Natural highs and lows

As we reach the end of 2021, I am reflecting upon a year when the weather has been anything but normal. The previous Winter wasn’t particularly stormy, then Spring was cool and dry, Summer was hot (by our standards!), and Autumn actually lasted longer than 24 hours, with the added bonus of some welcome colour to it. As I write, we’ve already had several storms of this Winter and the early December snows appeared on time. That much, at least, is usual. The birds which visit the county to breed in Spring and Summer, and those which use Orkney as a pitstop on their journeys to Southern Europe and Africa, are now long gone. Our Winter visitors have arrived: Redwings and Fieldfares tseep -ing and chack -ing their way through the shorter days; Long-tailed Ducks and Little Auks adding a frisson of excitement to our coastal walks; and Whooper Swans, Pink-footed Geese and Barnacle Geese grazing in the fields. Around our shores, the Grey Seal pupping season is now on the wane for this year, th...

Monday evening and early Tuesday morning brought plenty of snow showers to Orkney, such that buses were cancelled, schools were closed and driving anywhere was not for the faint-hearted. I didn't fancy risking life and limb indoors with office admin or outdoors with ladders, so called a 'snow day' and went for a walk instead. Ward Hill and Cuilags over on the island of Hoy were very photogenic, and the only time I stopped photographing them was when they were out of sight due to the terrain or the weather. The avenue of trees at the entrance to this property was only enhanced by the addition of a dusting of snow. In the fields, geese were gathered in large flocks, mostly Greylags, but with a few Pink-footed Geese in amongst them.  At the foot of the hill up to Scorradale, some small brown birds were flitting about on the ground in the shelter of some bushes. Habitat and movement suggested Dunnock, but when I looked closer, I realised that they were actually Lesser Redpolls....