Perching Linnet
I loved seeing this male Linnet perching on the wind-burnt twigs in the garden of Einar this summer. He’s a beautiful sight …
Notes on a very small island
I loved seeing this male Linnet perching on the wind-burnt twigs in the garden of Einar this summer. He’s a beautiful sight …
Have you ever looked at a photograph and seen something in it which you didn’t see at the time you took it? …
Each year at Einar, the Linnets build their nests and raise their chicks. It takes two weeks from laying to hatching and …
It’s always a delight to see a Wheatear. They’re quite incredible in their capacity to migrate. They can travel many thousands of …
I’m climbing down the shallow cliffs to the sea to take photographs of Puffins in flight when I hear the usual pipping …
I’m tracing the outlines of a barnacle city on the rocks of Westray’s shore. The outlines remind me of looking down on …
Here’s a small collection of some of my previously unposted Puffin shots from this summer. Little sweetheart: Don’t look now, but I …
It’s a dramatic evening, already quite dark, yet this Fulmar is still flying. The sun is lighting up the high clouds with …
There’s an Arctic Skua hunting Puffins for their fish. The weather is stunning, with interesting clouds making rainbow sundogs either side of …
It’s time to head out to the Castle o’ Burrian to see the Puffins for a final time. The light is unexpectedly …
I hear a loud Keeeeoww; a scream coming from above me. I manage to get its source in my viewfinder. It’s a …
It’s been great to watch the Puffins this year. This one was collecting last-minute bedding for its Puffling. The air must get …
I’ve seen hundreds of Puffins with beak-fulls of fish recently, but it’s still a rarity to watch a Razorbill fly past fully-laden …
It’s Wednesday, so it’s time for my series on Working Westray. Cass, the vet, has come out to the island to scan …
Fledgling Kittiwakes are littering the inlets and cliffs of Westray. They seem like they are playing, delighted with their wings, whirling around …
Once species chasing another is the order of the day. Inter-species conflict is breaking out all over the island. We’ve had an …
Why do I like birds? A large part of it is that they make you feel intensely, vibrantly, alive. Seeing individuals going …
I’d like you to have a look at two of my photographs, taken a minute or two apart. They are of a …
Synchro Puffin should be a new Animal Olympics sport. Or should that be Animalympics? Maybe not, that was a cartoon. These two …
It’s Wednesday, so it’s time for my series on Working Westray. I’m in a spacious garage in Pierowall with Edith of Westray …
I’ve taken a few thousand photographs of Puffins flying past me in the past few days. Most of them have fish in …
Evenings are special when the sun sets slowly over the North Sea. Puffins gather in huge floats in the bay and fly …
I’ve had a few trips recently to the far north of Westray. It’s a great place to go as it’s too far …
There’s a male House Sparrow chirping insistently on a bare patch of ground. He’s fluffed up his belly and is enjoying the …
They say ‘Take only photographs, leave only footprints’. The Dunlin wading in the mud in the pools at the north end of …
I had a message that there was a Red-Throated Diver, Gavia stellata, in one of Westray’s many bays a few days ago. …
It’s Wednesday, so it’s time for the first in my series on Working Westray. Here’s my good neighbour Alistair sharpening one of …
The Arctic Skuas on the Westside have a chick. It appears to be bigger than they are. It’s easy to see the …
There’s a Ringed Plover nest here, next to the footpath, near the coast: I can tell that because, as I walk past, …
Eurasian Oystercatchers are loud in volume and loud in plumage. There are no words for skulking, camouflage or whisper in the Oystercatcher’s …