Guillemot at Fowlsheugh, originally uploaded by ShaunW (shandys_preston).

Caption reads:

This shot was taken at the RSPB seabird colony at Fowlsheugh which is a few miles south of Dunnotar castle.

The Common Guillemot or Common Murre (Uria aalge) is a large auk. It is also known as the Thin-billed Murre in North America. It has a circumpolar distribution, occurring in low-Arctic and boreal waters in the North-Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands.

Common Guillemots have fast direct flight but are not very agile. They are more manoeuvrable underwater, typically diving to depths of 30–60 m (100–200 ft), and depths of up to 180 m (600 ft) have been recorded.