Puffins make me smile
There’s nothing better to life your mood than watching wildlife going about its daily business. Puffins make me smile. Every time.
Two of my favourite things – sunsets and Puffins
The golden light of sunset is my favourite. That’s because dawn can easily be shortly after four in the morning and I’m …
“Alas, poor Puffin! I knew him…”
We’re not here very long, so let’s make sure we safeguard the natural world for future generations.
Backarass Puffin
I love a trip to Backarass. There’s a precarious trip through a public footpath down to the cliffs. Gannets are diving, Kittiwakes …
This Puffin life
A final evening with the Puffins is always an emotional experience. They’ll be gone for nine months for a life on the …
Fresh bedding
I love watching Puffins desperately trying to find fresh bedding for their Puffling. It must get a little fetid at the end …
Hello Mr Punch
What is it that makes Puffins so immensely comical? What features in their faces do we see human attributes in? I don’t …
Turquoise
Turquoise is called turquoise because it was imported through Turkey. The Atlantic Ocean on the wild west Westray coast is as turquoise …
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 …