Blackbird on Westray
The light is beautiful on this Blackbird. Aren’t they perky birds? I first drew them in 1977: My drawings may not have …
House Sparrow
This House Sparrow on Westray is part of a sizeable flock. It’s just as much a pleasure to see one now as …
Kittee-wa-aaake
The Kittiwakes at Noup Head are mesmerising. This one is a juvenile, flying freely, far above the sparkling sea below: I love …
The North our home, the sea our friend #5
The turquoise water off Westray breaks like a lacework of ice, frozen at 1/2000th of a second.
Seals and Salmon
It’s siesta time for the Common Seals at Broughton on Westray. It’s a time to let their food go down, let their …
Limpets and gypsum pseudomorphs
A fine day means the chance to walk the Westray coast: The blues are spectacular and the rocks are fascinating In the …
The One Minute Puffin Cure #7
Comical Puffins in golden sunlight on Westray: Recorded using a tiny remote control camera at the Castle o’ Burrian on Westray in …
Collapsed burrows
The headlands and inlets of Westray are covered in spongy tufts of damp grass. Beneath them lie normally invisible tunnels. They are …
Fulmars
The Fulmars look beautiful in this light. They look odd on land because they sit low down on their feet rather than …
The Fulmars of Backarass
We’re walking down past Backarass on Westray. It’s a special landscape of shattered rocks and still pools: The weather is fabulous and …
The North our home, the sea our friend #4
Earth exists in a goldilocks zone for life; the temperature is just right for liquid water. We are all here because of …
Pottering Puffins
I’m pottering and decide to have a look at this summer’s Puffin portraits. There are a few I haven’t developed yet. I …
The Orkney Ram
The three rams at Backarass are in a huddle. They are all fine, big boys but not quite yet of Derby Ram …
The One Minute Puffin Cure #6
It’s time for another One Minute Puffin Cure. Recorded using a tiny remote control camera at the Castle o’ Burrian on Westray …
Black Guillemot with a Butterfish
It’s a sparkling day on Westray. As we look out we can see a Black Guillemot on the waves. It’s caught a …
Magnificent Mallimacks
There are Fulmars, called Mallimacks here in Orkney, on the wing at the pier on Papa Westray This one is flying a …
Puffincoming!
Looking back at some of this summer’s Puffin photographs I find a sequence I really enjoy which I haven’t developed. How entertaining …
The North our home, the sea our friend #3
As soon as you look at the universe as a whole, everything looks very different. As soon as you look at something …
Grass of Parnassus
Scattered across the rough grass behind Rack Wick bay are delicate limpid flowers. They are Grass of Parnassus. It’s a plant of …
Parasiticus
Animal behaviour is happening all around us; curious acts, of ancient origin, repeated in ever-changing patterns. Living things are incredibly complex, but …
Rainbow Stormbird
Starlings need a brand refresh. I’m surprised they haven’t engaged a top London marketing firm to challenge public perceptions of them. Their …
Sitting pretty
A little further along the coast of Papa Westray I see an Arctic Skua sitting on a wall. It’s really not what …
Stumbling across a Great Skua
Great Skuas are one of my favourite birds. They are a constant delight as they patrol the shoreline, flying low and surprising …
Scootie Allan
On our walk around Papa Westray we are excited to see Arctic Skuas. At least we are until they attack us. There’s …
Dunters on the waves
There are Common Eider ducks on the growing waves here on Papa Westray. Their colours are very understated. As soon as they …
The flight feathers of the Tappie Whaesie
How amazing is flight? These young Shags are just getting their new flight feathers. Some feathers are still emerging and unfurling. One …
A bit of singing and dancing
Black Guillemots are the connoisseur’s auk. If you find Puffins too gaudy, or Guillemots too dowdy, then Black Guillemots are for you. …
The gift of two summers
There are Arctic Terns fishing in uneven seas off Papa Westray. Their concentration skills are immense: Arctic Terns spend the northern summer …
Nasal drift
“Dolphin!” I yell. “Dolphin!!!” I yell again, pointing as if my life depends upon it. The Puffin Whisperer looks at me from …
“I’m shy!”
Not everyone wants their photograph taken. Especially when you’re just getting ready to go out.