Monthly Report, August 2026

A month in two parts.  With the puffins at Sumburgh Head, then around Oxford and London. 

Puffling (and Puffin) at Sumburgh Head, Shetland

Numbers

Reporting Days: 31

Locations: Shetland, Oxford, London

Distance Walked: 272 km

Distance Driven: 1020 km

Days including a visit with the puffins at Sumburgh Head (Shetland): 8

Days including a walk in Bury Knowle Park (Oxford): 14

In the North

The puffins were ever-present while I was still watching the Sumburgh cliffs.  In early August the breeding puffins (and their offspring) start to leave the cliffs, leaving the non-breeding puffins to get up to what can only be thought of as teenage-antics.  And this involves a lot of sitting around on the cliff tops (and posing for pictures).

From the photographers perspective, it seems as if the puffins have had a reasonable year - last year (when I did spend a lot of time on the cliffs) I saw very few pufflings.  This year I've seen (and photographed) a lot of pufflings.  

Drawing any conclusions from a single data point is always a bit dubious but it's been good to see lots of pufflings this year. 

Watching Puffin, Sumburgh Head

Being watched by a Puffin, Sumburgh Head

Beak Down, Sumburgh Head

At the Burrow, Sumburgh Head

Three's A Crowd, Sumburgh Head

Staring Out To Sea, Sumburgh Head

In the South

It's always a shock being back in Oxford - traffic, people, trees, and this year the parched earth!

Oxford doesn't have the wild spaces that I spend time in on Shetland - but it is good to have Bury Knowle Park for morning walks and both the Botanic Garden and Christ Church Meadow nearby.

And easy trips to London too.

Bury Knowle Parched, Oxford

Not Much Green Grass, Bury Knowle Park, Oxford

Punts at Magdalen Bridge, Oxford

 Oxford Botanic Garden & Magdalen Tower

By the River Thames in London

'Erasing to Create' Emilio Isgrò exhibition
at the Estorick Collection, London

Jubilee Bridge, Christ Church Meadow, Oxford

Next Month

Mostly more Oxford.

Monthly Report, July 2026

 It's almost all just puffins. And pufflings.

A puffling ventures out, closely watched by one of it's parents. Picture taken at Sumburgh Head

Numbers

Reporting Days: 31

Location: Shetland, mostly Sumburgh Head

Distance Walked: 246 km

Distance Driven: 734 km

Days including a walk on Quendale Beach: 31 

Days including at least one visit to the auks at Sumburgh Head: 24

Puffins & Pufflings

July is peak puffin on Shetland.  And peak puffling.   

Last summer there was lots of puffin activity to watch (and photograph) but very few puffling sightings to enthuse about.  

This year there has been quite a lot of puffin activity and lots of pufflings to watch.  

I've been photographing the auks at Sumburgh for almost 20 years, but I don't remember seeing so many pufflings before.  Maybe it's my memory (it's got worse). Maybe it's my patience (that's got better). Or maybe there just are more pufflings this year (in the more visible nest sites) around Sumburgh Head.

Over the last few weeks I've seen over a dozen different pufflings, and seen evidence of food being brought in to several other nest sites.

Puffin Countdown... Three Puffins

Two Puffins

One Puffin

We have a Puffling

Another Puffling

And another Puffling

And one more Puffling

Other Auks

It's not just puffins. 

I've seen a lot of razorbill activity around Sumburgh Head this year - but no direct evidence of razorbill chicks this year, which is disappointing after getting good views of youngsters last year. 

Razorbills at Sumburgh Head

Razorbills displaying around a nest site

It was, however, very easy to see jumplings in the guillemot colonies this year.  While it is encouraging that there are lots of jumplings to see (as there were last year), the more gloomy conclusion is that the colonies are less dense this year so it is easier for the passing photographer to see them (and for the passing bonxie, raven or black-backed gull to predate them).

Jumplings in the guillemot colonies

Shetland Sunshine

Shetland can have rubbish weather in the 'height' of Summer, but it can also have lovely weather with lots of sunshine (and temperatures peaking at around 20C, which must have boosted its position in 'Best Places to Live' league).

Sunny afternoon on Quendale Beach

Brei Geo on Scat Ness

Loch o' Gards on Scat Ness

Calm waters at the southern end of Scat Ness

Next Month

It's time to say good-bye to the remaining auks (and to keep fingers crossed that they have a good winter at sea) and for me to say hello to places further south.

Monthly Report, June 2026

Entirely Scotland. Mostly Shetland.

Plotting Puffins at Sumburgh Head

Numbers

Reporting Days: 30

Location: Scotland (including Shetland)

Distance Walked: 265 km

Distance Driven: 1150 km

Auks Photographed: Most of them

Orchids Photographed: Lots of them

Entirely Scotland

I know Shetland is part of Scotland. There are MSPs from Shetland.  I know all about Shetland being pledged (by a Norwegian King) as security for an unpaid dowry.  I even know that Scottish law applies on Shetland (which can't be said of all the residents).

But, I still think of Shetland being different and separate to the rest of Scotland.

So, at one level this month was spent entirely in Scotland.  Really, two thirds of the month was spent on Shetland and the balance was spent on (mainland) Scotland or on a Northlink ferry between the two.

Mostly Shetland. Mostly Auks.

I'm probably still making up for the auk-watching time I missed out on in May, but it does feel as if I've taken a lot of pictures of puffin and razorbill pictures during June.

Puffins at Sumburgh Head

Puffin Line Up at Sumburgh Head

Burrow Negotiations at Sumburgh Head

Razorbills Aligned at Sumburgh Head

Puffins adopting the 1-2 formation at Sumburgh Head

Razorbill Banter at Sumburgh Head

Or Orchids

And when I wasn't hanging out with the auks I was crawling around on my hands and knees looking for some of the many wee orchids that are around on Shetland at the moment.  It does feel as if the orchids have had a bumper year.

Heath Spotted Orchid on Compass Head

Heath Spotted Orchid on Scat Ness

Marsh Orchids on Scat Ness

Mainland Scotland

So what lured me off Shetland (during the auk-watching season) to the other bit of Scotland?

Happy Birthday Mum - a Landmark Birthday

And having ventured onto the mainland, it seemed like a good opportunity to pay a Summer visit to the Cairngorms. I spent a lot of childhood holidays in and around Aviemore, and have in more recent years spent a lot of time taking photographs on the Rothiemurchus Estate.  My back of an envelope (it was a big envelope) calculations suggested that this might have been something like my 38th visit to the Cairngorms National Park, although the first dozen visits (the earliest records are from Easter 1974) were before it was designated as a National Park.

At Loch an Eilein in Rothiemurchus

Cairngorm Club Footbridge on the Rothiemurchus Estate

Slains Castle, Cruden Bay on the Aberdeenshire coast

Next Month

Current plan is to spend another monthly entirely on Shetland. And (if you insist) entirely in Scotland.

 

Monthly Report, May 2026

Half and Half.  Started the month in Oxford, ended up back on Shetland.

Numbers

Reporting Days: 31

Location: Around Oxford, around the M6 and around the south end of Shetland

Distance Walked: 285 km

Distance Driven: 1100 km

Around Oxford

May is a lovely time to spend in Oxford. 

There are lots of green spaces, some more manicured than others - favourites this month were the Oxford Botanics and the Lye Valley.

There are also lots of hospitals.  

Recently I've been taking part in a couple of Parkinson's-related research projects.  One required an MRI (that project is part of a broader six-year study into brain mechanisms underlying motivation and apathy) the other required me to wear a collection of high-tech sensors to monitor my movements over several days (part of a project to better quantify the severity of Parkinson's symptoms). These research projects are entirely optional, but are an interesting extension to the regular NHS-based appointments.

Garden walls at the Oxford Botanic Garden

River Cherwell in the Botanic Garden

Orchid seen from the Lye Valley boardwalk

Milham Ford nature park (sometime good for orchids)

Motion Sensors

The West Wing, John Radcliffe Hospital

In Transit

I've travelled between Oxford and Shetland a couple of hundred times over the last 20-ish years.  I used to regularly fly up and down (from Heathrow or Birmingham, via Edinburgh, Glasgow or Aberdeen), but now that time pressure has eased somewhat, I usually drive between Oxford and Aberdeen and catch the Northlink boat.  

This time I split the long haul north with a very civilised dinner, bed and breakfast at the Westmorland Hotel (part of the Tebay Services).

Trees at Tebay Services

Stonehaven Harbour, waiting until it's time to head for check-in at Aberdeen

Around the south end of Shetland

Folks sometimes ask what I find to do when I'm on Shetland.  

At this time of year, I'm really spoilt for choice.  And there's so much daylight.

Every day includes a beach walk (always Quendale Beach, sometimes West Voe too).  Most days include a visit to Sumburgh Head (or Scat Ness or the Pool of Virkie).  

And at this time of year, I usually check in with the local auks who are all back on Shetland for the breeding season.

On Quendale Beach

Walking up the West Voe path to Sumburgh Head

Atlantic Puffin

Razorbill

Next Month

I'm expecting the pictures next month to include beaches, headlands and auks - just the usual Shetland fare :-)