The epitome of wildlife and cake

The past week has been quite busy on the environmental and wildlife front. Last Sunday, we helped out at an event for the Great British Beach Clean 2019, a Marine Conservation Society project. Then, on Tuesday evening, a Dutch researcher, Dr Jan A van Franeker,  kindly gave a talk for the Orkney Field Club about his work investigating the effects of plastic pollution on the Fulmar population of the North Sea.

On Friday, I carried out a monitoring survey at a local site, looking for evidence of the Orkney Vole to help determine the level of the population in the archipelago. That evening, Our Lass and I attended another talk, this one about the island of Papa Westray, given by the island ranger, Jonathan Ford.

Today we went along to a walk organised by the Field Club. This was part of the 'Through The Seasons' programme, which for 2019 is at Brodgar. We spent a couple of hours wandering the shores of Harray and Stenness Lochs, either side of the Ring of Brodgar. The highlight was an Otter foraging in Harray Loch, but we saw all sorts of other wildlife too.

Egg-shell slime mould

A Puffball species of fungus

One of several hairy caterpillars seen on the day, species unknown

The thin red line of a fungus created by two lichens battling over a territory

A Metellina species of spider

Another Metellina species of spider

Parrot Waxcap fungi

The bonus treat for the day was soup and sandwiches at the nearby Standing Stones Hotel. For a change, we had opted for a vegan lunch, which was an absolute taste sensation.

And there were cakes afterwards. What's not to like about that?!