Some pictures I took recently

OpenYourEyes · 30-05-2017 9:45pm

^ That's actually a Great Tit Keps - they tend to look a bit bedraggled at this time of year so aren't their usual vibrant selves!

keps · 30-05-2017 9:47pm

Oops - thanks OYE
Should have known by the black bib

OpenYourEyes · 30-05-2017 10:10pm

keps wrote: »

Oops - thanks OYE
Should have known by the black bib

I got a shot of one in similar condition just upriver of the Milltown bridge a few years ago, made the same mistake, and I think someone here corrected me! Full circle now!

gzoladz · 31-05-2017 7:20am

Blue Tits and Cat, Willow Warbler, Wren resident in my garden (loads around as they have bred) and zebra fly (I am told).

whyulittle · 31-05-2017 2:11pm

Some Lizards on Clara Bog yesterday. Also had a rare Yellowhammer sighting, and heard my first Cuckoo of the year

RebelButtMunch · 31-05-2017 2:49pm

Stink horn growing out my backgarden. It gave me a bit of a chuckle.

Eyepatch · 31-05-2017 3:52pm

RebelButtMunch wrote: »

Stink horn growing out my backgarden. It gave me a bit of a chuckle.

LOL!

keps · 01-06-2017 12:57am

dipper

WildIreland · 01-06-2017 9:35am

fin12 wrote: »

How much does it cost per person to do the whale watching?

Cork Whale Watch out of Reen Pier, Union Hall charge €50 per adult, €40 for students, €40 for the first child and €30 for subsequent children for a 4-4.5 hour trip.

Full Disclosure: I work closely with the Cork Whale Watch team for my Ireland's Wildlife tours (Discover Wildlife Weekends and custom Discover Wildlife tours) on the West Cork coast.

There are other options down here... but given the choice I'd choose Cork Whale Watch and Colin Barnes every time. There's nobody better at reading the ocean and reading the animals.

You'll find all the relevant info on the Cork Whale Watch website :-)

WildIreland · 01-06-2017 10:09am

A few shots from recent visits to local sites for the Irish Raptor Study Group's National Peregrine Survey:

Peregrine falcon by Calvin Jones, on Flickr

keps · 01-06-2017 11:21pm

Shades of Green

wren

bernard0368 · 03-06-2017 1:01pm

keps · 03-06-2017 1:24pm

@Bernard

Great set of photos there on Flickr.. you seem to have had a super time in Kenya/Tanzania

bernard0368 · 03-06-2017 2:00pm

keps wrote: »

@Bernard

Great set of photos there on Flickr.. you seem to have had a super time in Kenya/Tanzania

Thanks, still loads to go through, Stunning place alright. So much wildlife it's amazing.

keps · 03-06-2017 2:23pm

While walking along the Dodder with my camera today, a guy called me over and pointed out what he called ' two geese' which he hadn't seen before.

Here is a pic

dodder

Just wondering if they are definitely geese?

Did read this online - and it seems to fit with a goose- also they seem a bit longer than a duck?
If the beak and the forehead seem to be all one slope, or close to being all one slope, it?s a goose. This make the beak look thick. If there iis a change of angle between the beak and the forehead ? this make the beak look thinner ? it?s a duck.

added later.. another pic

goose ?

OpenYourEyes · 03-06-2017 3:37pm

They're male Mallards Keps - but they have some domesticated genes in them, so they're either from captivity (i.e. farmyard ducks) or are descended from ducks that are! 'Manky Mallards' is the term some birders would use!

OpenYourEyes · 03-06-2017 3:59pm

As part of a new project they have going, the RSPB have issued a number of guidelines for people who are out photographing Puffins over the summer. The guidelines aren't just applicable to Puffins, but to all birds at seabird colonies:

http://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/project-puffin/photo-guidelines.aspx

keps · 03-06-2017 4:02pm

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

They're male Mallards Keps - but they have some domesticated genes in them, so they're either from captivity (i.e. farmyard ducks) or are descended from ducks that are! 'Manky Mallards' is the term some birders would use!

Thanks OYE

OpenYourEyes · 03-06-2017 7:30pm

Cormorants:

Cormorants by Brian, on Flickr

Cormorant by Brian, on Flickr

Hotei · 04-06-2017 10:33am

Common Blue

A Flower Crab Spider (Misumena vatia) with prey (Sarcophaga sp.) on Iris pseudacorus

Stonechat

Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth

Hummingbird Hawk-moth

Marsh Fritillary

Painted Lady

Nomad bee

gzoladz · 04-06-2017 5:16pm

Cuckoo, Common Whitethroat and Bumblebee

OpenYourEyes · 04-06-2017 8:07pm

Probably my favourite of the Cormorant shots I got recently - it looks very dragon-esque with the 'scaley' back and their somewhat reptilian head! I never appreciate their eye colour until recently either!

Cormorant by Brian, on Flickr

keps · 04-06-2017 9:00pm

Dodder today

grey heron

keps · 05-06-2017 6:06pm

It has a head!

grey heron

Hotei · 05-06-2017 9:40pm

A male and female Mute Swan were resting by the edge of an artificial lake along with five or six of their young cygnets, when a Range Rover pulled up close-by. The cob appeared to take exception to this rude intrusion, and waddled over and began frantically pecking at the panels of the vehicle. I presume upon seeing its own reflection, it thought another swan was on his patch.