Like pebbles on a beach
Every beach on Westray has a different character. There are pure white shell sand beaches which wouldn’t be out of place in …
Scolder
As soon as I walk anywhere on the coast of Westray, there’s a noisy complaint. The Shaalders, or Scolders, are out, and …
Oystercatcher in sunshine
Sometimes Oystercatchers call out in alarm as I approach. Sometimes they fly and harass me. Sometimes they just sit and watch. This …
Return to Oystercatcher beach
I can’t resist their orange good looks. Birds with red plumage have enhanced vision in the red of the spectrum. I wonder …
Attention-seekers
Waders. They’re either nearly invisible, clad in the most extreme camouflage possible, or they’re Oystercatchers. This Oystercatcher was attempting to get my …
Old Carrot-Face is noisy today
Oystercatchers are a noisy fact of life here on Westray. There’s not a spot of coastline which isn’t guarded by some zealous …
2022 highlights of a wilder Orkney life (part 2)
August in Orkney can be quieter than May, June or July when it comes to bird life. In 2022, August was hectic …
2022 highlights of a wilder Orkney life (part 1)
2022 was a very happy time for me on my visits to Orkney. I spent hours on the low cliffs and rocks …
The divine right of kings and wildlife on the menu
I’ve discovered the fabulous menu of a dinner fit for a king, eaten in 1625, served in a local house in South …
The Third Ladybird Book of British Birds – #15 The Oystercatcher
I’m currently reading the third volume of the Ladybird Book of British Birds and their nests from the 1950s again. Here it …
Oystercatchers in buttercups and bill-tip clines
Eurasian Oystercatchers are loud in volume and loud in plumage. There are no words for skulking, camouflage or whisper in the Oystercatcher’s …
The scolders are at it again
You may be the great Baakie, Lord of All He Surveys, largest gull in the entire world, but you’re still going to …
Scolder
Eurasian Oystercatchers have no fear. They’re happy to make the lives of any other bird, or even human, a misery with their …
Skeldro, Chaldro or Shaalder
There’s a Skeldro, Chaldro or Shaalder, as the Oystercatcher is known in Orkney, in the air. It’s giving me what can only be …
Grass Snakes, King Curlews and their Lapwing attendants
Any patch of good weather means there’s a chance of cutting hay for silage. The people of Westray have perfected the art …
Flutterings
Coronavirus has destroyed my livelihood. I’ve had all my work cancelled for a year and will have absolutely no income. I’m also …
A grey day on the Teign
I’m out with my son in the early morning. He has a camera too and takes a photo of me. As we …
Einar
My house is called Einar, just like the Viking Earl of Orkney mentioned in the Orkneyinga Saga. That’s because of a spelling …
Dawn over Kirkwall Bay
Arriving off the Aberdeen ferry at nearly midnight gives me a quandary. Is it worth paying a small fortune for a few …
Blood-footed Oyster-pickers
There are Oystercatchers on Papa Westray and they intend to let us know that. As soon as we arrive, and walk into …
Sea Pies
Oystercatchers are known as Skeldro, Chaldro, or Shaalder in Orkney. If you think those names are difficult, internationally they are known as …
Oystercatcher – forty years ago in my nature notebooks
It’s over forty years since I first saw Oystercatchers and noted it down in my nature notebooks: I was probably on a …
Only an hour to spare…
There’s very good scientific evidence about the health benefits of nature. Scientists showed that people recovering from operations in hospitals needed less …