Good Gannets above!
Noup Head is an exciting place to be when the Gannets are flying: They are massive: When the weather conditions are just …
Razorbill and Puffin meet
I’m sitting on the cliffs of Westray on a beautiful day. I’m wearing full camouflage. I’ve been taking photographs of birds as …
Arctic Terns on North Ronaldsay
If you’re on Westray in Orkney you have a once a year chance to get a ferry direct to the neighbouring island, …
An afternoon with the Black Guillemots
Black Guillemots are stunning birds in their summer breeding plumage. Here on Westray they nest on the cliffs and crags, with eggs …
Rock Pipit speaking with its mouth full
There’s a Rock Pipit on the cliffs on Westray: It’s incredibly well camouflaged visually: I say visually, because it just won’t be …
Posing for Puffin Portraits
I’ve opened a photographic studio here on Westray. No, not for people, but for Puffins. I have a range of natural backdrops, …
Mice nibble… #14
Mice. Yes, mice. They really will nibble anything. Anything. This used to be a nice bar of soap. It’s perhaps the last …
Kittiwakes are calling
Kittiwakes are the most beautiful and delicate of the gulls. Their yellow beaks, black legs, dark eyes and plaintive call are so …
The Lily Must Decay
Churchyards are always a sobering experience. I love looking at gravestones and the ones in the graveyard of the ruins of Lady …
Great Black Backed Gull
Great Black Backed Gulls are gulls, yet on an epic scale. Seeing one coming towards you is quite a sight: That’s some …
Spotted by a Skua
Seeing an Arctic Skua is like witnessing a mythical bird come to life. If they didn’t exist they would have to have …
The Ringed Plover and the broken wing act
There’s a Ringed Plover on the shoreline of North Ronaldsay, one of the most northerly islands of Orkney: I creep closer to …
Linnets on the wind-burnt Sycamore
There are Linnets on the tops of the wind-burnt Sycamore trees in my garden: They love being up high on bare, exposed …
Sea Pies
Oystercatchers are known as Skeldro, Chaldro, or Shaalder in Orkney. If you think those names are difficult, internationally they are known as …
When I see a Mallimack walk
“I seen a peanut stand, heard a rubber band I seen a needle that winked its eye But I be done seen …
Wren on the coast
The wild North Sea coast of Westray in Orkney is not for the feint hearted on a blustery day. There are Fulmars …
Rare Crossbills on the Links
I get the word that there’s a rare bird on the Island. In fact there are three of them; they are Two-Barred …
The crossing
It only takes an hour and a half to cross the Pentland Firth from Scrabster to Stromness on the Northlink ferry. Standing …
Duck, Duck, Goose
The Canada Goose is yet another of the species introduced to the UK by people. We have the cheek to refer to …
Delicate wings at Fen Drayton Lakes
There’s a Broad-Bodied Chaser dragonfly rattling around me at RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes: There are plenty of damselflies on the reeds in …
Come here, Green Woodpecker, come here
There’s a Green Woodpecker here at RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes. I can hear its laughing call in the distance. I’m trying to …
Reed Bunting
Skills grow like children; imperceptibly. It’s over forty years since I saw my first Reed Bunting and went home to draw it …
Common Terns at Fen Drayton Lakes
I’ve been working in Newmarket and Cambridge for a few days. The summer evenings are light and the weather is beautiful so …
Red Fox
There’s an amazing Red Fox which spends its time in the gardens here in Virginia. I’m surprised to see one here, but …
Skink in the garden
A lunchtime trip to the garden in Virginia and there’s a Skink on the path. It’s bathing in the hot sun and …
Northern Mockingbird
Whenever I’ve heard a bird singing, here in Virginia, and I haven’t been able to recognise its song, it’s always been a …
Catbird v Cowbird
There’s an ancient battle being played out in the woods and fields of Virginia. It’s Catbird v Cowbird and I have a …
Barn Swallows, Tree Swallows and Bank Swallows
I’m surprised to see what I think are Sand Martins here in Virginia. Surely they’re not the same species? Then the realisation …
Red Bellied Woodpecker
I’ve been ever so slightly keen on seeing woodpeckers while I’ve been in Virginia. They are common here because there are many …