Why the Whales Came (1985) is set on the island of Bryher in the Isles of Scilly before and during the First World War. Two children — Gracie and Daniel — befriend the Birdman, an old man the island children have been warned to avoid.
The Birdman (known as Zachary Woodcock) is deaf and lives alone, carving birds from driftwood and driftwood objects. As the children get to know him, they learn the island's dark secret: the nearby island of Samson is cursed. The Birdman is the last survivor of Samson, whose inhabitants were destroyed by a stranded narwhal that the islanders killed.
A narwhal becomes stranded on Bryher. The islanders want to kill it for its meat and horn. Gracie and the Birdman persuade the islanders to help the narwhal back to sea instead, reversing the curse that destroyed Samson.