Mallimack surprise
The Fulmars on Westray are littering the coast with their ungainly earthly forms, as well as flying effortlessly along the cliffs with …
A Scootie Allan attacking a Mallimack
A Scootie Allan attacking a Mallimack. An Arctic Skua attacking a Fulmar. A Stercorarius parasiticus attacking a Fulmarus glacialis. Dramatic, isn’t it, in …
Mallimack life
Fulmars are my favourite birds to watch flying. They have an effortless confidence on the wind, and glide with stiff wings as …
One dramatic evening
It’s a dramatic evening, already quite dark, yet this Fulmar is still flying. The sun is lighting up the high clouds with …
Mallimacks
We’re aboard the Ailsa Jane and I’m taking advantage of the creel boat having a very low side where the creels get …
Alternative nesting sites
On the cliffs of Westray are two Fulmar resting places. They’re both in the north-end of the island. One is a bare …
A Fulmar at the skeleton house
A Fulmar from summer, sitting pretty on the top of a wall in the skeleton house. Its beached carcass and exposed ribs …
If ever I could fly
Of all the birds of the sea, the greatest fliers are the Fulmars: There is no bird so alive to the shifting …
2019 highlights of a wilder Orkney life
The turning of the year is always a great time for reflection. Celebrating the darkest day with the thought that longer days, …
Seasons
It’s the middle of winter. It’s time to rest and appreciate another year gone. It’s time to see distant family members, or …
Fulmars
The Fulmars look beautiful in this light. They look odd on land because they sit low down on their feet rather than …
The Fulmars of Backarass
We’re walking down past Backarass on Westray. It’s a special landscape of shattered rocks and still pools: The weather is fabulous and …
Magnificent Mallimacks
There are Fulmars, called Mallimacks here in Orkney, on the wing at the pier on Papa Westray This one is flying a …
Mallimack
Along the Westray coast are hundreds of Fulmars’ nests. Their fluffy chicks are a constant surprise while scrambling among the rocks. They …
Bempton birds – the miracle of flight
The power of flight still astonishes me. If only I could be up there with the birds at RSPB Bempton Cliffs. The …
Westray Coast 50 – Day One
My adventures on the first of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
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 …
The crossing
It only takes an hour and a half to cross the Pentland Firth from Scrabster to Stromness on the Northlink ferry. Standing …
The Fulmar Triathlon
Fulmars are one of my favourite birds. All animals have some sort of compromise in their bodies because of the range of …
The Atlantic
Westray has two sides: a North Sea side and an Atlantic Ocean side. They meet with dramatic consequences at the northernmost and …
Fulmar Chicks
Westray is an environment of sea and stone and air. Fulmars have complete mastery of the air. Their flight is elegant and unflapping irrespective of the direction in which they fly. They can turn and wheel around, adjust their position and react with astonishing speed.
Never a dull day
The weather on Westray may be dull, but there’s never a dull day on Westray.
A white blanket of cloud shrouds the island but life continues as normal for the incredible menagerie which inhabits the shores of Westray.
Feeling alive
Seeing birds close up, in the wind, with rain on the horizon and a glorious sunset in progress, sat at the top …
Fast Fulmar
This Fulmar was so fast without even flapping that it was nearly out of the frame before I captured it.
Fulmar at sunset
The sun is already half-way down past the horizon when this Fulmar flies past, lit up with glorious low golden light.
Fulmar sunset flypast
A ragged-tailed Fulmar is alive to every variation in the breeze as the sun sets at Noup Head.
A sense of taste
Hardly any bird species have a sense of smell – and that probably means they have very little sense of taste either. …
Addicted to Fulmars
Yes, it’s true; I’m addicted to Fulmars.
Casting a shadow upon yourself
Evolution is a wonderful thing. Being grey above and white below is a classic countershading strategy used by many seabirds and often …