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Noup Head

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

A Kestrel at Noup

I’m sitting at Noup Head in full camouflage waiting for a Hen Harrier to come and saunter over me. There’s been nothing …

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

Gannetry

There’s a Northern Gannet colony at Noup Head on Westray. Whenever there’s a breeze in the right direction the Gannets appear at …

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

Bridled Common Guillemots

There are Common Guillemots, Uria aalge, flying in front of the cliffs at Noup Head on Westray. It’s a breezy day and the …

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

Scenes from the sea

It’s all about perspective. Looking at familiar scenes from a different place always makes you think more deeply about them. Similarly, seeing …

Thistle at Noup - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Noup in the mist

Noup Head lighthouse isn’t visible until we’re almost on top of it. There’s dew on the grass and on the purple flowers …

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

The first flight of the Kittiwake

Kittiwakes are one of my favourite birds. I love their delicate bills, their dipped-in-ink wings and their streamlined bodies. And their “Kittiwaaaak” …

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

Slip

It’s hard to see that cliffs are dangerous from the top of them. Seeing the Island from the sea gives a completely …

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

A lone Swift at Noup Head

There’s a Swift at Noup Head on Westray. Swifts are called that for a reason. Can you see the fly it’s about …

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 …

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

In salutem omnium

Noup Head lighthouse is a major feature of the coast of Westray. Planned in 1895, it was announced in Parliament because, “Her …

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

Nursery

There’s a beautiful nursery down below on these precarious cliffs: Adult Gannets are tending to their chicks and grooming themselves and each …

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

Air Traffic Control

The RSPB say that Gannets are: “…distinctively shaped with a long neck and long pointed beak, long pointed tail, and long pointed …

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

Declining Kittiwakes

The weather is dramatic and so are the Kittiwakes calling below: They are such refined and elegant birds. Their families are growing …

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

When a Gannet lands next to us

It’s blustery at the top of the 60 metre-high cliffs on Westray’s Noup Head. We’re surrounded by Gannets flying past us when …

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

Gannet families

The Gannet chicks at Noup are massive. They are so big and yet so fluffy still. Their main flight feathers are still …

Gannets at Noup Head - The Hall of Einar - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

Gannets at Noup

I’m hanging over the edge of a 75 metre high cliff looking down at the dizzying heights below. The smell of a …

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

Leftovers

There’s very little left of this carcass at Noup Head.

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

The lost sock

There’s a lost sock impaled on the barbed wire at Noup Head. The other one is probably still inside your duvet cover …

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

Gannet

The name Gannet comes from the Old English ganot which means strong or masculine. It’s from the same Old Germanic root as …

The Grip of Cleaton - photograph (c) David Bailey (not the)

The Grip of Cleaton

The history of Westray is told in two small volumes. One is its telephone directory, with its handful of names, many of …

Fulmar sunset flypast - photograph (c) 2016 David Bailey (not the)

Fulmar sunset flypast

A ragged-tailed Fulmar is alive to every variation in the breeze as the sun sets at Noup Head.