Not every Puffin makes it
Puffins face constant threats. There are Great Skuas overhead every day on the lookout for the weak, the old, the unwary, or …
I’m exhausted and exhilarated at being a witness to something so primeval
May I introduce you to the cast of characters of this eternal struggle? This is an adult Kittiwake, one of the most …
The Hall of Einar Sunday Review #19
Hello and welcome to my Sunday Review. Thanks for joining me. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, stumble upon …
Sand Martins and Eurocentric colonialism
We are all connected to the natural world. Without food and water and shelter to raise our families we cannot exist. We …
Cotognata and a lifetime’s ambition
Quince jelly is a luxury in England, sold in Waitrose and chosen by foodies to go with ‘just the right cheese’. In …
The Sparrowhawk is of shadows made
The Sparrowhawk is of shadows madeNo Earthly dust was used to bringThis death that on smoked wings arrivesAnd cracks the air open …
Ceps, Porcini, Penny Buns
It’s time for strange unearthly shapes to emerge from the damp autumnal ground. Yes, it’s mushroom season. This year I’ve been fabulously …
A Damson conversion
Last year I had an interesting job. I was working away long hours on an industrial estate in Kent. One of the …
The bottle in the wall
I’m looking for nests in my garden. I’ve found two occupied ones and an abandoned one with an egg still in it, …
The Hall of Einar Sunday Review #18
Hello and welcome to my Sunday Review. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, see engrossing websites and hear wonderful …
Domenico
I had no expectations when I first visited the Italian Chapel in Orkney. I’d not seen any photographs larger than postage stamps …
A wild Neolithic hat-trick
It’s time for me to catch the ferry away from Orkney for a short while. I have an evening to spare and …
A Puffin evening to say goodbye
It’s nearly time for the Atlantic Puffins to depart. I’d like to say goodbye and good luck to them, so I set …
Tame Puffins and wild captions
This Puffin photograph looks as if it deserves a caption. So does this one: This one already has a caption:
Flocking heaven
Getting a photograph of a Puffin flock is tricky. They’re fast and fly with seemingly random twists and turns. Too few birds …
Rock Pipits close up
It’s taken me four years but I can now safely call myself a nature photographer. That’s worrying. The first time I was …
The Hall of Einar Sunday Review #17
Hello and welcome to my Sunday Review. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, see engrossing websites and hear wonderful …
Puffin blow-dry
Some Puffins are just so… pristine. This one has definitely just had a cut and blow-dry. Don’t you love that feeling? When …
Out of the Maelstrom
I had the most incredible day’s photography on the west coast of Westray. The sea was a raging tormented soul, with fomenting …
Twite on a wire
There’s a Twite on a wire. We’re down to our last 10,000 breeding pairs. There’s always a small, hardy flock here, perched …
Razor totin’ Bill
I can’t hear the name Razorbill without hearing Howlin’ Wolf sing Wang Dang Doodle. Tell automatic slimTell razor totin’ jimTell butcher knife …
Fish envy
There’s a week in July which I call ‘peak Puffin’. It’s when every burrow is full of a hungry growing Puffling. Adults …
Ravens and rocks
The west coast of Westray has some of the best walking in the islands. There are fossilised remains of ripples on the …
The Hall of Einar Sunday Review #16
Hello and welcome to my Sunday Review. Every week I read great wildlife and nature books, see engrossing websites and hear wonderful …
Last call of the Curlew
Every time I mention that Curlews are threatened, that their populations are collapsing, that several of the species worldwide are threatened or …
Studying plant form and design – Goosegrass papercut
During lockdown (or Loch Doon as Westray folk pronounce it, as if it’s a place) I’ve had time to walk and to …
When you’ve been working hard on the family farm all day
Westray farmers work hard. Their familiar blue overalls billow in the wind as the breeze blows the washing on a fine day …
Iridescent clouds
The clouds are like the insides of shells today. There’s a beautiful mother of pearl effect on the edges of the high …
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 …
The Ogre and the Peregrine, master of peril
The coast is full of anxious Guillemots transporting a single silver fish each, flying in strict convoy. There are parading Puffins waiting …