It was a beautiful late summer’s afternoon, so Algy flew out onto the rocks in the middle of the Bay of the Sand Islands, found himself a rather knobbly perch, and leaned back happily on the warm stone. The chilly north-westerly wind was admittedly brisk – in fact, it made his hair feathers stand on end – but the sunshine was exceedingly welcome, and the air was fresh and invigorating.

As Algy gazed at the gorgeous colours of the sea and listened to the sounds of the water as it swirled around the rocks, he felt exactly as though he was on holiday, like the many summer visitors to the area… and then realised that actually this was his home! He wondered whether the summer visitors had any idea what the Bay was like during the endless cold, wet and windswept days of the dark half of the year – but then decided to think about something else. Just now the Bay was bright and beautiful – and even comfortably warm in the sheltered spots – and although winter was not far off, it was not here just yet!

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