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.
