Rome’s Rose-Ringed Parakeets
In Rome they are noisy, colourful and gregarious. They fill the parks and streets on glorious sunny days and love nothing better …
Curlew
Curlews are in serious decline across the UK. It’s probably because so much of the land is used for food production and …
Jackdaws – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was on holiday with my family. I still remember the thrill of my mum calling me to say …
Herring Gull – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
The distribution of Herring Gulls must have changed significantly over the last forty years. I was 12 years old when I wrote …
Another Blackbird – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I was thirteen years old when I wrote and drew in my nature notebooks about Blackbirds. ‘Sexual dimorphism’ is what I wrote; …
Coot – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I obviously had very little to say when I saw a Coot, as this was my entry in my …
Magpie – forty years ago in my nature notebook
I’m on a personal journey to rediscover the natural world I described in my nature notebooks when I was a 12 year …
Walking down the aisle
A view down the aisle at St Magnus Cathedral in Kirkwall.
Carrion Crow – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was a young boy with a fascination for nature and was dedicated to filling in my nature notebooks. …
Mute Swan – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was busy filling in my nature notebooks. I wrote detailed notes in blue biro in my lined notepad …
Boulder clay
These small red cliffs on Westray look just like Boulder Clay to me. I loved studying physical geography as a child, after …
The stranger on the shore
Westray has no sandstone rocks, yet it has occasional sandstone pebbles on its beaches. Here’s one. It was brought from the island …
Stones in deeply etched caves
We’re exploring caves around the coast of Westray when we discover this wonderful depression filled with stones and pebbles inside a deeply …
Early blue light
I usually have no idea what the dawn is like. I’m sure that if you looked at the number of photographs I …
‘When I see blood I will pass over you in the night’
Noltland Castle on Westray is 16th Century. Surrounding it are 17th Century additions, one of which has this fragile arch still remaining. …
Childhood – a poem by Edwin Muir
I find Orcadian poet Edwin Muir’s poetry so rich in symbols, metaphors and similes that it’s a constant joy to discover poems …
Blackbirds – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
I was twelve years old when I started my nature notebooks. Despite my awful handwriting I noted down all the features which …
Busy building
Someone was busy building with stones on Mae Sands. Clever hands made this beautiful bottle-shaped construction.
Miniature rock stack
There’s a beautiful miniature rock stack on Westray. It’s slippery at dawn as I clamber down to the beach to see it.
“What’s going on?”
“What’s going on?”
Patterns in the sand
There are billions of tiny almost indistinguishable grains of sand yet together they can make the most wonderful patterns. We are all …
Black Headed Gull – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago as a boy I was happy keeping my nature notebooks. On holiday in Wales I saw a Black Headed …
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 …
Song Thrush – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
Forty years ago I was a small child on a mission – to see wildlife and to feel the joy of observing …
Alive
The fact that I’m alive is so incredibly unlikely. To be here now, to witness the Earth turning around the Sun, is a privilege.
The bit in-between
Winter days on Westray are very much like the short flight between Westray and Papa Westray. The flight is the shortest scheduled …