In the garden
March, I’m told, used to come in like a lion and go out like a lamb in the good old days, but has since become…
READ FULL STORYStories tagged with Tag: Environment
Sweet song of spring skylark
It wasn’t very encouraging to be greeted by a whiteout on the day the clocks went onto summer time. And it wasn’t too good for…
READ FULL STORYAncient woodlands lie buried, but trees return
Shetland seems bare and bleak to many visitors. Glaciated sloping hills, exposed cliffs and miles of moorland contrast with familiar comfortable landscapes of tree lined…
READ FULL STORYOn the wing mallies return in numbers to take up residence in breeding season
Fulmars are around Shetland for much of the year, but now their numbers are starting to build up prior to the breeding season. Although a…
READ FULL STORYFetlar’s red-necked phalarope on danger list
Author and journalist Charlie Elder visited Shetland in search of an endangered British bird as part of a quest to see our most threatened species,…
READ FULL STORYIn the garden
And suddenly it’s voar. Spring started a little before the vernal equinox this year – at least for the humans at Lea Gardens. We had…
READ FULL STORYRain geese heard yodelling in firth
Spring certainly sprang last week – skylarks and wrens were singing, oystercatchers and lapwings displaying, and the first rain geese heard “yodelling” in the firth….
READ FULL STORYPink-footed visitor arrives to join Sandwick tundra resident
The tundra bean goose was still at Sandwick this week, along with a pink-footed goose. The darker head and neck, along with dark grey upper…
READ FULL STORYScrapstore helps otter to recover
An injured otter being cared for in at the Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary is getting a new home, thanks to staff at the Shetland Scrapstore. The…
READ FULL STORYSepa plea: free to register tanks
Scotland’s environment watchdog is reminding Shetlanders with septic tanks they have not yet registered that they have only three weeks left to do so –…
READ FULL STORYA convincing nest out of funny leaves
Readers may remember the “stick with legs” which neighbours’ children brought round a short while ago. The curiosity turned out to be a Caddis fly…
READ FULL STORYIn the garden
It seems I’m not the only Shetland gardener disgruntled by rogue mail order nurseries. One of my readers reported receiving tiny plug plants, stuck loosely…
READ FULL STORYSigns of spring start to appear
Twite are attractive, restless finches, usually seen in small flocks feeding on seeds on arable and cultivated land. Closely related to the common linnet, the…
READ FULL STORYGarganey is earliest visitor
There was a really spring-like feel in the air at the end of last week, with a few migrants coming in to liven up the…
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