Some pictures I took recently

mikka631

A Sika Deer close to the Miners Village at Glendalough 24/02/13

whyulittle

A few from the back garden this afternoon.

homerhop

trying to figure out settings on the camera today and took these in the back yard.

eirator

Back before christmas, freezing cold very windy day but full sun. Dumb place for a seal pup to lay up as its a path on the beach used by dog walkers.



Needless to say people wanted to throw him back in the sea as they thought he was stranded. No, he was just having a nap and slipped back into the sea at high tide. The picture misses out the fact that sea at low tide was about 100 yards away over lots of rocks. He was about 3ft long nose to tail.

vandriver

Another new visitor to my garden.


Goldcrest by carl cotter, on Flickr

Bsal

More Siskins in the garden today





A few Starlings waiting for fatball



My Robin

whyulittle

A Kestrel showing off his colours in yesterday's sunshine

MeteoritesEire

that one sternus vulgaris is lookin right at ya--I miss starlings since I moved out of Belfast though all the other birds make up for them

Squeaky the Squirrel

sternus vulgaris ha

santasbird

Art Deko

GreyEagle

This is so good it's like a studio portrait

ado100

Cormorants, Dalkey Island.

Binka

Can anybody ID this bird that was in my back garden today. I thought it might be a siskin but the colouring doesn't seem right. The pics are taken through glass so it's a bit fuzzy.

whyulittle

Female Reed Bunting would be my suggestion.

Binka

whyulittle wrote: »

Female Reed Bunting would be my suggestion.

Thanks. I had a look at my book and I don't know why I missed it. I reckon you're spot on. I guess it's common enough in these parts but I don't think I've had one in the garden before.

eirator

Try Dunnock http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en6&q=dunnock and check google images.

Edit> OK probably wrong then.

Binka

eirator wrote: »

Try Dunnock http://www.google.ie/search?hl=en6&q=dunnock and check google images.

Edit> OK probably wrong then.

The body markings and on the back look similar but the markings around the head and eye look more like the bunting,

Tbh, I get totally confused by google images. You can look at 50 images of a species of bird and they can all look so different.

eirator

Binka wrote: »

The body markings and on the back look similar but the markings around the head and eye look more like the bunting,

Tbh, I get totally confused by google images. You can look at 50 images of a species of bird and they can all look so different.

My bad I see Dunnocks everyday on the ground like in your pic so jumped to to conclusions. But thats why I like google images they often have pictures covering a lot of variations so you can compare the best and the worst and work out for yourself exactly what are the markings that define a species.

Sorry if I'm taking this off topic in a picture thread

V_Moth

Binka wrote: »

The body markings and on the back look similar but the markings around the head and eye look more like the bunting,

Tbh, I get totally confused by google images. You can look at 50 images of a species of bird and they can all look so different.

Most likely that is due to the majority being mislabelled. If you are looking for comparison pictures, I would suggest using something like the Netfugl Gallery, which has hundreds of pics for most European birds. The Unidentified Birds section is well worth looking to see a variety of hybrids and other unusual plumages.

Med Gull at Bulloch Harbour a couple of weeks ago.



and a Herring Gull

mikka631

vandriver

Goldcrest by carl cotter, on Flickr


IMG_6912 by carl cotter, on Flickr

veetwin

Fine chaffinch enjoying this morning's Spring sunshine

Fruit1985

I love the above chaffinch.

I didn't take the following in Ireland but in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park at the weekend. Appreciate any constructive feedback

• Cormorant - There are two of these always hanging out on an abandoned boat by the East Link Bridge in Dublin and I never have my DSLR with me to shoot them but they are definitely my favourite bird and love their pose.
  
• Steller's Jay
  
• Allen's Hummingbird - I can't emphasize how difficult it is to shoot these guys given their bee-like motion and size. Amazing to see.
  
• Night Heron
  
• Muscovy Duck

whyulittle

Rubbish photo but cool to watch, a Merlin chasing down a Snipe!



Also a pair of Buzzards displaying/tangling.



And a few Hen Harriers to boot!

Cul a cnoic

Had a pheasant left out beside the trail camera last night and had a visitor just before 5am this morning.















A Happy meal for the fox..

veetwin

Maybe someone could ID this new visitor to my garden. Only observed in the past 3 days.

whyulittle

A lovely little Long-tailed Tit!

Art Deko

basillarkin

What kind of camera would you guys recommend for a beginner? budget is an issue also.