Arctic Tern

Very similar in appearance to the common tern, this is a fragile looking bird and yet migrates further than any other bird on the planet. If I've got this right, the easiest way to distinguish between the arctic and common terns is that the arctic tern has a brighter red bill which does not have a dark tip.

Common Tern

I thought at first that I'd photographed an arctic tern. However, having studied bird books and other photos, I'm pretty sure this is a common tern. They are quite tough to tell apart (for a novice like me anyway) so please accept my apologies if I'm wrong!

Kittiwake

Neater and more delicate than most of our gulls, this bird looks almost gentle. This particular shot of the a kittiwake preening itself looks better the larger it is printed and has really grown on me.

Puffin

What more can you say about puffins? They have a charm all of their own (unless you're a sand eel). In flight they're like mini air-borne torpedos with wings that look hardly big enough to keep them up.

Razorbill

A single egg is laid, usually on a rocky crevice as seen here.

Sandwich Tern

Another of the tern family, the dark bill and short black legs make it easier to identify. In common with all the terns, you really don't want to be on the wrong end of that sharp bill when they defend their nesting area.

Shag

Not the prettiest bird, or name, this is similar to a cormorant but quite a lot smaller. It has some striking features if you look for them. There are, of course, the iridescent feathers but look closer and you'll see a fascinatingly green eye and speckled yellow around the base of the bill.

Turnstone

I know I'm showing my ignorance but I'd never even heard of this bird before I photographed this one. Having seen it in May, I am led to believe that it would most likely have arrived from Canada or Greenland last autumn and wintered here in Britain. They do not normally breed here.