We’re going on a Puffin hunt
Arctic Skuas are one of my favourite birds. They do, however, hunt Puffins to rob them of their fish. I’ve previously photographed …
Fat Puffling with fish incoming
How fat must this Puffin’s Puffling be? We’ve been sitting half way down a cliff for the past three hours and a …
Heads or tails?
“Heads or tails?” “Heads.” “Sorry, it’s tails.” When you see an Atlantic Puffin arriving with a beak full of sand eels the …
Bridled Common Guillemots
There are Common Guillemots, Uria aalge, flying in front of the cliffs at Noup Head on Westray. It’s a breezy day and the …
Another reason to love Dunters
Dunter is the Orcadian name for the Common Eider Duck. I find it hard to believe that Eider Ducks are still extant. …
Flypast
I’m sat on the cliffs of Westray in pleasant light. It’s the middle of summer and it’s finally made it to 16 …
The Hall of Einar Sunday Recommendation #40
After the City – Bird in the Belly
The scolders are at it again
You may be the great Baakie, Lord of All He Surveys, largest gull in the entire world, but you’re still going to …
Let me introduce the band…
Great! The backing singers have arrived. Now let me introduce you to the star of the show: Razorbills are such great entertainers. …
Waves
I love a breezy day on Westray. The waves fascinate me. Watching them roll and seeing a small tunnel appear within them, …
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 …
That elusive flight shot
We discovered a Great Spotted Woodpecker, Dendrocopos major, nest recently. It wasn’t the obvious hole in the side of the tree which …
Italian Wall Lizard
I can see an Italian Wall Lizard climbing a distant tree. The light is beautiful so I take a photograph. I love …
Flutterbyes
Here’s a flying Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio machaon: It’s a little tattered but beautiful all the same: Here’s a perfect example of how …
Egg-Laying
I’ve enjoyed being amongst the butterflies in Parco della Caffarella. There are many different species and it’s great to see them actively …
Odonata
There’s a Keeled Skimmer Dragonfly, Orthetrum coerulescens, above this tiny stream in Rome. It’s a female and has the distinctive black line …
European Pond Turtle
My life in the natural world is full of ‘Wow!’ moments. Today was one of them. It was a multiple ‘Wow!’ when …
Wild Humbugs
We’ve gone for a walk outside of Rome and I’m on the lookout for birds and butterflies. I wander through a loose …
Have you ever seen a photograph like this?
I’ve seen a lot of photographs of butterflies but never one like this. It’s not just that it’s a shot of a …
The cooked eyes of the Sardinian Warbler
The Italian name of the Sardinian Warbler, Curruca melanocephala, is Occhiocotto. That means cooked-eye. You can see why: They are energetic warblers, …
The habits of Monks
The meadow here in Rome is full to bursting with thistles with huge flower heads. The sight is as gorgeous as walking …
Helping a Skink to cross the road
There’s an Italian Three-Toed Skink, Chalcides chalcices, on the footpath at Parco della Caffarella in Rome. It looks like a snake, but …
Sharp Swallow
I’m having fun in the sun practising my bird in flight photography. Perhaps the most difficult bird to photograph is the Barn …