A Red-Necked Phalarope drops in
I see it from a distance initially. It’s always best to be lying on the ground in complete camouflage-pattern waterproofs with high …
Black Guillemot and fish
There are 19,000 pairs of Black Guillemot in the UK. I’m enjoying the company of the ones which breed off the coast …
Pickieterno over the rainbow
I’m out taking photographs of the female Grey Phalarope. Yes, this one: I did come here to take photographs of Dunlin, which …
Dunlin
Yesterday I wrote about my experience looking for Dunlin. I did see them, but my trip was hijacked by one of the …
Give ’em enough Phalarope
It’s another day on Westray and another chance to walk the cliffs and paths of the island. I’ve got the usual camera …
Whaup in Buttercups
Whaup is the Orcadian name for the Eurasian Curlew, Numenius arquata. Here’s one flying above the Buttercups in Westray: They’re severely threatened …
Scolder
Eurasian Oystercatchers have no fear. They’re happy to make the lives of any other bird, or even human, a misery with their …
Rock Pipit
There are three types of Pipit: paper, scissors and rock. This is a Rock Pipit: Although it’s beautiful and close and detailed …
The biggest gull in the world
Hunter, pirate, scavenger, the Great Black-Backed Gull is a curious opportunist. It is the apex predator unless a White-Tailed Sea Eagle appears. …
A Sand Plowman’s lunch
The name Sanderling is from the Old English sand-yrðling, or ‘sand-ploughman’. I’m enjoying watching them eating their ploughman’s lunch. Still photographs may give you …
Eider/Or
There’s a Dunter, Somateria mollissima, commonly known as the Eider Duck, on the waves. I particularly like the chick’s hairstyle. When it …
Wet Gannet, shaking
This Gannet was very wet after a dive. As it flew past it decided to shake itself dry. I suspect it’s the …
Sandy Laverock
This juvenile Ringed Plover is a wonderful bird. In Orkney the Ringed Plover is called Sandy Laverock. The UK conservation status of …
Whale
There’s a whale corpse in the car park at Taftend. It takes up the space a car would, or even a little …
Scenes from the sea
It’s all about perspective. Looking at familiar scenes from a different place always makes you think more deeply about them. Similarly, seeing …
Are these the most northerly cliff-nesting House Martins in the UK?
I spot a House Martin, Delichon urbicum, on the cliffs at the Castle o’ Burrian. That’s nice. Then I spot another one. …
The return of the pot-boiler
There’s a spot on Westray where a buried ruin of a house is being lost to the sea. Whenever there’s a storm …
Harbour Seals
Amazingly, there are limbs inside the fat-suit which seals wear. You would, however, be forgiven for thinking otherwise: This one is delicately …
Greta Gannet
We’re watching the Gannets at Noup Head when the Puffin Whisperer gets very excited. She’s seen one with an egg. The adult …
Puffling in a flap
It’s rare to see a puffling, as young Puffins are called. They’re usually hidden in their rock or earth burrows, safe from …
Noup in the mist
Noup Head lighthouse isn’t visible until we’re almost on top of it. There’s dew on the grass and on the purple flowers …
Skeldro, Chaldro or Shaalder
There’s a Skeldro, Chaldro or Shaalder, as the Oystercatcher is known in Orkney, in the air. It’s giving me what can only be …
Chasing Puffins
There’s a marked difference in the size of fish which Puffins bring to their burrows. I’m sure that they were bringing smaller …
Harsh life
We are at Noup Head watching the birds fly by. We get a close pass from a Great Black-Backed Gull. Aren’t they …
Goodbye to Puffins
Puffins have gone from our shores for another year. It’s been a wonderful summer with them and a pleasure to see them …
The first flight of the Kittiwake
Kittiwakes are one of my favourite birds. I love their delicate bills, their dipped-in-ink wings and their streamlined bodies. And their “Kittiwaaaak” …
A precarious life on the edge of a precipice
Who would have guessed that Gannet chicks could be so cute close up? Their white downy feathers are not quite as brilliant …
The Short-Eared Owl makes another appearance
We’ve toured the Island today and our final destination is the Ouse. There were reports of a Short Eared Owl there earlier …
The Orcadian name for the Wren is the Wirran or Wrannock
The Orcadian name for the Wren is the Wirran or Wrannock. What brilliant names. I’ve just had a small Wrannock in my …
Bonxies on a boat
Great Skuas, Stercorarius skua, are known as Bonxies in Orkney. Their flashing go-faster white wing-stripes are a familiar sight as they patrol …