Sedge Warblers
I’ve had great views of Sedge Warblers in Somerset. They manage to fly non-stop from sub-Saharan Africa to the exact spot they …
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
Feather by Edgelarks and Pony Congo by Vicente Paredes.
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 made
No Earthly dust was used to bring
This death that on smoked wings arrives
And cracks the air open with a dance
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
Sule Skerry by Erland Cooper and Run Wild Magazine.
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
In The Dreamtime by Nicki Gwynn-Jones and Live at the Old Fruitmarket by Rura
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
Fungi – card game by Brent Povis and Collins British Mushrooms & Toadstools photographic guide
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 …