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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Wrens
There is a family of Wrens flitting along the field boundary in front of us. They’re working the margins for insects and …
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 …
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, …
Great Northern Diver
I had such a wonderful time last winter going to see Great Northern Divers in Brixham in Devon.
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 …
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 …
The Gift
I spent many days with the Puffins on the coast of Westray this summer. All were a joy. Some days were too …
A Comedy of Puffins
These Puffins have quite a lot to say to one another. They’re surprisingly social birds, with calls, displays and occasional disputes with …
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 …
Not every Puffin makes it
Puffins face constant threats. There are Great Skuas overhead every day on the lookout for the weak, the old, the unwary, or …