Some pictures I took recently

spookwoman

Found this big beasty under a tray in the back garden

whyulittle

Mushroom talk moved to mushroom thread.

vandriver

Common Tern Hovering by carl cotter, on Flickr


Tree Sparrow by carl cotter, on Flickr

KJ

We took a boat over to Ireland's Eye last week for a murder mystery tour. Got to take a few photos of the birds on the island.

vandriver

Lady's Smock or Cuckoo Flower by carl cotter, on Flickr

spookwoman

Early Purple Orchid

Lots of Bluebells out this year

Dor Beetle

glaswegian

sheep,glencar,lambs 039 by glaswegian58, on Flickr

MeteoritesEire

I'll see your sheep and 2 lambs and raise you one sheep and one lamb plus one million rocks --westside Aranmore

Art Deko

glaswegian

farm 12 081 by glaswegian58, on Flickr

OpenYourEyes

Saw this on the Birdwatch Ireland facebook page last week and thought it'd be useful to post here just to clarify the law regarding photographing birds on nests and with chicks etc. The post is in reference to BWI putting up pics on their facebook page that might be breaking the law.

(NH) We have been asked by several people to clarify our position on photography of birds at or around their nests. The issue of photography at birds' nests is always a very tricky one. It all comes down to the matter of disturbance, which is (quite rightly, in my view) an offence under the Wildlife Acts. In cases where no disturbance is caused to the nesting birds, their eggs or their chicks when photographing them, then no offence is committed: this is why nestbox cameras don't pose any problems, because they are already in place before nesting begins and are controlled remotely, so no disturbance is caused. The same would be true in many cases where, for example, cliff-nesting seabirds are photographed from a long distance away using a long lens: no disturbance is caused, so no offence is committed (and, more importantly, I would argue, there has been no possible harm caused to the birds, regardless of what the law does or doesn't say.)

However, in cases where, for example, the nest is approached closely, vegetation is moved or the parents or chicks notice the photographer, there is clear disturbance. To them, this appears to be 100% predatory behaviour, which can cause the parent birds to abandon their nest, can cause chicks to "explode" out of the nest too early to escape the intruder, can dramatically increase the birds' stress levels, or can make the nest more obvious to genuine predators, (perhaps because it is more visible due to the movement of vegetation, the photographer was observed approaching the nest or the photograher has left his/her scent behind.)

Quite apart from obligations under the law, there is also the moral element to consider. BirdWatch Ireland is a conservation charity, and our view is that when it comes to pastimes such as photography and birdwatching, the welfare of the birds is always paramount. One way we can help to discourage birds being disturbed at the nest is to refuse to show photographs of nesting birds on our Facebook page: this has been our stated policy since the beginning of the page. We fully realise that people don't intend to cause the birds any harm, but that doesn't mean that harm isn't being caused.

Also, it is illegal to use tape lures (or mp3 players, iphones etc.) to attract birds for photography or any other purpose unless you are licensed to do so. Using recorded calls can stress, distract and annoy the bird and this results in them changing their behaviour to respond to the intruder in the area - which is energetically costly for the bird, but can mean they also stay off eggs or away from chicks for too long too.

Some people break the above laws by accident and don't realise what they're doing, or why they shouldn't do it for the birds sake. Just thought it'd be worth posting since its nesting season, so people are mindful

GreyEagle

3 Acers in my garden, Spring is here at last.

soupdragon

A couple from last year - not had a chance to go looking for any of these fellas yet this year, next time home I hope! taken out near Killeagh, Cork.

Anyone know of good places to go to see them in and around Cork?


Aerial predator by Floss Gibson, on Flickr
Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)


Basking in the sun by Floss Gibson, on Flickr
Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata)

vandriver

@soupdragon on Flickr,select the photo,press the share button above it.Select grab HTML/BBCode.Select BBCode,Select size medium 800x....Copy and paste the code given into your reply.

soupdragon

vandriver wrote: »

@soupdragon on Flickr,select the photo,press the share button above it.Select grab HTML/BBCode.Select size medium 800x....Copy and paste code given into your reply.

TYVM - got there in the end! :-D

spookwoman

Whimbrel

Swan

MeteoritesEire

for those curious about differences between curlew and whimbrel..........like I was
http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/forums/british-birds/75973-whimbrel-curlew.html

glaswegian

rossinver,glencar 021 by glaswegian58, on Flickr

whyulittle

This little Cygnet was all alone heading up the canal calling. I saw it a bit later out on the main body of the river still alone and calling.


Bluebells? Very pale.


Sedge Warbler


Chaffinch eating.....


.....and a Swift drinking!

vandriver

I've tried to get a good swift shot.....many times!Lovely capture.

Art Deko

spookwoman

Was recording the thunder and lightening storm in waterford yesterday and managed to screen capture 2 shots of lightening. Merged them and got this. Nature can be fierce

dodderangler

Me and a raven chick
16 weeks old
URL=http://s1094.photobucket.com/user/dodderangler/media/Snapbucket/9A46EEA8_zps5695db68.jpg.html][/URL]

spookwoman

dodderangler had to look twice at the picture. Could have sworn it was one of my brother and rudy. I'll have to go back through the old 1980's pic and find one of rudy rook and the cats sharing a bowl of rice crispies.

Rainbowsend

Beautiful little Otter this morning, worth getting up early for!

Capercaille

black stork adult and juv

deleted other photos they came out massive

Capercaille

Corn Bunting. Sadly extinct from Ireland in the last 20 years:(

Capercaille

Little owl


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Capercaille

Masked Shrike


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Capercaille

Crested Lark