The last singing reed warbler....

A couple of months ago my riverside walk was a veritable chorus of reed and sedge warblers. Over the past few weeks this has gradually diminished until today there was just this one reed warbler defending his corner.

Most of the day has been spent packing and preparing for the Orkney trip. Working entomologists need an awful lot of equipment, so I'm just hoping that everything will fit in the car.

This will be my last blip for a while. Pete and I will be away for eleven days, leaving the house and animals in the capable care of our three sons. And Chris's girlfriend is coming to stay for the last five days, so I know it'll be reasonably clean and tidy when we return!

I'm looking forward to the change of scene - lots of hills and coast - but I just hope that it doesn't rain too much! See you all in a while, with a set of Orcadian backblips....