Sedge Warblers
I’ve had great views of Sedge Warblers in Somerset. They manage to fly non-stop from sub-Saharan Africa to the exact spot they …
Notes on a very small island
I’ve had great views of Sedge Warblers in Somerset. They manage to fly non-stop from sub-Saharan Africa to the exact spot they …
Puffins face constant threats. There are Great Skuas overhead every day on the lookout for the weak, the old, the unwary, or …
May I introduce you to the cast of characters of this eternal struggle? This is an adult Kittiwake, one of the most …
I’m looking for nests in my garden. I’ve found two occupied ones and an abandoned one with an egg still in it, …
This Puffin photograph looks as if it deserves a caption. So does this one: This one already has a caption:
Getting a photograph of a Puffin flock is tricky. They’re fast and fly with seemingly random twists and turns. Too few birds …
It’s taken me four years but I can now safely call myself a nature photographer. That’s worrying. The first time I was …
Some Puffins are just so… pristine. This one has definitely just had a cut and blow-dry. Don’t you love that feeling? When …
I can’t hear the name Razorbill without hearing Howlin’ Wolf sing Wang Dang Doodle. Tell automatic slimTell razor totin’ jimTell butcher knife …
The west coast of Westray has some of the best walking in the islands. There are fossilised remains of ripples on the …
Every time I mention that Curlews are threatened, that their populations are collapsing, that several of the species worldwide are threatened or …
Westray farmers work hard. Their familiar blue overalls billow in the wind as the breeze blows the washing on a fine day …
The clouds are like the insides of shells today. There’s a beautiful mother of pearl effect on the edges of the high …
There’s time for a quick trip to Noup Head. Dramatic cliffs, tens of thousands of seabirds, breathtaking views over the Ocean. What’s …
The coast is full of anxious Guillemots transporting a single silver fish each, flying in strict convoy. There are parading Puffins waiting …
There’s a low flying Guillemot coming past the bottom of the cliffs. It’s a great aerodynamic shape, although perhaps I should say …
There are dramatic seas today. Here’s the Atlantic Ocean. There’s nothing west of here but the weather. And an Arctic Skua.
Here’s a Guillemot flying past me on the west Westray coast. It’s a grey day, but the rain has cleared and there’s …
I’m walking the west coast of Westray again. It’s wild and wonderful. There are processions of Guillemots coming past fast and low. …
As I walk along the coast I sit and rest at a place where the waves crash. There’s a Razorbill flying towards …
I’m expecting to be attacked today. No, I’m not in an inner city, I’m on an island with a population of fewer …
I’m walking the remote western coast of Westray today. There’s enough phone signal for an emergency call and precious little else here. …
Great Skuas are large birds. They’re the size of a gull. They are powerful and barrel-chested. Bonxie is their local name, originally …
The west coast of Westray is by far the most beautiful and magnificent. It’s largely empty of buildings apart from ruins. Here …
Kittiwakes are beautiful, elegant gulls. Yes, those words really do go together. The UK has 8% of the world’s population. It’s one …
Clamour. That’s the best word to describe it. That’s if you’re talking about sound. Pungent would probably the thing that comes to …
I’m off to the north today on the trail of Red-Necked Phalaropes. Yes, I know, it’s a silly name, isn’t it? I’ve …
I’m very pleased that my friend Martin’s on the Island at the moment. He’s completing filming for a documentary on Puffins for …
Ravens are large and impressive birds. I’m at Noup Head, the lighthouse on Westray, when I see three of them arrive. “They …
How much do we have the freedom to do whatever we please and how much are we blind robots carrying out biological …