Tick bits

Blue skies and sunshine graced us again today but a northerly wind took the edge of the temperature. A walk round patch with the dogs paid dividends with a patch tick, a Water Rail just up from my house in a neighbours garden. Hopefully it will make its way down the hill and into the comfort of my garden ? Wishful thinking. Also around Brough were 3 Robins and 4 Purple Sandpipers down at the Houb. A check of various sites around the isle produced nothing spectacular with a Jack Snipe on Symbister meadows, a family party of 5 Whooper Swans on Vats-houll and another 5 at Skaw as well as 2 Song Thrush and a Robin. Shopping and DIY are on the cards for the next few days, not that there is much to be missed ? Famous last words.