So far the seabird breeding season in Shetland has been good, with even Arctic terns fledging young. After the disastrous breeding success of recent years, this is welcome news.

I’m finding it hard to concentrate just now. The Shetland Field Studies Group found an unidentified non-flying object on last Sunday’s walk which looked tantalisingly like a Viking longhouse site and I can’t wait to get it verified – or otherwise, as the case may be.

It’s happened at last … I’ve managed to get killer whale on the garden list! In the past 20 years, to my know­ledge, only two pods have been in, both when I was somewhere else.

The second Shetland Nature Festival has come and gone, though unfortunately the weather caused it to finish with a whimper rather than a bang, when the all-day North Isles Nature Cruise, organised by Brydon Thomason of Shetland Nature, had to be called off due to a poor forecast.

It is interesting to see how much things change from year to year.

A black guillemot, more commonly known as a tystie, in smart summer plumage is a familiar sight through­out Shetland.

A few unusual birds continued to appear across the North Isles last week.

The Shetland landscape is rarely just land.

Crossbills dominate the bird news this week, with the largest flock recorded being 45 observed at Kergord.

Last week began quietly for North Isles wildlife, but gathered a little pace as the week progressed.