On the Wall

Lots of puffins around at Sumburgh Head - and I picked this one perched on a wall because it gives me an excuse to tell about my puffin close encounter today.

This season the Sumburgh puffins seem to be frequenting the wall tops around the lighthouse - the same walls that the photographers use to rest their over-sized lenses on.  So, there I am resting my lens on the wall concentrating on a nearby group of puffins when I hear a flutter of wings just beside my left ear.  A puffin (maybe this one) has landed on the wall top about 12 inches from me - far too close for photography (and in any case I didn't want to spoil the moment by trying to dig a phone out of my pocket).  It felt like ages (probably no more than a minute) where I was able to look more closely at a puffin that I've ever been able to do before.

I do get a bit blasé about seeing puffins through a big lens or on a computer screen - but nothing prepares you for quite how exquisite these wee birds are seen really close to.

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