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Nature Notebooks, Page 33

Gannet - Westray - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Solan Goose

There’s time for a quick trip to Noup Head. Dramatic cliffs, tens of thousands of seabirds, breathtaking views over the Ocean. What’s …

Guillemot - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Flying Aaks

There’s a low flying Guillemot coming past the bottom of the cliffs. It’s a great aerodynamic shape, although perhaps I should say …

Arctic Skua hunting Guillemot for fish - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Arctic Skua hunting sequence

Here’s a Guillemot flying past me on the west Westray coast. It’s a grey day, but the rain has cleared and there’s …

Arctic Skua - Westray - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Arctic Skua

I’m walking the west coast of Westray again. It’s wild and wonderful. There are processions of Guillemots coming past fast and low. …

Lichen - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

I’m lichen it

After nearly all life on Earth is extinguished there will still be lichens. Why? Because they’re a composite organism. Lichens are mixture …

Great Skua - Westray - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Bonxie ballet

Great Skuas are large birds. They’re the size of a gull. They are powerful and barrel-chested. Bonxie is their local name, originally …

Kittiwake - Westray - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

A rare case of Kittiwake triplets

Kittiwakes are beautiful, elegant gulls. Yes, those words really do go together. The UK has 8% of the world’s population. It’s one …

Ravens - Westray - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

The Three Ravens

Ravens are large and impressive birds. I’m at Noup Head, the lighthouse on Westray, when I see three of them arrive. “They …

Northern Wheatear - Westray - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

i-Ronny

How much do we have the freedom to do whatever we please and how much are we blind robots carrying out biological …

Bridled Guillemot - Westray - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Flutterings

Coronavirus has destroyed my livelihood. I’ve had all my work cancelled for a year and will have absolutely no income. I’m also …

Sparrowhawk - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Sparrowhawk

I can recognise a Sparrowhawk flying now: flap-flap-glide, flap-flap-glide. It’s a distinctive pattern. I saw one as a child from a train …