New Year's Day

 Yesterday (31/12/2023) and the Great White Egret was present briefly on The Shunan. But not seen today.

However I shouldn't complain. I'd booked to go on the Field Club ramble, or amble, around Stromness. I'd managed to get my act together enough to get up early, walk the hound and then scoot to Finstown first. I debated between The Slip for white-wingers or Heddle Rd for passerines, I didn't have time for both. Heddle Road it was and it was a good choice. I don't think many folk will have ever have had Treecreeper in their first twenty species of the year in Orkney.

Treecreeper. The ring is locally applied, ringer's garden across the road from where I was watching.

I glimpsed Coal Tit a few times as well before finally getting a decent view of one of the sneeky wee beasts. No photo opportunity though.

Then off to Stromness and a meet up with the Field Club. It was a lovely day and we wandered past Stromness Loons, to the Reservoir and then round. Highlights were four Short-eared Owls, three Kestrels and two hen Harriers. There was a quite old Blackthorn hedge which I was unaware of, and I found a larval case of Coleophora alticolella, which folk found interesting.

Larval case, Coleophora alticolella.

Having looked carefully at the case I think it may still be occupied so I've labelled it up and put it in a rearing pot, I've never seen the adult moth.

At lunch time I managed to find a moss and a lichen of interest. However, I think they were both species I've recorded previously.

Peltigera membranacea, a dog lichen.

Hylocomium splendens, a moss, rather a common one.

After lunch we tried to find a couple of prostrate Junipers, one of which is purportedly huge, 8m. However, other folk were looking at the sea and although we were very distant the Orcas in Hoy Sound were pretty obvious. There was a male and about seven others, presumably the 65s. We watched the Orcas for a good while, in the end they seemed to just head out west. And somehow I missed the Juniper, I will go back.

Tea and stolen were enjoyed, thank you MT and GW. There had been a fair bit of useful discussion about moths during the day which I've followed up on today. The moth stuff is a lot of work, kind of like a job!

On the way home I stopped at some Otters.