Lakes and deserts
There are two beautifully contrasting colours of Devonian sandstone in St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall in Orkney. Both are 380 million years …
A bird I’m still trying to identify
I took this photograph of a bird on the west coast of Papa Westray in Orkney last summer. At first I thought …
Flying shadows
A trip on a light aircraft gives a wonderful perspective of Orkney. Here there are cattle, sheep and our shadow.
Pictish Sea Eagle
It’s from the 6th or 7th Century. It’s carved in sandstone and was excavated by amateurs in 1936 from the ruins of …
Tracing shadows to their source
As a child, did you watch shadows? Did you strain to see them move as the Earth turned? Did you see how …
Kitchen drawer wildlife
Woodlice. There are 3,500 species in the world and between 35 and 40 in the UK. They’re animals which many children know. …
Puffin icon
It was a very Puffin Christmas here. I received a Puffin Icon from the Puffin Whisperer. She used a solid wooden block …
The tortoise and the hare
We’re watching a kayaker paddle across Pierowall Bay with his fishing rod safely stowed when a motorboat comes past. Which one would …
A Fulmar at the skeleton house
A Fulmar from summer, sitting pretty on the top of a wall in the skeleton house. Its beached carcass and exposed ribs …
Slip
It’s hard to see that cliffs are dangerous from the top of them. Seeing the Island from the sea gives a completely …
Triple lintel
Orkney is full of the evidence of master builders. Once stone is placed upon stone, then something is created which can last …
Scottish Primroses
In August we went looking for the Scottish Primrose, Primula scotica. It’s one of the few plants which grows in Scotland and …
2020 highlights of a wilder Orkney life
In 2020 I managed two trips to Orkney. I did it by self-isolating for two weeks before travelling and then taking all …
Life, clinging on
There was a solitary flower of what looked like Sea Mayweed on the rocks on the exposed coast of Westray this summer. …
Eyebright
In this time of darkness it’s pleasant to think back to the summer when, on glorious days, we would walk the coast …
Sunset over Tafts
One of my favourite photographs from Orkney is Sunset over Tafts. It sums up the surprising drama of a landscape, which is …
Rock Pipits
There’s a noisy young pipit on the rocks. It’s the perfect colour for these lichen covered rocks. It has a lovely delicate …
Air rage
Spending time in nature really helps you appreciate it. I’ve had such a great summer on the gentle hills and cliffs of …
Curlew
It’s a warm evening, bathed in orange light. I hear the call first. Then it’s the flypast. It’s a Curlew. There’s been …
A juvenile Arctic Skua flypast
I have to say it. These juvenile Arctic Skuas are… a little bit ginger. It’s fabulous to watch them sweep imperiously past. …
Arctic Skuas v Arctic Terns
I’ve seen Arctic Skuas get into quite a few scraps this summer. There was the time one chased a Raven. Then the …
Wrens
There is a family of Wrens flitting along the field boundary in front of us. They’re working the margins for insects and …
Kittiwake, Kittisleep
There’s a Kittiwake at the end of the pier where the Papa Westray ferry arrives. It’s stunning in the early morning light. …
The pool
There’s a rock pool fed with fresh water fram a tiny waterfall on the west coast of Westray. I love how green …
Escape?
After seeing a couple of successful attacks by Great Skuas against juvenile Kittiwakes I feared the worst when this one strayed over …
Atlantic Wave
I love walking the west coast of Westray. On a beautiful day there’s no place like it. I’ve been enjoying getting to …
If rocks could think and feel and see…
If rocks could think and feel and see then life would be very different from their perspective. These rocks are so contorted, …
It looks like the end of the world out there but it’s only Asperitas.
I look out of the window and I know something seriously weird is happening. It looks like the end of the world …
Great Northern Diver
I had such a wonderful time last winter going to see Great Northern Divers in Brixham in Devon. I was able to …
Juvenile Arctic Skua
Arctic Skuas come to Orkney to breed. They’re kleptoparasites, attacking birds with fish and stealing their meal. They also attack people with …