Artificial Rubbish – part 4
I decided to ask Chat GPT to give me a summary of my blog. According to an Artificial Intelligence summary provided as …
Framed print
I’ve just sold a print of my photograph of a Puffin with a face full of fish: The print is 60cm x …
I love Puffins and sparkles
An evening at the Castle o’ Burrian in the summer with Puffins. It’s idyllic.
I’m shy
No, I’m not really. I’m just using my uropygial gland to oil my feathers so I don’t get waterlogged.
The foamy Atlantic
I love the dancing patterns the wave-crashed foam makes on the blue-grey sea below Papa Westray’s low cliffs. Especially when a Puffin …
Into the wind we go
Watching Puffins negotiate high winds is a thrill. I particularly like their head-down, stiff-necked attitude as they take off.
Mr Punch
If you spend enough time with Puffins you are guaranteed comedy gold.
Beak full of fish
I do love a good head-on Puffin encounter, especially if it’s carrying a Puffling’s meal.
Fratercula arctica
No, I’m not tired of Puffins-with-fish shots.
Catch of the day
The Atlantic Puffins on Papa Westray were bringing in many of these glassy fish with amazing transparent bodies. This Puffin had clearly …
Atlantic Puffin portrait
Gorgeous, aren’t they?
Head-on
Seeing a bird head-on in flight gives you a completely different perspective. This Atlantic Puffin over the turquoise seas of west Westray …
The Puffin and the Shag
As soon as I see it, I can’t resist it. The image of that Puffin with an out-of-focus Shag behind is somehow …
Puffins love a breeze on their bellies
It’s raining and a dull day on Westray when I get a call from my friend Martin. He’s out with the Puffins …
Fish delivery
On the North Sea coast of Westray the Puffins nest in old rabbit holes and their own earth burrows. On the Atlantic …
North Sea spray on an Atlantic Puffin
My friend Martin and I are on Papa Westray for the day and we are both entertained by the Puffins flying along …
Atlantic Puffin enthroned in Sea Pinks
Here’s a Puffin, elegantly enthroned in a garden of Sea Pinks. That orange and pink is quite a severe clash. And here’s …
The best camera…
They say that the best camera is the one you have with you. That was certainly true of my evening walk on …
At night I dream of the Ocean
This Atlantic Puffin has come to rest on the low, grassy cliffs, where its burrow faces the North Sea. It flaps its …
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 …
Yet more Puffins
I took so many photographs of Puffins this summer that I’ve not published even a fraction of my favourites, so here are …
Puffins chased by Arctic Skuas
A Puffin’s dinner is an Arctic Skua’s dinner. Arctic Skuas are hunting Puffins for their fish on Westray and they’re having intermittent …
More Puffins
I took more photographs of Puffins this summer than I can possibly post. So here are some of my unseen favourites. I …
Webbed feet
If you are wondering how Puffins catch fish, they actually fly under water. They float on the surface of the water, sticking …
Rock home
It’s entertaining to spend a day on the cliffs with a flask of tea and a local cheese sandwich on home-made bread …
Masters of the side-wind landing
Puffins still have to land whichever way the wind is blowing. That’s tricky, because ideally they would like to land into the …
Puffins
Here’s a small collection of some of my previously unposted Puffin shots from this summer. Little sweetheart: Don’t look now, but I …
Final Puffin evening
It’s time to head out to the Castle o’ Burrian to see the Puffins for a final time. The light is unexpectedly …
King of the Castle o’ Burrian
It’s been great to watch the Puffins this year. This one was collecting last-minute bedding for its Puffling. The air must get …