Reed Bunting – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
It’s forty years since I first saw a Reed Bunting. I was so excited about seeing such a rare (to me) bird …
Bitter cold
It was bitterly cold out on the Exminster Marshes this morning.
Lawyer’s Wigs – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Shaggy Ink Caps are a common fungus. They are white with brown scales on the cap. Here’s the entry I made in …
Canada Geese
Today I had a trip to Exminster Marshes. There were 1,500 Canada Geese on the fields.
Velvet Shank – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I spotted some beautiful fungi on a rotten stump. Here’s the entry I made in my nature notebooks: Today …
Herring Gull
I’m currently searching for Herring Gulls so I can take some close-up photographs of them. As you do. I took some close-up …
Gannet
The name Gannet comes from the Old English ganot which means strong or masculine. It’s from the same Old Germanic root as …
My eyes popped out on stalks
My eyes metaphorically popped out on stalks when I saw this Hermit Crab in a Westray rock pool. There are well over …
Rome’s Rose-Ringed Parakeets
In Rome they are noisy, colourful and gregarious. They fill the parks and streets on glorious sunny days and love nothing better …
Curlew
Curlews are in serious decline across the UK. It’s probably because so much of the land is used for food production and …
Jackdaws – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was on holiday with my family. I still remember the thrill of my mum calling me to say …
Herring Gull – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
The distribution of Herring Gulls must have changed significantly over the last forty years. I was 12 years old when I wrote …
Another Blackbird – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I was thirteen years old when I wrote and drew in my nature notebooks about Blackbirds. ‘Sexual dimorphism’ is what I wrote; …
Coot – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I obviously had very little to say when I saw a Coot, as this was my entry in my …
Magpie – forty years ago in my nature notebook
I’m on a personal journey to rediscover the natural world I described in my nature notebooks when I was a 12 year …
Walking down the aisle
A view down the aisle at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.
Carrion Crow – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was a young boy with a fascination for nature and was dedicated to filling in my nature notebooks. …
Mute Swan – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was busy filling in my nature notebooks. I wrote detailed notes in blue biro in my lined notepad …
Boulder clay
These small red cliffs on Westray look just like Boulder Clay to me. I loved studying physical geography as a child, after …
The stranger on the shore
Westray has no sandstone rocks, yet it has occasional sandstone pebbles on its beaches. Here’s one. It was brought from the island …
Stones in deeply etched caves
We’re exploring caves around the coast of Westray when we discover this wonderful depression filled with stones and pebbles inside a deeply …
Early blue light
I usually have no idea what the dawn is like. I’m sure that if you looked at the number of photographs I …
‘When I see blood I will pass over you in the night’
Noltland Castle on Westray is 16th Century. Surrounding it are 17th Century additions, one of which has this fragile arch still remaining. …
Childhood – a poem by Edwin Muir
I find Orcadian poet Edwin Muir’s poetry so rich in symbols, metaphors and similes that it’s a constant joy to discover poems …
Blackbirds – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I was twelve years old when I started my nature notebooks. Despite my awful handwriting I noted down all the features which …
Busy building
Someone was busy building with stones on Mae Sands. Clever hands made this beautiful bottle-shaped construction.