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.
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 …
Wave rainbows and bubble-bath seals
Seeing transient rainbows flicker into and out of life on the crests of waves is a magical feeling. At the north end …
A lone Swift at Noup Head
There’s a Swift at Noup Head on Westray. Swifts are called that for a reason. Can you see the fly it’s about …
I Dream of Puffins
I dream of Puffins. I dream of being out on the soft, grassy cliffs and being surrounded by quirky birds cocking their …
Noust
A noust is a boat-shaped hollow. It’s an ancient word from Scandinavia. There are nousts made from stone laid by Vikings on …
Stenness sheep
We’re at the Standing Stones of Stenness when a sheep stares at me. There are only four of the twelve ancient stones …
Sunset and the whale
When you can see the horizon, on days when you can spin and see the sea and the clouds surrounding you, there’s …
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 …
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 …