Monday 10 February

Afternoon all from a fairly bright Stornoway. We had some pretty heavy showers earlier on, but the sun is out now. The bomb squad is in Stornoway to deal with the unexploded French ordinance that was found at Gress Beach yesterday, and a fishing boat was towed into port this morning after breaking down off Harris. Meanwhile, the burning of rhodondendrons in the Castle Grounds continues apace, when will they ever be done with that.

So here I was, innocently going about my business when I came across this heap of feathers outside the back door. I had been seeing some collared doves around, attracted by the seeds from the bird feeder, and I thought they had been having a spat. Until I noticed two large bloodstains on the concrete path. Oh. A year ago, we had a visit from a sparrowhawk, which made a meal of a sparrow. This time round, it must have had a very good lunch off a dove.

A fishing boat that broke down off North Uist was towed into Stornoway this morning for repairs. By 3pm, it was already on its way back out.