Some pictures I took recently

MeteoritesEire

on the subject of pellets, ran across a small area under Crohyhead looking for caves that weren't there and saw quite a few of these baby mussel pellets.Plenty of seagulls about so I assume they are the origin.

Capercaille

whyulittle wrote: »

I found this pellet at Clara Bog the other day. No bones or fur in it, but full of grit - Red Grouse?

If it is Grouse droppings it will smell of heather.

whyulittle

I didn't notice any particular smell off it. If not Grouse, what else would it likely be from?

Also, the latest offerings down the chimney from the Jackdaws!

dodderangler

MeteoritesEire wrote: »

on the subject of pellets, ran across a small area under Crohyhead looking for caves that weren't there and saw quite a few of these baby mussel pellets.Plenty of seagulls about so I assume they are the origin.

Looks like it alright
Pretty sick but if you took it apart you'd find there are probably some mussels in that ball that survived the experience and meat still intact

MeteoritesEire

dodderangler wrote: »

Looks like it alright
Pretty sick but if you took it apart you'd find there are probably some mussels in that ball that survived the experience and meat still intact

actually I did prod one or two apart--just shells and always the baby mussels which were black on the rocks so abundant.Daresay if you broke enough of them apart you'd find the odd live one

was a very low tide

mikka631

whyulittle

Mad day with the Hares at Boora today. 3 times they walked past me from behind with me pretty much sitting in the open.






And later in the day, my first Dipper!

V_Moth

Some pics from a recent trip to northern and eastern Spain.

Audouin's Gull on Mallorca:



Little Ringed Plover on Mallorca:



Egyptian Vulture in Aragon:



Griffon Vulture at a feeding station in Aragon:



Swallowtail in Los Monegros National Park near Zaragoza:

whyulittle

Raven?

mgwhelan

I'd say it's more likely to be a young roof from last season .

spookwoman

Rook I'd say doing a lookup and ravens dont have the scaley beak. Ravens have a wedge shaped tail compared to rounded rook Rook https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQZ7pC6zVERyPGRAADHXQxud0DsosYn-F4-3gdEWcMZK2KMutzCQQ
Had a rook when growing up fell out of the nest and we raised it. Used to dive bomb us when going down the road and cats kept well away from it. They used to stand on their tails as "Rudy" used to peck the tips.

MeteoritesEire

I have 3 ravens that visit now and again--usually when I put out racks of ribs that I get off the local butcher.The hooded crows and magpies love these too, in fact any old bones I throw out are always picked over by the corvids.The magpies chase the blackbirds,the hooded crows chase the magpies, the seagulls chase the hooded crows but everybody steps aside when the ravens come around---big boys with big beaks---so hard to get a decent shot of them--very wary

spookwoman

Dont really realize how big they are until you see them against another bird. Hooded crows are about the same size as rooks and they are big.

whyulittle

It was just the bill I was going by, didn't think it looked very Rook-like compared to other pics. Being a juvenile would probably be the reason though.

spookwoman

Got this chap today Chaffinch through the window. just using a powershot sx150 Is on full zoom. Wish I had a proper camera will a real lens

V Bull

Some photos from the East Coast Nature Reserve today..

Robin..



Singing Great Tit..



Chaffinch, turned just as I took the photo..



Brambling hiding in the tree..



Little Grebe..

MeteoritesEire

gorgeous shot of the chaffinch

spookwoman

Was down at Saleens today and got some pics
Ringed Plover

Oyster Catchers

Grey Heron

Brent Geese

Lesson in flight

whyulittle

Siskin & Goldfinch in the garden

Squeaky the Squirrel

^^Goldfinch are my favourite.

Think they nest in forests and only like peanuts in a feeder. Picky little gits.

blackbird99

the usual helpers arrived to lend a hand in the garden



143 by blackbird1973, on Flickr
145 by blackbird1973, on Flickr

166 by blackbird1973, on Flickr



171 by blackbird1973, on Flic
211 by blackbird1973, on Flickrkr

spookwoman

see your birds share, ours fight. Starlings bicker something terrible, Once the left over food goes out all hell breaks loose and if anythings put out at night they can wake you with the racket they kick up in the morning The bluetits are little terriers.

whyulittle

I saw my very first Kingfisher today, or at least I'm sure that's what the flash of blue past me was!

Grey Wagtail


Dipper


Brimstone


And a Dunnock in the back garden

Lumber Man

A regular visitor to our garden!

Zoo4m8

Lumber Man wrote: »

A regular visitor to our garden!

In no hurry to go home!

whyulittle

This female Blackcap was in particularly bad form today! Normally she only goes after the other Blackcaps, but today she was chasing anything that came near the feeders - taking a lump of feathers out of either a Siskin or Goldfinch.

vandriver

Some from Belfast at the Weekend (Belfast Lough RSPB Hide)


Black Tailed Godwit by carl cotter, on Flickr


Godwits by carl cotter, on Flickr


Reed Bunting by carl cotter, on Flickr

vandriver

Buzzard Mobbed by carl cotter, on Flickr


Teal by carl cotter, on Flickr


Chaffinch by carl cotter, on Flickr

spookwoman

Late evening at the Castle

Nesting Grey Herons


Roosting Jackdaws

joseph brand

Squeaky the Squirrel wrote: »

^^Goldfinch are my favourite.

Think they nest in forests and only like peanuts in a feeder. Picky little gits.

I've just recently fallen in love with goldfinches. Since I put out some nyger seed, (which I get from my local pet shop), they're on my feeders all day. There were six of them here today, a couple of long-tailed tits and a few sparrows.

There's a wren who has popped by a couple of times, that I've noticed. Maybe there's some particular food which would encourage the wrens?

Also, I'm buying bags of apples for the blackbirds. If there are no apples (chopped in half, left around the garden) they sit on the wall and look in my kitchen window as if they're waiting, but I can't be sure.