
Have you seen a male Grey Seal?
The Grey Seals around Orkney are a classic combination of curious and wary. They are alternately fascinated by me and worried by …
Notes on a very small island
The Grey Seals around Orkney are a classic combination of curious and wary. They are alternately fascinated by me and worried by …
I’m flushing Wheaters with every walk and drive on Westray. There isn’t a path or a road which doesn’t have a wary …
The Sanderlings of summer on Westray were a joy to get close to. Lying on the beach, keeping still, and watching them …
It’s sunset on Westray and I’ve abandoned the car on the grass and marched off to the sea. It’s magnificent in this …
I’m off for a walk on the Westray coast. Today I’m heading from Mae Sands to the Knowe o’ Skea. It’s not …
Being a baby bird means knowing when to keep your mouth open. Many have exaggerated gapes, decorated in bright colours to encourage …
When a Starling flies by I always take notice. They are spectacular birds, either on their own or in flocks of thousands …
I’d like to know why Grey Seals have a long sloping head. What’s the evolutionary advantage? What’s the adaptation for? What does …
The Horsetails at Roadmire are beautiful. Their stalks and leaves are covered in harsh mineral silica. They’re a bit scratchy and hard …
There’s something moving in the field next to Einar. I can see flower stalks trembling. It’s moving along behind the wall. All …
There’s Sea Rocket, Cakile maritima, on the beach at the Bay of Swartmill. It’s a member of the mustard family. This is …
Westray; where technology goes to die. On Westray things that you don’t expect to rust, to rot and to weather, do. Just …
Not everyone can get on. Conflict is inevitable. When we are all packed in too close to one another then tempers are …
The seas are magical here. There are exhilarating waves at the Knowe o’ Skea. Out on the skerries, the wary Shags gather, …
Ever since I saw this latch and photographed it, I’ve been wondering. Why?
There’s a young Common Gull, Larus canus, flying past. They are very elegant fliers: Just as we have done for much of …
The Starlings at Einar make incredible abstract patterns on the wires.
Westray has a certain palette of colours. It’s a world of muted blues, greens and purples; of greys and more greys. The …
Westray has more archaeology than archaeologists. That means we are losing the most incredible evidence of previous civilisations with every tide and …
Stumbling across the thick grass behind the bay I see these tall flower spikes. I’m struck by their contrasting colours. And, as …
There are Sanderling on Mae Sands. They are energetic beyond imagination. They work the tideline as if their lives depend upon it, …
There’s a Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres on the beach at Mae Sands. It’s just turned this stone over. They are very smart in …
Buoy oh buoy, what a colourful smile.
The RSPB says, “The ringed plover is a small, dumpy, short-legged wading bird.” Read more. That’s not very complimentary, is it? I …
It would be tempting to think that this coiled rope on Westray is a metaphor. It’s a call-back to the very first …
In late summer I checked the outbuildings at Einar for Swallows. Many of the nests were empty. This one wasn’t. It must …
The scientific name of the Grey Seal is Halichoerus grypus. It means Hook-nosed Seapig. Everyone needs a rest after eating. I was …
“Ha, ha, ha, hee, hee, heeI’m a laughing gnome and you can’t catch me.”
If Puffins can’t find an earth burrow, or if they live in a place with predators like rats and stoats, they will …
My current mood.