Some pictures I took recently

OpenYourEyes

Mod Note: I've copied and pasted a recent status from Birdwatch Ireland's Facebook page regarding pictures of breeding birds, nests and eggs - just keep in mind that we'll be working along similar rules here (not that we've had any problems thankfully - it's just good to put a reminder up at this time of year!).

We would like to remind our Facebook fans to please refrain from taking or posting any photographs of bird nests that contain either eggs or chicks. In many cases, such photos are illegal under the Wildlife Acts unless taken under licence granted by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

In most cases it's impossible for us to know whether a particular photo has been taken without causing illegal disturbance to the birds, and nest photography is not something that we wish to encourage: it can lead to abandonment of nests by parents and/or to chicks leaving the nest too early, and also can make nests more obvious and vulnerable to predators. As a result, BirdWatch Ireland has a blanket policy of deleting any nest photos that are posted to our Facebook page unless we know categorically that they have been taken under licence and that there has been no negative impact on the welfare of the birds.

One exception is photos or videos taken by nestbox cameras, where the camera was in place before the birds began to nest and, therefore, where no illegal nest disturbance will have occurred. Many thanks for your understanding.

Link for obtaining a license for photographing breeding birds and animals.

Woodville56

Out and about I came across this little shrubby plant which was rampant across some waste ground - any ideas as to what it is ? I've consulted a number of guide books but haven't been able to nail it !

Bonedigger

Woodville56 wrote: »

Out and about I came across this little shrubby plant which was rampant across some waste ground - any ideas as to what it is ? I've consulted a number of guide books but haven't been able to nail it !

My initial hunch when I saw the photo is that it looks like a member of the Bedstraw family.
It may be 'Hedge Bedstraw' - Galium mollugo,and as the name suggests,it is found along
roadsides and hedgerows.However,according to some of my wildflower books,it doesn't
flower until June onwards,and is only found in the eastern part of Ireland,so I'm not really
sure?If I was a betting man,I'd still say it's a species of Bedstraw.

splish

Woodville56 wrote: »

Out and about I came across this little shrubby plant which was rampant across some waste ground - any ideas as to what it is ? I've consulted a number of guide books but haven't been able to nail it !

Its hard to see from the picture but it could be Thale Cress.

Bonedigger

'Thale cress' looks like a good candidate alright.

Woodville56

Thanks for the replies everyone - the picture isn't very clear, using the camera fone and against a lot of other vegetation it's quite difficult to make out , I will follow up on ye're suggestions in the guidebooks and have a closer look - it's just that the plant was all over the place that brought it to my attention in the first place . Will update if I get any more clarity from the guidebooks !
Thanks again !

splish

Grey crow eating a rabbit in the garden this morning.

Amalgam

splish wrote: »

Grey crow eating a rabbit in the garden this morning.

..would that have been a, 'lucky find' by the crow? (carrion/death by disease/etc) or would the crow have actively hunted/killed the rabbit?

splish

Amalgam wrote: »

..would that have been a, 'lucky find' by the crow? (carrion/death by disease/etc) or would the crow have actively hunted/killed the rabbit?

I'm not sure really. There are about 30 rabbits in the garden who are constantly out feeding. Yesterday I seen a grey crow landing among them when they were out but they all ran. It was a small rabbit so maybe the grey crow got lucky today and caught one who was too slow to run.

Bonedigger

Amalgam wrote: »

..would that have been a, 'lucky find' by the crow? (carrion/death by disease/etc) or would the crow have actively hunted/killed the rabbit?

I've seen hooded crows actively targeting young rabbits on the Curragh.
I came across a similar situation a few evenings ago where a hooded crow
was feeding on a young rabbit.Last year I happened upon an amazing scene
where two magpies were trying to kill a young rabbit and a larger rabbit was
fending them off - needless to say,as soon as I got closer,the birds took off
and the rabbits scarpered.

dodderangler

I'm sure they take advantage of the mixxy rabbits alot aswell. Easy targets

Cork boy 55

I have seen a hooded crow attack nests in trees at least that's what I looked it was doing cannot say 100% crow flew in, other birds freaking out, Crow left two minutes later , also seen the same one(i think local regular) chase a rat.

Cork boy 55

Found a beautiful Forest in Glenanair North Cork even had a cheeky fox in the car park

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evEdYxY-PSI

splish

Thyme-leaved speedwell

splish

Common green shieldbug

Lambsbread

Spotted this guy posing on the Dodder today.

Grey Heron by AindriúH, on Flickr

Woodville56

phonescoped Great Northern Diver at Black Head, north Clare , at weekend

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Woodville56 wrote: »

phonescoped Great Northern Diver at Black Head, north Clare , at weekend

Nice shot. What do you use for photscopes?

Woodville56

Jazlyn Incalculable Yo-yo wrote: »

Nice shot. What do you use for photscopes?

Thanks Jazlyn Incalculable Yo-yo ! I was never really that much into the photography end of birding but came upon the Meopta phonescope adaptor in a magazine some time ago. A friend got me the Adaptor as a Christmas pressie so there you go ! I think the Meopta Adaptor is available for most scope types - mine is a Swarovski 25-50 zoom and the phone is an iPhone5. It's dead easy to use but takes a bit if practice, especially if the subject is bobbing about in choppy water or constantly diving.
Also managed a few other birds while on the go over the weekend, notably a pair of Yellowhammers in fields along green road to Mullaghmore in the Burren. Interestingly, not an obvious yellowhammer habitat but it seems they hang around an area where horses graze and feed on the grain put out for the horses . I met the farmer who owns the land and he was telling me that the numbers (of yellowhammers) appearing at the troughs of horse feed is decreasing each season !

splish

Black medick


Broom


Common milkwort


Navelwort


Mesembrina meridiana

Capercaille

wood warbler

stevensi

Hey Capercaille,

Did you get the wood warbler this year? It's a bird I've yet to see but more importantly I'd love to hear it calling as I think it has one of the best calls of any woodland species...

Thanks

Capercaille

stevensi wrote: »

Hey Capercaille,

Did you get the wood warbler this year? It's a bird I've yet to see but more importantly I'd love to hear it calling as I think it has one of the best calls of any woodland species...

Thanks

. Elk with calf suckling from her. The wood warbler is from Poland not Ireland. Very common.

Capercaille

Greg headed woodpecker from today

Rainbowsend

Ha! must be the day for Woodpeckers!

Great Spotted Woodpecker by Jenny dot com, on Flickr

dodderangler

Couldn't get a pick as I was driving but I counted 16 swans in flight over the m50 at kingswood exit. Some sight seeing that many flying together

Capercaille

White stork in meadow with 5 plus corncrake calling.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Where the heck are you??

Capercaille

wolf poo. All pictures from Biebrza national park, eastern Poland.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Ah! I can sit down and let the blood pressure settle now. Enjoy!