Black Guillemot with a beautiful fish
Give Black Guillemots a respectful distance and they carry on their lives as normal, including displaying their fresh catch for all to …
Fish delivery service
It’s normally Puffins I photograph with the sparkling Atlantic Ocean behind them. This time it’s a Black Guillemot in flight with a …
Singing sweetly
Black Guillemots make such a sweet noise. They sit on the cliff edge and sing their high-pitched song. It makes me smile …
A fine catch
I love to see a Black Guillemot with its catch, especially when it’s as spectacular as this fish: Magnificent, isn’t it?
Gone for a walk
This Black Guillemot has gone for a walk on the coast of Papa Westray with its Butterfish. Which makes me think: if …
Display fish
A Black Guillemot with its fish. The fish is not impressed.
A close Shag
I was delighted my friend Martin visited Westray this summer and we had a couple of fabulous day trips to Papa Westray …
The foamy Atlantic
I love the dancing patterns the wave-crashed foam makes on the blue-grey sea below Papa Westray’s low cliffs. Especially when a Puffin …
Mr Punch
If you spend enough time with Puffins you are guaranteed comedy gold.
Flying fish
If you’re a regular follower of my blog, you’ll know that Black Guillemots are one of my favourite birds. This summer I …
Beak full of fish
I do love a good head-on Puffin encounter, especially if it’s carrying a Puffling’s meal.
Black Guillemot with a catch
I spent many days on the coasts of Westray and Papa Westray this summer photographing Black Guillemots. This one has a particularly …
The Puffin and the Shag
As soon as I see it, I can’t resist it. The image of that Puffin with an out-of-focus Shag behind is somehow …
Fresh crab
I’m surprised to see a Black Guillemot with something that doesn’t look like a fish in its beak. I track it through …
Kleptoparasitism
Why bother fishing when you can steal another bird’s fish? Arctic Skuas are adept at kleptoparasitism. I’m on Papa Westray for the …
Common Cormorant v Shag
One of the trickiest id challenges for me when I re-started birding was telling the difference between a Common Cormorant and a …
North Sea spray on an Atlantic Puffin
My friend Martin and I are on Papa Westray for the day and we are both entertained by the Puffins flying along …
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 …
Dunters
Eider Ducks are called Dunters in Orkney. There are great floats of them off the coast. The males have done their job …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
Magnificent Mallimacks
There are Fulmars, called Mallimacks here in Orkney, on the wing at the pier on Papa Westray This one is flying a …
Rainbow Stormbird
Starlings need a brand refresh. I’m surprised they haven’t engaged a top London marketing firm to challenge public perceptions of them. Their …
Sitting pretty
A little further along the coast of Papa Westray I see an Arctic Skua sitting on a wall. It’s really not what …
Stumbling across a Great Skua
Great Skuas are one of my favourite birds. They are a constant delight as they patrol the shoreline, flying low and surprising …