Natural highs and lows

Apologies for all the existential weather angst which has been the flavour of this blog for a few weeks now. My excuse was an imminent guided walk which I was due to lead for the Orkney Field Club. One of my fellow club members usually takes the reins for the New Year Ramble, but for 2024 she was unable to do so, prompting an offer from me to do it instead. I usually only volunteer to lead one walk a year, in Summer, to look for dragonflies and damselflies. As this is the nearest thing I have to a specialised subject, and the walk is very focussed on these species, it's ok, I don't feel too intimidated whilst leading a group. I do usually struggle with social interactions, but press my dragonfly button and it's a different world. But in the middle of Winter? There's lots less of everything. Few flowers, very few insects and not much in the way of bird life. Nice light, though, as long as it's not raining or blowing a hoolie. So, as storm after storm barrelled across...

Last Friday was a warm and pleasant day in the county, but I wasn't well enough to make the most of it. In different circumstances, it would've been the perfect day for the first dragon hunt of the year. By Saturday, I was feeling better, and Megan dragged me out for some fresh air regardless. The day was cooler and cloudier, but nevertheless, we headed to Inganess and walked alongside Wideford Burn, taking in plenty of wildlife as we went. In fact, as soon as we left the car park, the good vibes began. A male Hen Harrier was quartering across a nearby hillside, a Brown Hare warily skirted the edge of a bed of flags, Sedge Warblers and Reed Buntings were singing from the the rough pasture beside the burn, whilst a conservatively-estimated bazillion insects were thronging in every sheltered spot. [Spoiler alert: there were no dragons or damsels.] A little inland, the burn runs through a small woodland, and this is where we concentrated our entomological efforts. Pink Purslane Br...