Orkney Wild (and not so Wild) Life...

I promised another post with pics from Orkney didn't I? well as I was going through some more of them tonight I thought I'd make the next one wildlife themed. To kick us off here's a Small Tortoiseshell butterfly - these were absolutely everywhere while we were there - far more common than at home - and this particular one was at Kirkwall, fluttering alongside us as we walked...

The symmetry of colour and pattern on butterflies always fascinates me - they're like those inkblot things where you get patterns duplicated exactly - only nature does it so much better!

Staying in Kirkwall for a bit, we found this juvenile Herring Gull sitting atop a lamp-post on the harbourside - I suspect he was casing the joint for returning fishing boats!

A little further along this Pied Wagtail was sitting waiting to be photographed - car-park birds, we call them, as that seems to be their usual habitat, darting around seeing what they can find to eat, with that characteristic jerky, dashing walk, and the ever bobbing tail that gives them their name.

I can't do a wildlife related post without including the Long Tailed Ducks, can I now? Yes, still just as odd-looking as you can see - particularly "Mr" who looks like he's gone a little overboard with his stage makeup.  You can clearly see the "long tails" there though...

Now, the next day and a walk on the beach with Fay and the dogs. Our attention was caught by this little bird - one of a group on the rocks at the top of the beach...

...we puzzled over it for a while - it certainly wasn't any of the things we normally expect to see on a beach - Pipits, small waders, wagtails....yet it was familar, MrEH and I were sure we recognised it. I finally managed to get close enough to get a couple of clear shots we were able to zoom into for a better look...

...and yes, it came to us in a flash - Snow Bunting! A lovely unexpected bird for our list - we last saw one of these on the Island of Lewis a few years ago I think.

We weren't disappointed on the wader front either - lots of Oystercatchers...

...plus Turnstones,  Ringed Plover, and a few others that we couldn't get close enough to identify for certain.

However, birds weren't the only "wildlife" on this beach....look...

Yep - that's a Haggis, looking for mischief! And where there's a Haggis, the birds tend not to stand still for long...

Off go the Oystercatchers - but that's all the better for getting nice pics of them in flight, I guess. Ummm....thanks Haggis?!

Robyn