Natural highs and lows

Most of my recent wildlife watching moments have all been rather brief and haven't leant themselves to being photographable by dint of lack of a camera or an excess of wind speed. For instance, this morning we were sat on the sofa still in PJs and dressing gowns when we saw a male Hen Harrier hunting over the field behind our house. Excellent bird, excellent light, excellent view, no camera to hand, and sub-optimal attire for nipping outside anyway. However, there have been a few instances of good fortune A couple of Saturdays ago, we wandered down the hill into the town, headed for the local deli to browse their shelves for provender and maybe order a coffee to go. En route, I noticed a moth on the side of a vehicle, but only had my phone camera to capture an image. I was fairly sure I had never seen this insect before, but equally, I was quite sure that I knew what it was.  A male Vapourer moth (the female is flightless, he has to find her, hence the impressive antennae) The foll...

Whilst it has not seen such high temperatures as places further south, the recent warm spell in Orkney has been plenty hot enough for me. Outside work was carried out prudently with only short stints of exposure to the sun, although sitting out in the garden for every meal of the day was pretty special. Lack of rainfall is now the main concern, and from a personal perspective it is worrying how many dragonfly pools are very low or have already disappeared.  But let's appreciate a week's lovely weather before we become too gloomy at the prospect of climate change. A relaxing day spent in and around the garden was notable for the number of insects gathering on a Cotoneaster bush: honey bees; bumblebees (White-tailed, Common Carder, Gypsy Cuckoo); hoverflies ( Rhingia campestris, Leucozona lucorum, Helophilus pendulus, Sericomyia silentis , several Eristalis spp); at least one species of social wasp (Red wasp); and a couple of mason wasps ( Ancistrocerus oviventris and A. scotic...