Some pictures I took recently

One came out of a hedge onto footpath in front of me in suburb of Galway yesterday. I had never seen one in the flesh before.

splish

Not a great photo but is this a buzzard?

What is it chasing (bird on the left) in this second picture?

OpenYourEyes

splish wrote: »

Not a great photo but is this a buzzard?

What is it chasing (bird on the left) in this second picture?

Two Peregrines perhaps?

whyulittle

Looks like it, what's it carrying though I wonder?

Bsal

I would go with Peregrine too, looks to be a house martin that it has caught.

KJ

I count 30




Is this a juvenile Wren?

Bsal

I have alot of Goldfinch returning to the garden too their great entertainment, the other bird is maybe a Chiffchaff.

KJ

If that is a chiffchaff, then it's the first that I have ever seen.

OpenYourEyes

KJ wrote: »

If that is a chiffchaff, then it's the first that I have ever seen.

Nice energetic little birds! They're all migrating south at the moment, so there's some decent build ups of numbers in certain areas - plenty around Wexford anyway the last week or so, and I'm sure at plenty of other parts of the country as they trickle down southwards.

Eyepatch

Cabbage white butterflies (Pieris rapae) Category - moth or butterfly - male and female. The male (foreground) has one spot on each wing and the female has two.

small tortoiseshell butterfly

... and two for good measure!

The small tortoiseshell butterfly

particularly favours Buddlea bushes

as can be seen here.

Some Info:http://www.irishbutterflies.com/small_tortoiseshell_butterfly_of_ireland.html

mikka631

Eye to Eye with a Sawfly at Finnamore Lakes in Boora Parklands.

bernard0368

OpenYourEyes

bernard0368 wrote: »

Water Rail?

Water Rail!

denismc

Seen 4 on the tip of the Mizen peninsula last week

Durnish

I caught the end of the rte wildlife program last night. Very interesting section on the Howth lizards. All I can say is that they seem much larger and plumper than the wee Donegal lizards that I see. An easy life in the Pale?

Art Deko

Fruit1985

Phoenix Park Today:

• Heron
• Mandarin Duck (Female)
• Mandarin Duck II (Female)
• Grey Wagtail
• Tufted Duck (Female)

OpenYourEyes

Dunlin






Pied Wagtail (a male I think)




Mallard pair

Tiercel Dave

Cross orbweaver (Araneus diadematus)? Dave

mikka631

I was up at Glendalough on Monday 23rd Sept, a very misty day but plenty of Sika Deer about in Glenealo Valley and slopes of Camaderry.

V_Moth

mikka631 wrote: »

I was up at Glendalough on Monday 23rd Sept, a very misty day but plenty of Sika Deer about in Glenealo Valley and slopes of Camaderry.

I was intrigued by the patches of red on the Sika Deer in the photo and had a quick look on google for Sika and found this:

http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/46471

:eek:

Amalgam

Unknown bird on Fennel plant. Back garden.

Only bird that seems to love scouring the Fennel for bugs etc..







I can't colour balance these a bit better, stuck on a laptop with the Windows 7 picture edit option only..

V_Moth

Amalgam wrote: »

Unknown bird on Fennel plant. Back garden.

Only bird that seems to love scouring the Fennel for bugs etc..

I can't colour balance these a bit better, stuck on a laptop with the Windows 7 picture edit option only..

It is a Chiffchaff

Amalgam

V_Moth wrote: »

It is a Chiffchaff

Many thanks. They have very particular beaks. Pencil sharp.

dodderangler

V_Moth wrote: »

I was intrigued by the patches of red on the Sika Deer in the photo and had a quick look on google for Sika and found this:

http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/46471

:eek:

http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2057047034/1/#post86723595

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

V_Moth wrote: »

I was intrigued by the patches of red on the Sika Deer in the photo :

In summer they get a reddish brown coat with white spots. The winter coat is a grey-brown.

Also worth remembering that most sika-like deer in Wicklow are actually red x sika hybrids. Hardly any pure sika deer in Leinster.

dodderangler

Jazlyn Incalculable Yo-yo wrote: »

In summer they get a reddish brown coat with white spots. The winter coat is a grey-brown.

Also worth remembering that most sika-like deer in Wicklow are actually red x sika hybrids. Hardly any pure sika deer in Leinster.

You mean hardly any pure reds in Leinster?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

dodderangler wrote: »

You mean hardly any pure reds in Leinster?

No. As I said, there are hardly any pure Sika in Leinster. You can read all about in the Smithsonian Natural History of Ireland (2003) and several other publications. I think the Wild Deer Ireland website refers to this as well in their piece on Sika
Yes, the genic purity of reds in Leinster is also poor but that is not what I said, as the situation with reds is further complicated by non native bloodlines in reds.

V_Moth

Jazlyn Incalculable Yo-yo wrote: »

In summer they get a reddish brown coat with white spots. The winter coat is a grey-brown.

Also worth remembering that most sika-like deer in Wicklow are actually red x sika hybrids. Hardly any pure sika deer in Leinster.

Thanks. I was wondering if the reddish patches were signs of hybridisation.

spookwoman

Also known as a garden spider. Some whoppers knocking around at the moment. Females usually hang upside down in the web. From wiki Adult females range in length from 6.5 to 20 mm (0.26 to 0.79 in), while males range from 5.5 to 13 mm (0.22 to 0.51 in)

Tiercel Dave wrote: »

Cross orbweaver (Araneus diadematus)? Dave