In the garden
WHAT a summer it’s been so far. I can’t recall so many sunshine hours and such long spells without rain since the summer of 1977,…
READ FULL STORYStories tagged with Tag: Environment
No concoction can defeat the midge
DEMONS! Perishing peerie menaces! I am absolutely certain that this year’s midges have been genetically engineered by aliens, intent on depopulating the isles. We have…
READ FULL STORYRare warbler among the visiting vagrants
A MELODIOUS warbler, a rare vagrant from Southern Europe, was at Sumburgh Head this week, first being recorded on the 6th. In Scotland it is…
READ FULL STORYStars include two-barred crossbills
TWO star birds for the North Isles last week were an aquatic warbler at Skaw, Unst, on the 4th, and at least four two-barred crossbills,…
READ FULL STORYWhales are fewer
WHALE numbers in Shetland waters have declined rapidly over the last century because of hunting, ac-cording to one campaigner with a vested interest in cetaceans….
READ FULL STORYIn the garden
ABOUT a fortnight ago, Lily the Supreme Illustrator and I motored south into the Scottish Borders, where we had the most divine lunch imaginable. Many…
READ FULL STORYWill fate of world’s tigers be eclipsed by venal China’s Olympic celebrations?
ROLL on the Olympic Games! Terrorism, weather, earthquakes and smog permitting, there will be many days of fabulous sport and life-changing experiences ahead for both…
READ FULL STORYRare butterfly sighting
ANOTHER two-barred crossbill, a juvenile this time, appeared at Eshaness this week and was still around on the 4th. Common crossbills are still present with…
READ FULL STORYChanging climate could lead to more landslides, say scientists
By NEIL RIDDELL CLIMATE change could make a repeat of the shocking landslides of five years ago more likely, with a number of areas throughout…
READ FULL STORYSeen any sea beans?
SWIMMING through milk could be the nearest experience to standing on a ridge in a Shetland summer fog. Swirls and clouds of whiteness surround you;…
READ FULL STORYRare visitor from Siberia and hot time for waders
WADERS, returning from more northerly breeding grounds, are beginning to move through Shetland now. On the 26th there were 32 knot, a green sandpiper and…
READ FULL STORYWhales, birds and moths – a real cornucopia
WOW! For once I was on the right ferry when, thanks to being alerted by the crew of the Bigga, several of us got the…
READ FULL STORYIn the garden
LAST Thursday, on my way to St. Ninian’s Isle with a group of friends, I came across a most extraordinary sight: two men dedicatedly propagating…
READ FULL STORYArctic ice breaks away
NEARLY eight square miles of the Arctic ice shelf has broken free from the north Canadian course, a development that will alarm those fearful of…
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