close up, everything else was shot with lots of zoom from a good distance away. Oh, it's possibly Fried Egg Fungus? A content pup A mum and pup dozing together Two pups which have moulted out ...