Natural highs and lows

Towards the end of April, it was time for our "Summer" holiday, before Megan's busiest months of wildlife guiding around Orkney from May to September. This year we chose to return to a favourite destination, booking a week in a self-catering cottage at Nethy Bridge in the Cairngorms area of Scotland. We had previously only visited in June (in 2021 and 2022, although those two holidays had been quite different owing to the very cold Spring of 2021), so we were keen to see how we would fare several months earlier in the year. The journey south meant an early sailing from Stromness, the mv Hamnavoe easing out of port at 06.30 for the 90 minute crossing of the Pentland Firth. After a quick breakfast aboard, we headed out onto deck to sea watch for birds. I was rewarded with my first Great Skuas (Bonxies) of the year, and also a couple of Puffins as we neared Scrabster on the mainland. Driving off the ferry, most of our fellow passengers headed east for the A9 and the quick wa...

The past week or so has seen plenty of natural lows in the British Isles: the UK is experiencing more wildfires; one in six species are at risk of extinction in Great Britain; a person chopped down a tree (for some reason this is worse than lots of people elsewhere chopping down lots of trees); oh, and the go-ahead has been given to extract more gas and oil from the North Sea, single-handedly driving a coach and horses through any plan to meet our climate targets. It is all rather depressing, and I struggled to think of how to lift the mood. Signing online petitions helps a little, but travelling over 500 miles to join an actual demonstration in London is clearly not carbon-neutral, never mind the financial cost. Oh well, there's always the Autumn vole survey to do for the Orkney Native Wildlife Project, so that will have to suffice. Our designated site is a couple of 1km transects on Mull Head in Deerness. Several potential dates for the survey came and went in a flurry of heavy s...

For late September in Orkney, the weekend weather was mild and rather pleasant. Being outdoors was a joy, which is why we were sat in the garden with a cuppa when the call of a Raven drew our attention to the sky above Midland Hill. This hill is to the north of the garden and we watched a bird gliding effortlessly to and fro on outstretched wings, patrolling the ridge. We quickly realised that it wasn't in fact a Raven, the corvid's call had likely been a warning that there was a predator around. No, this was a Peregrine falcon, expertly using the southerly breeze to maintain height above the hill, which allowed it to scan a wide area for potential prey. I have no idea how long it had been there before the Raven's call, but we watched it soar back and forth for over quarter of an hour. Time enough to go and retrieve binoculars for a better view. Indeed, time enough to saunter back indoors again and fetch a 'proper' camera, as my small compact one wouldn't cope w...

A weekend break across Scapa Flow on the islands of Hoy and South Walls had a very damp start, with a day of non-stop rain. It was needed, mind, to replenish reservoirs, ponds and the water table. However, it wasn't ideal circumstances for nature watching. The only bright side was that it was vertical weather rather then the more usual horizontal sort we're used to. The plan was to look for Harbour Porpoises in the stretch of sea between Flotta and Hoy, and although we did see some at a distance, the precipitation didn't help the cause. The Martello Tower at Crockness, with the one at Hackness visible to the left A Fox Moth caterpillar Drookit bumblebees sheltering on thistles Drookit humans sheltering in a car Despite the wet weather, and against all expectations, we encountered four species of raptor out hunting in the rain. I really didn't think they did this. Below is a photo of a Sparrowhawk, taken just after a failed attempt to catch a Meadow Pipit. In addition, w...

Don't worry, this isn't one of those ranty blogposts bemoaning the threat to wildlife from domestic pets. The weather for the past wee while has been a mixture of sunshine and showers with a bitingly cold northerly breeze, so thermal clothing is still very much in order. After last weekend's year list shenanigans, this week was a bit of an eye opener. Tuesday Reports of a Great White Egret on the Loch of Sabiston prompted a swift perusal of the local map to see where the heck Sabiston was. After heading north through West Mainland, and finding a suitable place to safely park the car out of the way of farm traffic, we headed up a track which gave a view across the small loch.  We were a long way away from the Egret, as predictably it was on the far shore, but I managed a photo of sorts. Honest, this isn't a swan! Whilst watching the Egret, another birder mentioned that there was a Common Crane in a ploughed field not very far away, so we thought we had better try to see ...

Previously on 'Natural Highs and Lows'... "What WAS going to be my 100th bird species of the year?" As Fortune would have it, the next day saw a trip to the island of Hoy, a place of frequent pilgrimage in less virus-laden times. With all the restrictions on movement, my last trip had been in... hmmm... August, some eight months ago. That day I saw my last dragonfly of 2020 and it will be a few weeks yet before the first damselflies of 2021 are on the wing. But this post is about birds, hopefully. Aboard the Hoy Head, as she gently nosed out of Houton Bay headed for Lyness, the sky was blue from horizon to horizon. The waters of Scapa Flow were barely troubled by a wave. The view back to Houton and its old seaplane base was idyllic, although later that day the hill to the north would be ablaze as a fire got out of control. The loose aim of the day was to see White-tailed Eagle, by any measure a cracking bird to mark a century of species for the year (please note that ...