An Arctic Tern colony
There’s an Arctic Tern colony on Westray which is next to a road with a couple of parking spaces. It’s possible to …
An Arctic Tern with a Lumpfish
Lumpfish grow to be large fish, sometimes washed up on the beaches of Westray. To see them as tiny fish, brought in …
Fish on parade
The Arctic Terns which breed on Westray come back with a constant procession of fish and then parade them up and down …
Time, slowed
Arctic Terns live their lives in a rush. They’ve got to get their family ready for a journey from pole to pole …
First flight
I watched an Arctic Tern colony struggle to raise chicks over the last summer. There was plenty of food, although maybe not …
Fish from a stranger
What happens when your colony collapses, your numbers are too low and you can’t protect your chicks from predators? What if there’s …
Feeding time
One of the most interesting aspects of bird behaviour is watching parents feeding their young. In this case, I can’t be sure …
Arctic Tern chick
Arctic Tern chicks are so wonderfully endearing. Isn’t this one sweet?
Arctic Tern on the handrail
We had only just arrived on Papa Westray when we saw an Arctic Tern on the handrail. They’re such handsome birds, with …
No excess baggage allowed
Arctic Terns have short legs. Comically short legs. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it. They need as little excess baggage …
The Arctic Tern and the Lumpfish
There are 60 Arctic Terns in this colony but sadly only three surviving chicks. That’s better than the collapsed colony at the …
A trip to the Arctics
I’m going on a trip to the Arctics. No, not the North Pole, I’m going on a trip to see the Arctic …
Big fish
I’ve loved watching the Arctic Terns in Orkney this summer. They’re fascinating. I spent hours watching them come back to their colonies …
Arctic Terns and Lumpsuckers
Watching Arctic Terns pull Lumpsuckers out of the water is a thrill. I love the spray of water around this one and …
Diving Arctic Tern
Something I enjoyed this summer was taking multiple exposures of some of the bird species on Westray and creating composite images from …
A family affair
An Arctic Tern family from this summer. I wonder where they are now? I suspect they’ll be somewhere on the way to …
Aerial ballet
I’ve been enjoying reviewing some of my images from Orkney Mainland taken this summer and this one, from a sequence I took …
Beaks like tweezers
Arctic Terns have beaks like tweezers. Or is it that tweezers are like Arctic Terns’ beaks? It’s all part of our inversion …
Tiddly toes
Isn’t this Arctic Tern a stunning bird? One distinctive feature of Arctic Terns is that they have incredibly short legs. It probably …
Twisting and Terning
I love how high-speed photography reveals what’s happening, when the human eye and brain can’t process it. Here, an Arctic Tern is …
Catchlight
The Arctic Tern colonies on Westray all behave differently when approached. Their behaviour seems to depend upon which stage in the breeding …
On reflection
I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time with Arctic Terns this summer. It’s been a pleasure. I’ve been sit-in on the rocks …
Missing out
Watching young birds being fed is entertaining, especially if they are twins. The look on the face of the bird which isn’t …
And still the chase goes on…
The Arctic Tern chicks have fledged, yet Great Skuas still patrol and Arctic Tern parents still chase them off. It’s an ever-repeating …
A diving Arctic Tern
Evolution by natural selection has resulted in the most incredible diversity of life on Earth. One of the standout examples in my …
Big fish, small bird
This Arctic Tern has caught a fish which is clearly causing it a problem. It can’t feed it to its chick and …
The dive of the Pickieterno
Getting just one shot of an Arctic Tern diving is difficult enough. Getting two? Even more difficult. Getting a whole sequence and …
Tension
Water; it’s incredible. Humans have evolved senses to see, smell, and taste a wide variety of sensations and yet we see water …
Moving air to light
Arctic Terns move between air and water, between north and south, between being territorial and migratory, between Arctic and Antarctic. Their life …
Trainee wings
There are young Arctic Terns here which have yet to get their full adult plumage. Smart, aren’t they? We’ve walked a mile …