Unemployed, not.

So, in less than an hour now, as I write listening to the Don just after 11.00pm, my working life will end, my contract expire and I will be free(ish), if a tad less affluent. I've worked in education for local authorities for nearly all of my working life, since 1978 I think. I had a break in the early 90s when we lived in Kathmandu for a bit over a year but other than that it's been a full on slog. Not unenjoyable much of the time, interesting, challenging, but ultimately exhausting. I'm not going to witter on about it anymore now but marking the moment. Tomorrow I need to hand over my security and a hard drive and that will be that.

The new job is to have time to do this wildlife, natural history stuff better, with more time I should be more careful and accurate. Not make the sort of mistakes like this:-

Apolygus lucorum.

Unfortunately, because I didn't look carefully enough, I put this on iRecord as Closterotomus norwegicus, the Potato Capsid. Fortunately the verifier was on the ball and quickly spotted my error. A good catch as this may well be new for the county.

Closterotomus norwegicus, a real one.

C.norwegicus doesn't always have the two clear black spots on the pronotum, and the Hemiptera are an order I tend to neglect. Currently there a few light trap intruders in the fridge that I need to identify, I should get around to them shortly, and hopefully not make such errors. However, these mistakes are unavoidable at times, there's an interesting post on Not Quite Scilly discussing such things.

It's been a good few weeks with some nice discoveries. I confirmed that the 10-spot Ladybird is indeed breeding in our Wee Wood, finding two more larvae (only the second and third ladybird larvae ever found in Orkney) after the verifier was not keen on last year's identification, separation from 2-spot is nigh on impossible except by rearing through. However, 2-spot Ladybird has never been found in Orkney, and this time I found an adult as well.

Adalia deca-punctata, an adult (top) and larvae, two different instars I would expect.

 The ladybird book I have is excellent but the variation between the two larvae above would suggest that separation of larvae from Adalia duo-punctata is unreliable at best.

The Wee Wood also produced this Grey Dagger larva, so I can tick Grey Dagger now as theoretically adults are inseperable. In Scotland they should all be Grey Dagger and not Dark Dagger, however, Orkney has a record of Dark Dagger, I'm not sure of the circumstances of that, it would be interesting to find out.

Grey Dagger larva, interestingly still on the same Wych Elm leaf today, a week later.

Another denzin of Wee Wood which I was pleased with was this Sargus soldierfly. I'm reasonably confident this is Sargus bipunctatus (corrected to S. flavipes by Martin Harvey), another new one for me. The new book was a handy help with the ID.

Sargus flavipes.

Over the next year I have a target in mind of adding a new species to my life list every day, on average. That might be ambitious, I'm not sure. No harm in the aspiration anyway. It will keep me busy.

I have the intention of being more politically active as well, not in a party political way, I'm past all that now (I think). I've realised that I'm more of an anarchist than anything else, I really don't like anyone telling me what to do. In practical terms I guess some form of democratic socialism is the reality, however, campaigning and being a pain in the proverbial is an attractive way forward. Campaigning for the natural world and for rights perhaps, I'll have to figure it out.

Lastly, many thanks to AL for inviting me petreling this week. We caught 80 odd Stormies, including a Norwegian ringed control, and star of the evening a Leach's. 

From the top, Stormie about to return to the sea, Leach's and the Norwegian control.

On The Shunan the Blackwit flock has reached 21 before decling to 8 today. Four Ruff have hung around for the week, a Willow Warbler and Goldcrest were autumnal. A Merlin flew over my head in the garden and perched next door and the juv Marsh Harrier has shown a couple of times. As I came out of work during the week I'm pretty certain an unseen Bee-eater flew over calling.