Soggy.

It's been a wee bit damp here, the fields are sodden, and the lochs larger than usual. The hound and I had a very damp walk down to Loch of Bosquoy today. It was beautiful earlier on and then we watched the cloud bank approach. The hound managed to kill a Brown Rat in the barley stubble (not really stubble as such as due to the rain they've never managed to collect the straw), she also got herself in a bit of a muddy, wet state.

At Bosquoy a Glaucous Gull flew through, new for that site. When I was home I scanned the loch from the garden, pot of tea and my lemon drizzle cake I made yesterday, and there was a Barnacle Goose, also new for that site I think. Also, from home I could see huge numbers of Aythya ducks on Loch of Harray, but I lacked the energy to drive down there to check them out, they were on the far side so it would have not necessarily been very easy anyway. The most notable feature of the excursion were the numbers of Snipe, I bet there were 300 - 400 although I put just 120 in Birdtrack.

There were small numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing all over the place today, Brambling and Chaffinch in the garden, and the Waxwings are getting closer, in Finstown today. Louise had what was likely a Jack Snipe as she drove up the track in the dark, late afternoon.

I've finally got around to trying to identify the weevil that was in my yellow tray on 24/10/2022, not easy. Hopefully, MG will put me out of my misery as I'm struggling with the beast.

Ceutorhynchus sp, possibly C. picitarsis but I'm not convinced. (Well, I should have been, as MG has confirmed as this species. I would have got nowhere near without MG's guides which are on the Beetle Recording site.)

The above is pretty exciting as it is new for Scotland I think.

I had success with a couple of Staphylinids I was asked to identify (by the CR, chuffed to be asked). A Philonthus politis, which I've found myself at least once and, more interestingly, a Quedius semiaeneus, which I think is new for the county.

Quedius semiaeneus, thanks to CW for confirming the ID.

On a trip to Kirkwall I did stop at the PDC, which I shamefully do not always check. The Hoodies were wonderfully cooperative.

Hooded Crow.

On the crow front we currently have a not very well Jackdaw in the garden. If they come to the feeders it's usually because they are dying but this adult appears to have wing strain, it can fly, not very well.

Jackdaw.

Hopefully he/she will recover soon enough, I'm not that hopeful unfortunately.

My other distraction has been looking for leaf mines etc. Following the Coleophora success an inspection of the Ash that hangs over our garden revealed a folded leaf and cats of Gracillaria syringella, I was much pleased.

Gracillaria syringella, folded leaf and cat. Thanks to BS for confirming.

Not much on the moth front from light trapping, Angleshades and a late Rosy Rustic. The last migrants were two Rush Veneer on 27/10/2022.

However, I did finally get around to identifying the tiny beetle that appeared to wander out of the trap and on to my notebook on 26/10/2022. It turned out to be Micrambe ulicis (vini) which is associated with Gorse. Hard to tell if it really came out of the trap or was just on my clothing. Anyway, a new species for me just the same.

Micrambe ulicis, thanks to DA and LL for commenting on ID.

I'm currently working on a few things, but particularly writing up the birds of this 1km sq, everything that I've recorded and the increases and decreases over the last thirteen years. I'll put a URL in the side panel when I've done a few more species, I'm just writing species randomly as take my fancy at the moment.

Looking back to Birsay from Northside earlier this week.

The Hoy hills from Loch of Bosquoy as the cloud crept in today.