AS spring gives way to summer I always look forward to my annual trip to Bass Rock off the coast of Scotland.

This rock was once used as a prison and also as a lighthouse protecting shipping in the Firth of Forth. It takes its name from the gannet, Europe's largest seabird.

The gannet, as its name implies, has a huge appetite and its diet consists of fish which it catches by diving from a great height. The bird has a wing span of around six feet (nearly two metres).

Gannets have a complex breeding display which involves a sort of sword fencing with their bills. Only one egg is laid and this is incubated by the adult bird placing the egg on its webbed feet! There is no more beautiful sight than watching a gannet in flight.

The flight of the Puffin is a much more 'amateur' affair and this attractive little bird also breeds on the Bass Rock. Also known as the Sea Parrot, the puffin has a multicoloured bill and this is only obvious in summer. After the breeding season the bird moults its bill and is the only British species to do this.

Only eight inches (20 centimetres) long the puffin is a cute little bird which lays its single egg in a burrow, usually pinching the burrow of a rabbit. The puffin is a member of the auk family and which is the northern hemisphere equivalent of the penguin, and this explains why the puffin is so clumsy in the air. Look at the puffin in the sea, however, and you will see poetry in motion.

A third breeding species on the rock is the kittiwake which gets its name from the attractive sound that it makes. A member of the gull tribe the kittiwake is the most gentle of the family.

Most gulls lay three eggs but the kittiwake produces only a couple. This makes a lot of sense because the nest is placed on very narrow ledges and even the two young can be crowded.

Kittiwakes also only have three toes which are placed in such a way to ensure a firm grip on the rock face.

The trio of species which I enjoyed last week ensured that I will return to Bass Rock next year in search of other fascinating species.

Pretty flower was a saviour of navy

SHOULD this pretty plant which grows commonly in our damp fields really be called Mayflower? It appears during April and is at its best in June, so why May?

I prefer the name Lady's Smock which derives from the olden days when the petals of the flower look very like washing hunt out to dry. Another old name of cuckoo flower does not have much relevance these days either because the once common migrant is now very rare!

The leaves of the plant were once eaten to prevent scurvy as they are very rich in Vitamin C. They were also eaten in salads and the dried and powdered flowers were used in the treatment of epilepsy during the 18th and 19th century.

The pale lilac (sometimes white flowers) are carried on stacks up to 20 inches (50 centimetres) high and have four petals arranged in the form of a cross. This is why the plant is classed in a family of plants called the Cruciferae.

The species is common all over Europe and in France a few hundred years ago people would not pick the flowers because they were said to attract adders.

In Germany people refused to pick Lady's Smock because if brought into buildings disaster was soon to follow.

I think we Brits were right to pick and eat cuckoo flower because Vitamin C was essential to prevent scurvy. This was a vile disease which caused blood vessels literally to burst and teeth to fall out. Leaves were taken on board ship until the British Navy discovered that fresh oranges and limes were rich in Vitamin C. We have been known as Limeys ever since!