Gannets at Noup
I’m hanging over the edge of a 75 metre high cliff looking down at the dizzying heights below. The smell of a …
the natural history of Westray
I’m hanging over the edge of a 75 metre high cliff looking down at the dizzying heights below. The smell of a …
The coastline around Westray is wonderful on a glorious summer’s day. We’re on the trail of Black Guillemots, or Tysties as they …
The sun is golden over the bay as these Puffins strike a pose:
A trip to the Bay of Skaill reveals the shallow turquoise waters which look Caribbean to someone as starved of heat as …
A Puffin keeps its burrow clean at the Castle o’ Burrian.
Sandbanks is the most exclusive beach in the country and contains some of the hottest properties. No, I’m not talking about Sandbanks …
When you’ve eaten too many fish to fly.
We are walking down past Backarass to see the birds when instead I spot two huge jellyfish in the sea. They are …
It’s been an emotional journey over the last few days with the birds here at Einar. We always have Swallows and Blackbirds …
Sometimes words are too many. Sometimes words are too few. Sometimes it is best that there are no words at all.
Sunshine brings the flowers out to bloom around Pierowall Bay. This one looks like Chamomile to me but I suspect it’s Sea …
The weather on Westray may be dull, but there’s never a dull day on Westray.
A white blanket of cloud shrouds the island but life continues as normal for the incredible menagerie which inhabits the shores of Westray.
I’m lying down on the grassy clifftop looking across at the Puffins on the Castle o’ Burrian when I realise I can …
We’re on Westray and only have a few hours before sunset to see some wildlife at the Castle o’ Burrian. At least …
If you’re interested in wildlife you may wonder why so much of it is so difficult to see. Why are animals so …
Limpets are a personal favourite of mine; especially with garlic. No, seriously I love the rock-licking kneecaps a great deal. Here they …
There’s a Raven over my roof. Here it is with the top of my capped-off chimney below it. Its wingtips are lit …
Walking along the Bay of Tafts I’m sad to see the body of a Gannet. Its fragile ribs and delicate feathers are …
There are lots of Nettles at Einar. Their scientific name is Urtica dioica, with urtica meaning to burn. They certainly do.
There’s very little left of this carcass at Noup Head.
The rock pools of Westray are magnificent underwater gardens. Here, red Coral Weed makes a frondy jungle.
I didn’t even see this Razorbill on the cliffs last summer at Noup Head until The Puffin Whisperer pointed it out to …
Forty years ago on 17 August 1976, when I was a 12 year old boy, I saw Cormorants while on holiday in …
Fulmars look like gulls but aren’t. Look closer and they have strange adapted bills with tubes on their noses. Their countershading colouration …
A Puffin at the Castle o’ Burrian as the low evening sunlight streams through the grey clouds.
Editing a photograph from last summer makes me want to be on those cliffs again with these picnickers.
Looking back at my photographs from the summer I found this one. I’m a keen photographer of the Puffins on Westray: I …
‘Scattered fish scales of Osteolepis are common at Snaky Noust.’ From the wonderful Westray Heritage Centre.
I always had a sneaking suspicion that seaweed was all that strange brown colour. Not so. Just look: