One foot out of the duvet
When you’re just getting comfortable in bed and you realise you’ve got one foot sticking out of the duvet.
Gannet families
The Gannet chicks at Noup are massive. They are so big and yet so fluffy still. Their main flight feathers are still …
A Linnet in the garden
Einar has a small area of walled garden. It’s grown over almost completely with shrubs and wind-dwarfed trees and where there is …
Mae Sands
Much of Mae Sands is so low-lying that it never really drains of seawater. Walking on it looks beguiling, but wet feet …
The Wild Westray
On the West Westray coast there’s nothing between you and America except the Atlantic Ocean. The coast is a fractured and windswept …
Turquoise
On the west coast of Westray, the wild Atlantic coast is full of sea caves and breathtaking horizons. Each inlet has a …
Admiring the garden
It’s beautiful evening sunlight on Westray when we see this Puffin emerge from its rock burrow and stand in the open air. …
Sea Thrift
In August the Sea Pinks, known as Thrift, are often just dried husks on the coast of Westray.
The quiet hunt
There’s something in the air today in Devon. It’s the merest hint of a dampness and a chill in the air whispering …
Green pools
Westray’s coastline has magnificent layers of sedimentary rocks. In places there are folds and cracks: A crack in the rocks leads to …
Puffarazzi
The RSPB are running a great citizen science project at the moment. They are calling for Puffarazzi – an army of Puffin …
Curious Beef Steers
They always say you can judge a man by the quality of his shoes. You can also identify the type of an …
Long evening shadows on the Shags far below
As afternoon turns to evening we walk along the Westray coast to Stanger Head. The light is low and warm and blinding. …
Flying Puffins
I’m currently without my telephoto lens. It’s being repaired. That means my prime chance of photographing Puffins is going to waste. I’m …
Fattie Cutties
No trip to Westray is complete without a visit to Peter Miller’s shop for some Fattie Cutties. Now even though Fattie Cutties …
Puffins on Parade
Puffins are always a pleasure to see and to photograph: They are such elegant birds, with stunning details in their plumage: Sometimes, …
Mice nibble… anything!
Mice. They’ll nibble anything. Anything. Any. Thing. There was the time they nibbled my sleeping bag: Mice nibble… #8 That wasn’t very …
Rapness Mill, a Puffin, a rainbow and the sunset
The Mill at Rapness is falling down. I’d love to help save it. Red Campion grows around it: Red Champion And Sea …
Blonde Bombshell
I’m buzzing with excitement. There are big blonde bees in the garden at Einar. I suspect they are Great Yellow Bumblebees. I …
Here Kitty Kitty – the birds without thumbs on their feet
The mystery of Kittiwakes’ toes.
Flagstones and Slaters
Looking into the cracks in the flagstones I see what looks to be a freakishly large Woodlouse. It’s a Sea Slater…
Guess the Yoghurt Flavour
Over the past decade on Westray one thing has struck me very forcefully: the ability of the shops to stock a single flavour of yoghurt in curious and slightly obsessive depth…
Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit
I’d love to be able to identify the different species of Pipit on Westray. The problem is that I can’t get near …
The Atlantic
Westray has two sides: a North Sea side and an Atlantic Ocean side. They meet with dramatic consequences at the northernmost and …
Collecting and sorting
I’m on the beach when I see a few different Flat Periwinkles. I’m fascinated by their different colours and patterns.
The Seal of Approval
These Common Seals love hauling out in Pierowall Bay: They are often there. Together they look as if they ought to have …
Technical Puffins
I’ve taken many artistic Puffin portraits over the past few weeks. They are glorious models and it’s always a challenge to capture …
Up, across or down?
The Westray coastline is so beautiful on a glorious day it’s hard to know whether to look up, look across or look …