Finding where the noise is coming from
There’s a bird calling and we don’t know where it is. The sound is coming from below our feet somewhere on the …
A day trip to Stronsay
Stronsay is one of the ‘other’ Orkney islands. I’ve not been there before because there’s no way of getting there from Westray …
Alternative nesting sites
On the cliffs of Westray are two Fulmar resting places. They’re both in the north-end of the island. One is a bare …
Bumpy landing
I’ve seen Puffins flying underwater in an avian aquarium. They’re incredibly elegant. I’ve seen them flying and been amazed by their speed …
Twite are seriously underrated
Twite are such beautiful birds. They’re small brown finches, closely related to Linnets. The subtlety of their plumage is just sublime and …
Black Guillemot with Butterfish
I can see a Black Guillemot in the Atlantic. It has the familiar shape of a Butterfish in its grasp, held tightly …
A funny Tern
I love the small bright yellow boat in Pierowall bay. Having called it a boat, someone will probably correct me and tell …
Let the Puffin photographs begin
There are entire manuals written on posing for portraits. They tell you exactly how to stand, hold your arms and hold your …
Gannet missile technology
As I child I read a book called Magic of the Senses by Vitus B. Droscher, a popular science exploration of the …
Flying Wren
I’ve enjoyed the Wrens at Einar this year. They’ve been a joy. Their lives are led in a sheltered garden, full of …
A Common Tern in the Bay of Tafts
There’s a Tern hunting for fish at the Bay of Tafts. It’s a beautiful day and visibility is good. Amazingly there’s someone …
Feather bed
The encyclopaedia says there are four seasons in temperate latitudes. Billy Connolly, however, said, “There are two seasons in Scotland; June and winter”. …
Absolute scenes
Absolute scenes here today at Einar as the Wrens fledged. I’ve been watching the parents bringing invertebrates into one of my ‘useful …
Great Yellow Bumblebee – Bombus distinguendus
This time I know what I’m looking for. I’m a man on a mission to find one of Britain’s rarest bumblebees. I’ve …
The shock of an Owl
I’m standing in the garden of Einar, against a stone wall, taking photographs of Swallows. They’re great to practise on because they’re …
Island life and using your loaf
I’m on North Ronaldsay for the day. My aim is to cycle and see some wildlife but I’m distracted. There’s a choice …
A voice as soothing as North Ronaldsay sheep’s wool
I’ve been to North Ronaldsay before. It’s an Orkney island which is further north than the south of Norway. Today is one …
Pecked
This cobble has been tumbled by the waves until it is not quite smooth. It has been ‘pecked’ by crashing against other …
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 …