Yesterday I was delighted to hear that another old friend, Paul Harvey, was visiting his parents in Upton. Paul moved to Shetland in the early 80’s and has lived there since. I last visited him in Shetland in January 2008 but with his parents and sisters living not far from me, we meet up at least once a year.
Along with our mutual friend (and Paul’s schoolmate) Ian Alexander we set off to find a few non-avian species that don’t occur as far north as Shetland.
Ian Alexander (L) and Paul Harvey (R)
The main lake
The kingfisher pools
Later we drove to the DWT reserve of Alner’s Gorse near King Stag where Brown Hairstreak was the best of a dozen butterflies on offer.
Brown Hairstreak
and another one
Ringlet
Emperor Dragonfly
Shaded Broad-bar moth
Brown Argus
Although I wished I had met the five of my old friends, who were able to get to Newcastle on Friday, under different circumstances there is no doubt that this last week has given me exceptional opportunities to keep longstanding friendships alive.
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