Hello and welcome to my Sunday Recommendation. Thanks for joining me. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, stumble upon engrossing websites and hear wonderful new music. This is my chance to bring you carefully curated recommendations of all the best I’ve experienced – every Sunday.If it’s folk, …
Three years ago I took a trip around my old home town of Oldham. It’s the place in which I grew up. …
There is a family of Wrens flitting along the field boundary in front of us. They’re working the margins for insects and …
Arriving on Papa Westray, we have to walk the full length of the island to get to North Hill and the drama …
There’s a Kittiwake at the end of the pier where the Papa Westray ferry arrives. It’s stunning in the early morning light. …
There’s a rock pool fed with fresh water fram a tiny waterfall on the west coast of Westray. I love how green …
After seeing a couple of successful attacks by Great Skuas against juvenile Kittiwakes I feared the worst when this one strayed over …
Hello and welcome to my Sunday Recommendation. Thanks for joining me. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, stumble upon …
I love walking the west coast of Westray. On a beautiful day there’s no place like it. I’ve been enjoying getting to …
If rocks could think and feel and see then life would be very different from their perspective. These rocks are so contorted, …
I look out of the window and I know something seriously weird is happening. It looks like the end of the world …
I had such a wonderful time last winter going to see Great Northern Divers in Brixham in Devon. I was able to …
Arctic Skuas come to Orkney to breed. They’re kleptoparasites, attacking birds with fish and stealing their meal. They also attack people with …
Seeing transient rainbows flicker into and out of life on the crests of waves is a magical feeling. At the north end …
There’s a Swift at Noup Head on Westray. Swifts are called that for a reason. Can you see the fly it’s about …
I dream of Puffins. I dream of being out on the soft, grassy cliffs and being surrounded by quirky birds cocking their …
A noust is a boat-shaped hollow. It’s an ancient word from Scandinavia. There are nousts made from stone laid by Vikings on …
We’re at the Standing Stones of Stenness when a sheep stares at me. There are only four of the twelve ancient stones …
When you can see the horizon, on days when you can spin and see the sea and the clouds surrounding you, there’s …
Puffins are the size of pigeons. They can fly at up to 55mph. And they are always a joy to see. Puffins …
I’ve always thought Brian was a strange name. The name had a peak of popularity around the time of The Magic Roundabout …
One August day, while walking the wild west coast of Westray I experienced the most marvellous Atlantic waves. The intense translucent turquoise …
I’m walking the wild west coast of Westray again. It’s magnificent. For a few months each year it’s inhabited by Arctic Skuas, …
Of all the birds of the sea, the greatest fliers are the Fulmars: There is no bird so alive to the shifting …
We’re walking the coast of Westray when I see it perched there. “There!” I say to the Puffin Whisperer, as I crouch …
Gannets are big birds. On the cliffs they dwarf their Guillemot neighbours. They have fearsome beaks and could easily do you severe …
Hello and welcome to my Sunday Review. Thanks for joining me. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, stumble upon …
Noticing. It’s a newly fashionable word. I used to say observing. It’s something I do all the time. Noticing. The act by …
I spent many days with the Puffins on the coast of Westray this summer. All were a joy. Some days were too …
These Puffins have quite a lot to say to one another. They’re surprisingly social birds, with calls, displays and occasional disputes with …