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 …
Feeling the breeze on your belly
Why do I like birds? A large part of it is that they make you feel intensely, vibrantly, alive. Seeing individuals going …
Synchro Puffin
Synchro Puffin should be a new Animal Olympics sport. Or should that be Animalympics? Maybe not, that was a cartoon. These two …
Juvenile Puffin flypast
I’ve taken a few thousand photographs of Puffins flying past me in the past few days. Most of them have fish in …
Twinkle twinkle little Puffin
Evenings are special when the sun sets slowly over the North Sea. Puffins gather in huge floats in the bay and fly …
Fish!
I’ve spent several days recently photographing Atlantic Puffins with fish. It’s for a wonderful creative project I’m involved with. More about that …
We’re going on a Puffin hunt
Arctic Skuas are one of my favourite birds. They do, however, hunt Puffins to rob them of their fish. I’ve previously photographed …
Fat Puffling with fish incoming
How fat must this Puffin’s Puffling be? We’ve been sitting half way down a cliff for the past three hours and a …
Heads or tails?
“Heads or tails?” “Heads.” “Sorry, it’s tails.” When you see an Atlantic Puffin arriving with a beak full of sand eels the …
Flypast
I’m sat on the cliffs of Westray in pleasant light. It’s the middle of summer and it’s finally made it to 16 …
2021 highlights of a wilder Orkney life
I had a wonderful time on Westray in Orkney in 2021. The Puffins returned to breed and provided constant entertainment with their …
Scenes from the sea
It’s all about perspective. Looking at familiar scenes from a different place always makes you think more deeply about them. Similarly, seeing …
Puffling in a flap
It’s rare to see a puffling, as young Puffins are called. They’re usually hidden in their rock or earth burrows, safe from …
Chasing Puffins
There’s a marked difference in the size of fish which Puffins bring to their burrows. I’m sure that they were bringing smaller …
Goodbye to Puffins
Puffins have gone from our shores for another year. It’s been a wonderful summer with them and a pleasure to see them …
Puffin sunset
A Puffin on one of its last evenings at the Castle o’ Burrian in Westray. This is a photograph I’ll be ordering …
Puffling preparations
In a sheer rock cliff there is a natural cavity in which a pair of Puffins have made their nest. Today their …
Brakes deployed
It takes every inch of wing space to stop a Puffin. And both feet.
Puffin bedding
Living in a hot burrow underground in summer with a youngster must get a bit smelly. Even at this late stage the …
Bumpy landing
I’ve seen Puffins flying underwater in an avian aquarium. They’re incredibly elegant. I’ve seen them flying and been amazed by their speed …