Two bays, twa burns, twilight

A pleasantly sunny day, sandwiched between cold and cloudy ones, provided a bit of hope for an odonatological outing. Eagle-eyed M was recce-ing another walk and invited me along as rent-a-crowd. The route was from Inganess Bay, westwards along Wideford Burn, then over into Scapa Bay and along the Crantit Burn. What I hadn't appreciated was that we would be beginning and ending the walk in the centre of Kirkwall, which added a few miles to the distance and we actually clocked up nearly 20000 steps!

A hoverfly. Discussions continue as to its identity, but likely either the Genus Parasyrphus or Syrphus

Large Red and Blue-tailed Damselflies sharing a Dock leaf. Well, I say 'sharing', the LRD is less happy about the arrangement, hence the wing flaring! Oh, and the BTD was the first sighting this year.

Close-up of Large Red

Scapa Bay

A rust fungus on Meadowsweet

Ditto

In the evening, Our Lass and I went out with L and C to the Eviedale Bistro, for pizzas baked with homemade sourdough. We had a table near the clay oven so were toasty warm! After the meal, we had a post-prandial wander around the Broch of Gurness in Evie, before venturing over to the Ring of Brodgar after sunset.

These photos were taken at about 11.45pm, with the only sounds to be heard the calling of wading birds from the shores of Stenness and Harray Lochs and the surrounding wet pasture. As we pootled back to the car, a Common Sandpiper called close by and then the sound of a drumming Snipe filled the sky above our heads. It was all a bit ethereal and other-worldly, but I'm sure that the Neolithic folk who inhabited these shores five thousand years ago would have been as equally at ease with the natural world and the ever-changing light as we are.