Patterns in the sand
There are billions of tiny almost indistinguishable grains of sand yet together they can make the most wonderful patterns. We are all …
There are billions of tiny almost indistinguishable grains of sand yet together they can make the most wonderful patterns. We are all …
Forty years ago as a boy I was happy keeping my nature notebooks. On holiday in Wales I saw a Black Headed …
There’s something otherworldly about mushrooms. They’re more closely related to animals than they are to plants. A very different kind of life …
Forty years ago I was a small child on a mission – to see wildlife and to feel the joy of observing …
The fact that I’m alive is so incredibly unlikely. To be here now, to witness the Earth turning around the Sun, is a privilege.
Winter days on Westray are very much like the short flight between Westray and Papa Westray. The flight is the shortest scheduled …
Walking down to Grobust beach from the tiny car park I’m suddenly aware of how dramatic the sky has become. There’s such …
Lugworm casts litter the beach at the Sands of Woo on Westray.
Orcadian poet Edwin Muir is a favourite of mine. As I watched the Swallows at Einar I remembered his wonderful poem The …
Male chaffinches are such beautiful birds, and I’m not the only one who thinks so; female Chaffinches agree with me. In fact, …
‘I have fled through land and sea, blank land and sea,
Because my house is besieged by murderers
And I was wrecked in the ocean, crushed and swept,
Spilling salt angry tears on the salt waves,
I’m a man on a mission. I’ve recently rediscovered my old nature notebooks from when I was a child and I’m on …
As a twelve year old boy, seeing any wild bird was a thrill. Seeing a Robin was a particularly special occasion, especially …
Forty years ago I was very excited to see a fat Woodpigeon and record it in my childhood nature notebooks. I was …
Forty years ago I was a 12 year old boy heading off into the woods with the intention of finding wildlife. I …
Jays always seem like exotic birds to me. They’re pink! They have a crest! They have blue and black feathers! They look …
Forty years ago I was busy compiling my nature notebooks. I was twelve years old when I started them and was very …