Heather and I had been stuck on the island of Rousay for three nights straight, waiting for the wind to drop. We were getting frustrated with our wait to head up into the North Isles of Orkney. One evening we returned to the tent and found that the wind had dropped… Within an hour we’d packed [...]
Archive for the ‘Birds’ Category
Shipwrecked on Muckle Green Holm Leave a comment
Puffins in Jack Sound, Pembrokeshire Leave a comment
‘Grief is the price we pay for love.’ – Her Majesty The Queen. Long to reign over us…
Out Stack Leave a comment
The hunk of rock above is Out Stack, which happens to be the northernmost point of Britain. It’s located a short way north of Muckle Flugga Lighthouse, which is a short way north of the Shetland Isles. I certainly wasn’t on my own, out on the water up there on top of the UK. The [...]
In a Flap Leave a comment
This fellow’s take-off was much more impressive than what followed. He got caught up in the gusty draughts in the cliff gulley and zig-zagged seawards out of control, barely avoiding the walls with manic flapping. In fact, I suspect that was what he meant to do…
Larger than life 1 comment
Puffins, gotta love them. These guys on Skomer Island in Pembrokeshire practically came and stared down my lens…
Gannets of Bass Rock 1 comment
One of my favourite images ever. Approaching 150,000 gannets on Bass Rock, in the Firth of Forth. We had been able to smell them from several miles back…
Crowded House Leave a comment
Presumably this little fellow is trying to figure out where (if anywhere) he is going to land. Presumably that’s him also in the photo just below, elated at having secured himself a spot. The location is Elegug Stacks in South Pembrokeshire. Guillemots galore…
St Alban’s Head tide race 3 comments
The tide race off St Alban’s Head, this morning. A great Christmas Day walk (taking in the Square and Compass pub at Worth Matravers!) but I would rather have been out on the water…
Twilight predator 1 comment
This fellow was spotted hunting in the brackish stream behind our tent on the beach at Horgabost, late one evening. Isle of Harris, Western Isles.
Flamborough Head Gannet Leave a comment
This fellow at Flamborough Head in Yorkshire is easily the best six foot tall wooden carved gannet that we’ve ever seen. Sadly, he was alone; we were too late in the season for the 1000s of gannets who usually live nearby at Bempton Cliffs.
Scarborough Harbour 2 comments
Not such a bad place…
Les Etacs Leave a comment
A visit to Les Etacs, a gannet colony off the Channel Island of Alderney, in 2010. Thousands of gannets, our largest sea bird, with a two metre wing span. Swirling, diving and roosting. It didn’t smell too good.
Islay flora and fauna Leave a comment
A few random images, from the very fine and fertile island of Islay.
Why the Whales Came Leave a comment
Why the Whales Came is a children’s book by Michael Morpurgo (previously children’s Laureate), set in the Isles of Scilly during the First World War. The plot centres around the islands of Bryher and Samson, which has been uninhabited since the mid nineteenth century. My wife reads the book with her pupils at school; the [...]
Sunny Hunny Leave a comment
Hunstanton is the only town on the east coast with a view facing west. It looks out over the Wash and is frankly, a very fine place.
The Wash Leave a comment
The Wash: a bay in Norfolk and Lincolnshire. 600 square kilometres of salt marsh and mud flats. There is nothing to see here.
Wet and Windy Western Isles 1 comment
Greetings from the Outer Hebrides – the Western Isles, Eilean Siar. This fellow is sheltering from the relentless Western Isles wind behind a nascent sand dune, newly formed by rotting seaweed deposited on a spring tide strand line. At least it stopped raining for a few minutes to allow me to take the photo, but otherwise [...]
Dead Birds Leave a comment
Hey, why not? Found at Orkney, Galloway and Pembrokeshire.
The Islands of Fleet Leave a comment
These three tiny Islands of Fleet are another gem of south-west Scotland. They are hidden in the shallow Fleet estuary; some of them can actually be walked to at low tide. Approach quietly and sensitively; the islands have significant populations of nesting seabirds. Just speaking hypothetically; if you were to launch late in the day, [...]
Mingulay and the Bishop’s Isles Leave a comment
I’ve just been sorting through old files and have found a large pile of old magazine articles that have never been posted here. I’ll put some up in the weeks to come; this one was published (2004?) in the now-defunct ‘Paddles’ magazine. Hope it’s useful/ interesting. ————————————————————————————— Mingulay and the Bishop’s Isles What care we [...]
