Mushrooms in the field
There’s something otherworldly about mushrooms. They’re more closely related to animals than they are to plants. A very different kind of life …
The worms of Woo
Lugworm casts litter the beach at the Sands of Woo on Westray.
The Late Swallow – a poem by Edwin Muir
Orcadian poet Edwin Muir is a favourite of mine. As I watched the Swallows at Einar I remembered his wonderful poem The …
Shag – alone on the rocky shore
This Common Shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) is a species of cormorant. It stands alone on the rocky shore.
The top 10 reasons you shouldn’t visit Westray
Friends and relatives often ask me whether Westray is a good place to visit and my answer is always very clear. “No,” I say. “I wouldn’t recommend it.” Here then are my top ten reasons why you should never visit Westray.
Footsteps
Someone has been here before me.
Feeling alive
Seeing birds close up, in the wind, with rain on the horizon and a glorious sunset in progress, sat at the top …
Biting Stonecrop
The Biting Stonecrop on the walls at Einar is obviously confused. There’s one solitary flower left when it’s meant to flower in …
We need to talk about Dog Whelks
‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’ is the actual name of the book and the movie. Kevin, however, has been talked about enough. What we really need to talk about is Dog Whelks, because despite the fact that there isn’t a bestselling psychological thriller written about them, their story is just as interesting.
Pincushions
This moss is so beautiful in a tight pincushion on Westray’s rocky shores. Mosses have been around since before plants evolved flowers …
Love and Groatie Buckies
There are many Groatie Buckies on Westray’s beaches. It takes real dedication to find them, though.
Fast Fulmar
This Fulmar was so fast without even flapping that it was nearly out of the frame before I captured it.
Fulmar at sunset
The sun is already half-way down past the horizon when this Fulmar flies past, lit up with glorious low golden light.
More guano than Peru
Fortunes were built on the stuff. Entire estates and magnificent country houses like Tyntesfield near Bristol were funded by it. People are …
Good Gannets above!
Have you ever wondered how Gannets manage to dive into the water at such incredible speeds and yet seem to survive without …
Swallows – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Swallows seem unearthly. Their flight is so elegant, so fast and so controlled they seem as if they inhabit a different world. …
Giving me the sly eye
A seal at Pierowall is wary of me and watches out of the corner of its eye.
The Twa Corbies
The Twa Corbies is a favourite ballad of mine, so I’m delighted to see two Ravens on the cobble and pebble beach …
Somewhere between mild irritation and death
Washed up on the shore at the Bay of Skaill is this beautiful jellyfish.
Starfish
She wishes she could find a starfish here; I go looking for one and find one. She thinks it’s because she wished for it; I think it’s because I looked for it.
Sea Urchin
Spotted a Green Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis at the Bay of Skaill.
Pincer movement
A Hermit Crab emerges from its shell, pincers first; it’s just like me getting out of bed in the morning.
Fulmar sunset flypast
A ragged-tailed Fulmar is alive to every variation in the breeze as the sun sets at Noup Head.
Gannets fly past while the sun sets at Noup Head
The evening is idyllic. Sunshine, hail, rain and a double rainbow in just five minutes. The gusty wind means the Gannets are …