Today I am going back to Westray. Well, not in reality, but back in time to 10 May 2022. Westray, a small island in the Orkneys, well loved by the locals and the puffins and fulmars alike.

Very sadly, the RSPB state that the puffin is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The main threat to puffins is the changes in distribution and numbers of small fish due to exploitation of the seas, while ground predators (e.g. rat, mink, cat) introduced to breeding colonies and marine pollution are also serious hazards. Growing up in Australia, as a child, I had only ever heard of puffins due to the logo on Puffin Books.

Traversing along the cliff top trail past the fulmars towards Castle o’Burrian, my friend excitedly pointed out a puffin that had just come out of its burrow on the cliffs. After a couple of minutes, the puffin strutted over to the cliff, turned around, stuck its cute little butt out over the edge in a special way and pooped away. This made me giggle, just the intentionality of it all and the puffin’s special little move.

We soon sighted Castle o’Burrian and it became a game of “who can spot the puffins quickest”. My pal is quick to see changes in the landscape and to no surprise, she won hands down!

*First Use of Viking telescope smartphone adapter*

There were now some puffins emerging from the burrows and strutting on the top of Castle o’Burrian. I don’t know how to describe the way that puffins walk except to say that they stick their chests out proudly and waddle a bit in an adorable way. I set up my birding tripod and telescope for the first time. Telescopes can cost a small fortune so I had bought an economical starter one as I was new to this and wanted to see how it would go. While the wind was beginning to pick up, I attached my handy RSPB universal smartphone adapter. It took me a while to figure it out. As you can see, while I was getting the hang of it all, my first image was less than perfect!

It was such an honour and joy to watch the puffins move about. Without warning a little puffin head would pop out of its burrow and join the rest of the crew and then just as suddenly disappear. I didn’t have a crystal clear view due to the quality of my telescope but I was very happy all the same.

Midmorning quickly passed and the puffins retreated to their burrows. We decided to head off and adventure more on Westray and set out for the Mae Sands beach.

We nabbed one of the two parking spaces at Mae Sands and headed down the track, past the outbuildings and through a little gate. The sun shone brightly for the next few hours so we had a wander and did a bit of sketching. A nearby farmer was driving his tractor in the paddock, followed by his trusty collie. There were rabbits and oyster catchers in the field behind us and one lone oyster catcher roaming the sandy shore. Suddenly I sighted a little pied wagtail running frantically close by the sea, its little legs pumping. I am pretty sure there were also artic terns flying super fast in and out of view on the beach. They were so fast, anything I caught on my camera was just a little bird shaped blip. When the sunny afternoon began to fade we headed back to Pierowall. On the way we went to the local corner store and I bought some Fattie Cutties to eat. Fattie Cutties are a traditional treat from Orkney that are halfway between a biscuit and a fruit bun.

Following some tasty nosh at Pierowall Hotel, we returned to Castle o’Burrian. I did some quick little gestural sketches of a puffin sitting on the cliff side of Castle o’Burrian outside its burrow. All I had to hand was pencils and as highlighted in my last post, this just didn’t seem the best way for me to quickly capture movements.

We stayed for a while as the sun was setting and I recorded some short videos of the puffins. Here is a little two second video. It’s a bit shaky due to the wind. The week we were in Orkney, the wind was everywhere!

It wasn’t that long until the rain set in and I hurriedly packed up my gear. Heading back down the trail, we were absolutely delighted as the puffins started flying all around the headland and seemed to be following us as we walked back. We like to think it was a flying farewell. Not only that, but my ever observant pal noted a grey seal swimming in the sea opposite. Apparently, seals come closer if you sing to them, so obviously my friend started bellowing out a tune from the Little Mermaid. The seal was treading water and gazing at us with shiny black eyes. What did it think of my friend’s singing? I guess we’ll never know, but I am sure it appreciated the effort. I don’t think we could have had a more magical farewell from the creatures at Castle o’Burrian. Chuffed to say the least.

I am in currently in Australia and working on a couple of watercolours of the puffins. Here is close up of one of them.

Puffins, Westray

Turnstones & Yesnaby, Orkney

Fulmars, Westray