Purple Pigeon
A quick trip out to one of the bridges on Brunel’s Great Western Railway in South Devon means a great view of …
The Bird by Edwin Muir
Here’s another of my favourite poems by Orcadian poet Edwin Muir. The Bird Adventurous bird walking upon the air,Like a schoolboy running …
What did Barn Swallows do before barns?
Our UK Swallows are known as Barn Swallows in the USA. It’s a good name because they love nesting in barns. Here’s …
Swallow over the rainbow
I’ve seen some spectacular rainbows on Westray. Some have been fleeting. Some have been intense. Some have been full arcs which split …
Location of injury
Walking in the garden at the back of Einar I can see a mess of rotten wood painted green, tangled with chicken …
United Monopolies – How much are we paying water companies for our wildlife drought?
Can you remember the last time you spent a day without drinking water? Without cleaning your teeth? Without washing your dishes? Without …
Life begins at the Hops
There’s a plant which normally grows in a place which is at the end of our walk. I’ve been looking forward to …
Gadwall at Ham Wall
There’s a group of five Gadwall making a racket as they fly in ridiculously close formation at RSPB Ham Wall. Close up …
A short tale about a long tail
The Long Tailed Tit’s name is misleading. Just because its name is ‘tit’ people always assume that it’s related to the Blue …
Nature’s Velcro
The tiny hooks on the ends of Burdock burrs are waiting patiently for me to brush past them. Why use the wind …
Haws
Hawthorn – one of the gifts of autumn.
Woodpigeon
Have you ever had a close look at a Woodpigeon? They are such extreme birds. Just look at those strange features: Now …
The most persecuted bird in Britain
I’m hoping to see a Hen Harrier today. I’m going to visit the Eddie Balfour hide on the mainland of Orkney. The …
There are stars in the daytime sky
There are Starlings in the sky. Their plumage sparkles like stars that twinkle in the daytime. Their green and purple iridescence is …
“…beside the lake are stones high and broad, in height equal to a spear, and in an equal circle of half a mile.”
At Stenness stands a stone circle over 4,000 years old. The stones are surrounded by a ditch cut into the bedrock. The …
The Secret Purple Sandpiper
Back in July I saw a wader on the rocky coast. I didn’t recognise it so I knew I had to get …
I’m not the only one who finds ducks faintly ridiculous, am I?
Exhibit A: The Red-Crested Pochard: Surely this one takes the biscuit for the most ridiculous duck in the UK? The UK breeding …
A Hen Harrier in my back garden
When a Hen Harrier came to visit
Westray Coast 50 – Day Five
My adventures on the fifth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
The Battle of Bere Bannock
The Battle of Bannockburn is a famous Scottish victory in the first Scottish War of Independence. Equally as momentous is the Battle …
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four and a Half
My adventures on the four-and-a-half-th of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four
My adventures on the fourth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Three
My adventures on the third of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Two
My adventures on the second of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day One
My adventures on the first of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Knots landing at the Peedie Sea
I’m wandering the shore at Kirkwall Harbour for an hour before the ferry takes me to Westray. I’m loving the complex singing …
Kirkwall at dawn
I’ve just woken up in a Viking city. A city which is only part of the UK, and not Norway, because King …
What is it about Orkney that I love?
When I first arrived in Orkney 11 years ago I hated it. I had high expectations of an interesting and historic place …
Kestrel in Hyde Park
I’m back in the UK after a trip to Italy looking for Little Owls. We didn’t see them apart from a brief …
The Earth is having its features rearranged
This tweet from the RSPB South West caught my eye: “Due to climate change & improvements to the way our land is …