When I see a Mallimack walk
“I seen a peanut stand, heard a rubber band
I seen a needle that winked its eye
But I be done seen about everything
When I see a Mallimack walk
(What’d you say, boy?)
I said, when I see a Mallimack walk”
With apologies to Oliver Wallace and Ned Washington and all associated with the movie Dumbo.
Fulmars, or Mallimacks as they’re known in Orkney, don’t walk. They fly, they paddle, but walk? They just don’t do it. It was quite a surprise to me then when I saw this one, with the utmost of concentration, lift one foot and put it in front of the other. I’m not sure who was more surprised; me or the Fulmar.
Here’s my previous contemplation of the Fulmar triathlon:
They are breathtaking on the wing and in the water. On land, it’s a real struggle.