The One Minute Puffin Cure #1
I met a German tourist at the Castle o’ Burrian on Westray in Orkney. He’d just been to see the Puffins. His …
Sunday’s Puffin
And the Puffin that hatches on the Sabbath dayIs bonny and blithe and good and gay.
Saturday’s Puffin
Saturday’s Puffin has a fight at a party.
Friday’s Puffin
Friday’s Puffin laughs loud and hearty.
Thursday’s Puffin
Thursday’s Puffin has far to go.
Wednesday’s Puffin
Wednesday’s Puffin is full of woe.
Tuesday’s Puffin
Tuesday’s Puffin is full of grace.
Monday’s Puffin
Monday’s Puffin is fair of face.
2018 highlights of walking the Westray Coast 50
In 2017 I had a wild idea; I was going to walk the entire coast of the Orkney island of Westray in …
Hedgehogs are to blame
There was a Hedgehog in my garden in Orkney. We all ran outside to see it and it curled up in a …
Common Seal in the 1970s
Leafing through my childhood scrapbooks I come across a drawing of a Common Seal. It has all the characteristics of a Common …
The Bird by Edwin Muir
Here’s another of my favourite poems by Orcadian poet Edwin Muir. The Bird Adventurous bird walking upon the air,Like a schoolboy running …
What did Barn Swallows do before barns?
Our UK Swallows are known as Barn Swallows in the USA. It’s a good name because they love nesting in barns. Here’s …
A Hen Harrier in my back garden
When a Hen Harrier came to visit
Westray Coast 50 – Day Five
My adventures on the fifth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four and a Half
My adventures on the four-and-a-half-th of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four
My adventures on the fourth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Three
My adventures on the third of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Two
My adventures on the second of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day One
My adventures on the first of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Goose Barnacles and Barnacle Geese
There’s a type of Goose Barnacle, a Buoy Barnacle, on the shore in Westray. Its full name is Dosima fascicularis. It’s one …
Swift by name
I’m used to seeing Swifts in Devon, high in blue skies, screaming. I spotted some recently in Reading, flying to and from …
Hoverflies on the cliffs
There are over 200 species of Hoverfly in the UK. I don’t know any of them and have to rely on support …
Nursery
There’s a beautiful nursery down below on these precarious cliffs: Adult Gannets are tending to their chicks and grooming themselves and each …
Pickieternos v Bonxies
Orkney has its own names for its birds. Many of these are from the Old Norse language and came with the Vikings …
Puffin with Sandeels
I’ve only had fleeting glances of Puffins with Sandeels as they whizz past at 30 miles per hour. I’m delighted to see …
Air Traffic Control
The RSPB say that Gannets are: “…distinctively shaped with a long neck and long pointed beak, long pointed tail, and long pointed …
Skewered by a Skua
I normally only see Great Skuas from behind as they disappear along the cliffs. They have a wonderful habit of cruising up …
Black Guillemot with Butterfish
I’m walking along the coast of Westray in Orkney when I spot a Black Guillemot come in to land from a fishing …
An evening with the Gannets of Noup Head
I’d love to tell you all about my evening at the RSPB reserve at Noup Head on Westray but all you need …