Fulmar frenzy

partridge in a pear tree

Well they not in a pear tree but they are in my garden, almost everyday. So a perfect opportunity to get some nice images of these beautiful birds.

Flickers and Ploppers

Spending too much time with just my dog lately on wind swept beaches and vast mudflats the likes of  which wandering waders dream of. I take a notebook out with me so i can take details of my sightings and record weather conditions just to give me a better indicator of where to be and when in the future. I think staying in one place is a good move most times but every now and then i do move about to see what other areas have to offer me.
So there I sat Poppy by my side taking shelter from the wind as I stared pondering the names of birds I could see in front of me, Great Northern Diver , Black Guillemot, Cormorant, Shag and my very favourite bird the Fulmar. These names just don't do it for me in the fact they dont tell me much about the bird from afar , so i started calling these birds my own names, not the names that they are known by the Orcadians and Shetlanders like Tystie (guillemot) or Mallimack (fulmar). I chose to name them by how they act , the Diver would now be known as  Sub why because they are big and somehow just submerge underneath the waves like they let air out of their body with a valve. Absolutely amazing how they disappear and for a lengthy bit of time, the more astonishing thing about the Subs is how far they can cover under water. Unlike the Flicker which is my name for the Black Guillemot. The Flicker as its name suggests by a flick of the wrist (wing) it is gone on an underwater mission to destroy fish and crustacean alike. These names are for me to distinguish birds quickly from a distance because sometimes when the sea is choppy you will see the a second of bird fleeing to the depths and then it will be lost to the waves. Cormorant and shags have a very similar diving act and by far the most pronounced , these are the Ploppers. They energetically jump up their bum will be hanging in the air while the head and neck is arched in to the water followed by the body , bum and feet ....Plop.
More to come in whats in a name !

Dog is loving the beaches

Have had so much fun taking the dog out and taking photos of her , she is so energetic and crazy. Border collies are known for their amazing abilities as working dogs and their intelligence and athletic abilities enable them to be amazing sheep dogs. I thought I would share some of my favourite shots of them.

beach combing

Have had  a great few days, my parents are on the island to visit us and we are having a great time. Walks on the beach have been so much fun, the boys are getting good at looking for treasures. My dad not so good at looking much to our amusement.

Our dog is always with us and being a border collie will walk all day long , we had fun making the most of the sun and low tide. I love trying different things with my photography so decided i would get a photo of the shadows we were making.

The shot above shows just why the birdlife on thee island is so abundant , these worm casts went for miles. Tonnes of food for hungry mouths!!! My dad is a birdwatcher like myself and we have had a good couple of days 3 hen harriers on the first day along with merlin and peregrine . Short eared owl, slavonian grebe, black guillemot and snow buntings were also highlights.

Sunny weekend

It has been a beautifully sunny calm weekend, i managed to get out and about. Being the weekend the good thing  was i got to take out my boys as that is what these Islands are about. Luckily my boys love being outside so it was off to the beach we went.

Diving through the rock pools they went , we found everything you could wish for as a young child. As well as getting dirty in the pools of wonder we did some bird watching as well. Highlights were large flocks of Purple Sandpiper, Sanderling and Bar-tailed godwit.

It was a great weekend and the week is looking sunny so don't forget to watch out for my next blog.

Fulmar already thinking about breeding

The Fulmar in the Orkneys and around the rest of the UK are already thinking about nesting, way to early but the males are returning to nest sites to proclaim them. The best nest site the more guaranteed the goods. They are such gentle birds and when you watch them with each other you can sense the tenderness.

windy weekend

So it turned into a windy weekend and carries on into Monday which is fine, getting out with my camera all that often was getting boring . Obviously i am joking i hate being stuck in the house but i had a great time  with my wife and three boys, i also got some more decorating done. This is good as i am excited to have my parents coming to stay with me in two weeks. I will be going out today in pursuit of big waves which will be fun as the winds gust at 90 mph and sleet will probably be driving into my ears but it will be exciting!

 So just before the weekend i was having a lovely time with the local otter , she surprised me at the end of the day , as she got tired from all the eating she jumped up on to a rock wall had a sniff and crashed out . It was a tiny ledge and every time a wave came in i thought she was going to be swept away . No idea how she managed to get any sleep.