We walked up to Backies this morning hoping to buy some eggs from the croft but the cupboard was bare; all we received in compensation was a view of a low rainbow.
On the west coast we always thought of October as rainbow month. Perhaps this rainbow was warning us, for as we returned home....
....along a different route, where the rowan tree at top right was laden with ripe berries, we saw....
....masses of medium-sized birds congregating in the higher trees and and along the overhead cables, bursting into flight as they were harried by a sparrowhawk.
They were easily identifiable as fieldfares, a large member of the thrush family which, according to the RSPB website, "begin to arrive from October and numbers build up as the winter progresses."
So they've arrived early which bodes ill for the berry crop and the winter food supply of our resident birds. It also suggests that Scandinavia's winter has arrived early which may mean we are also in for a hard one.
Despite the coolness of the day - yesterday's temperature struggled to reach 16C and overnight it fell to 8C - the bumblebees have been on the flowers in the garden, particularly the michaelmas daisies, the buddleias and the various marigolds. They're only just functioning: this one was hardly moving and allowed the camera to come within a couple of inches of him.
We walked up to Backies this morning hoping to buy some eggs from the croft but the cupboard was bare; all we received in compensation was a view of a low rainbow.
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