Puffins are good for the soul
Puffins are the size of pigeons. They can fly at up to 55mph. And they are always a joy to see. Puffins …
You’ll never find Brian here
I’ve always thought Brian was a strange name. The name had a peak of popularity around the time of The Magic Roundabout …
Heartwave
One August day, while walking the wild west coast of Westray I experienced the most marvellous Atlantic waves. The intense translucent turquoise …
Light and shade
I’m walking the wild west coast of Westray again. It’s magnificent. For a few months each year it’s inhabited by Arctic Skuas, …
If ever I could fly
Of all the birds of the sea, the greatest fliers are the Fulmars: There is no bird so alive to the shifting …
Peregrination
We’re walking the coast of Westray when I see it perched there. “There!” I say to the Puffin Whisperer, as I crouch …
The Great Skua and the Gannet’s tail
Gannets are big birds. On the cliffs they dwarf their Guillemot neighbours. They have fearsome beaks and could easily do you severe …
Noticing
Noticing. It’s a newly fashionable word. I used to say observing. It’s something I do all the time. Noticing. The act by …
The Gift
I spent many days with the Puffins on the coast of Westray this summer. All were a joy. Some days were too …
A Comedy of Puffins
These Puffins have quite a lot to say to one another. They’re surprisingly social birds, with calls, displays and occasional disputes with …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …