Puffin portraits
Puffins have a wide variety of poses which humans find appealing. We can easily imagine them as having human characteristics, or anthropomorphise …
Puffins have a wide variety of poses which humans find appealing. We can easily imagine them as having human characteristics, or anthropomorphise …
I’m on the deck of the Northlink ferry from mainland Scotland to Mainland Orkney when I see a black fin in the …
As soon as you begin to look at the natural world there are never-ending chains of relationships between living organisms. The classic …
The name Wheatear sounds so romantic, so descriptive and so elegant. Wheatear. In fact the name is a polite form of its …
It’s Mr Punch on the rocks on Westray.
The Northlink Ferry from Scrabster on the Scotland mainland to Stromness on the Orkney Mainland is always entertaining, thankfully in a good …
There’s a crowd on the deck of the Northlink Ferry from Scrabster to Stromness. We’re passing the Old Man of Hoy, scene …
At the very north of Westray the coast is exposed. In the far distance I can see a falcon. It’s so far …
There are small brown birds on the lichen-covered rocks on the coast of Westray. It takes me a while to identify them. …
Redshanks must be one of the most annoying birds for British birdwatchers. They are beautiful, active, entertaining to watch and have great …
It’s good to enjoy the Puffins while we can. They are critically endangered. They are ‘red listed’ which means they are at …
The Links of Notland is such an amazing place for archaeology. It has a huge neolithic settlement, site of the discovery of …
I’ve been very lucky with jellyfish this summer on Westray. The jellyfish haven’t been quite so lucky. This looks like a Compass …
Fulmars are one of my favourite birds. All animals have some sort of compromise in their bodies because of the range of …
Sea Rocket covers the top of many beaches on Westray. Cakile maritima has either white or a pinky-lilac shade of flowers. It …
There’s a green caterpillar on the sand of The Ouse. It’s got a bright yellow line along its side and tiny black …
In Orkney wood rots and metal rusts. Door handles fall off. A piece of twine through a hole though? A piece of …
The Sand Martins are teetering on the edge of leaving Westray now. Their chicks must be fully grown and there are only …
They say ‘Take only pictures, leave only footsteps,’ but we decided to take a footstep home. I just need to draw a …
It’s been a very blustery day, it’s nearly dark and I’m just settling down for the evening when there’s an urgent message …
The scientific name for the Lapwing is Vanellus vanellus. It means fan. Well, it means Fan fan if you’re being strictly accurate. …
Imagine you have no technology other than fire, stone, wood and bone. How would you cook food, other than directly by roasting …
Grass looks so unremarkable and is so ever-present in Orkney that it takes something special to shock me into considering it from …
Greylag Geese are all over Westray at the moment because the farmers have created the perfect habitat for them: acres and acres of fresh green grass. It must be like waking up and seeing delicious breakfast as far as your eyes can see.
At the north end of Westray the Atlantic is unrestrained and waves crash into the coast making blowholes, sea caves and spectacular …
The critically endangered Atlantic Puffin, Fratercula arctica. Climate change leading to lack of Sand Eels and marine pollution are the likely causes …
The Pierowall Village Parade is one of my favourite parts of Westray Connections. There’s something incredibly stirring about the pipes at full …
Baggage check-in on Westray is not an arduous affair. Having said that, the flight to Papa Westray takes just two minutes, so ten minutes before your flight is still completely out of proportion.