Arctic Terns in the bay
There’s a small group of Arctic Terns in the bay. They are such beautiful birds. I love the long tail streamers. There …
The beauty of Arctic Terns
The Arctic Terns at the Bay of Tuquoy have had success with their breeding colony this year. It’s been a pleasure to …
A perfect hat-trick
A perfect hat-trick in football is when you score three goals, one with your left foot, one with your right foot and …
Not long out of the egg
Arctic Terns are colonial nesting birds. I’m sure of that fact. I’ve spent 18 years exploring Westray and seeing their colonies, large …
An emotional state
The Arctic Terns on Westray are bringing a succession of fish in to their youngsters. The beach is crowded with them. Some …
Beautiful conflict
Aikerness is the most northerly part of Westray, where the wild waves crash and the wind blows uninterrupted by walls or buildings. …
Air to light
Two years ago I took a photograph I love. It is of an Arctic Tern hovering, using a long exposure to blur …
As cool as the Arctic
The Arctic Terns on Westray are a curious bunch. If you start to care about them it can be an emotional rollercoaster. …
Arctic Tern feeding
A memory of last summer with the Arctic Terns of Westray. There were so few chicks in this colony that the remaining …
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 …