Lunga Island Puffin Call
Photo of the Day
Some of the tiny, uninhabited islands off the western coast of Scotland make ideal fare for a boat excursion thanks to their wild, isolated landscapes and some excellent wildlife opportunities. The Treshnish Isles, a group of small islands west of the Isle of Mull offer the opportunity to get up close and personal with one of the cutest of all birds, the Atlantic Puffin.
These hilarious waddlers stumble along the edges of the island’s cliffs and trip over themselves to get into the small holes they call nests. With how ungainly they are on land, you’d swear they were related to penguins. And while penguins show their grace in the water, the puffins get to be quick and nimble in the air. Darting from cliffs to sea and back, they move in blurs. It’s only when they get back to the cliffs that they start flopping around in an effort to get one foot in front of the other.
While you can’t exactly cuddle with them (and believe me, you’ll want to), they’re surprisingly tolerant of human presence on their island. Us big mammals have the habit of scaring away some of the puffins’ predators, so they don’t mind if we’re getting a few feet away from them with our cameras whirring away like paparazzi on the red carpet. The one in the image below was calling out to one of his puffin compatriots, perhaps wondering who they guy with the big lens in his face was.
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Autumn Mushrooms in the Peak District
Photo of the Day
As autumn winds down, today’s photo of the day brings a bit of vestigial life in the form of some diminutive mushrooms at one of my favourite spots in the Peak District: Longshaw Estates. I’m no mycologist (yes, I had to look that up) so I’m afraid I can’t tell you what kind of fungi we’re looking at here. They’re small, they’re cute, and from the looks of it, a little bit slimy. Anyone know what species we’re dealing with or does that just describe most mushrooms?
Click to see the photo on a black background:
Darby Sawchuk is a Canadian-born photographer who currently resides in Manchester, England. He has travelled to over 40 countries and is always adding more to the list. He creates stock for multiple agencies and is available for assignments.
+44 0790 992 8932
