Wildlife Photo Gallery

A Few More Garden Visitors

Robin Redbreast

Collared Dove

Female House Sparrow on left, Male on right

Male House Sparrow

Female House Sparrow

Grey Hooded Crow

Grey Hooded Crow in Flight

Rook

Female Blackbird

Dunnock

Blue Tit

Wood Pigeons

Woodpigeon

Starling

Blue Tit

A Few Garden Visitors

January 2024

Wren

Blue Tit

Coal Tit

Black Cap

Coal Tit

Collared Dove

Wood Pigeon

—–O—–

Wildlife by the Dargle River

and

Bray Harbour

Male Mallard

Cabbage Butterfly

Great Cormorant

Caught some eels after entering the sea

Grey Seal in Bray Harbour

Hoverfly

Honey Bee

Black slip wasp

Grey wagtail

Grey Heron

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Plenty of wildlife at East Coast Nature Reserve, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow, Ireland. I have included a few from our back garden. Lovely time of year. August 7th. 2023.

Red Admiral (Photo from our back garden)

The birdwatcher at East Coast Nature Reserve, Sea Road, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow

Male Stonechat

Speckled Wood Butterfly and Hoverfly

Chiff Chaff

Common Darter Dragonfly

Juvenile Stonechat

An owl nesting box. (Exquisite work by Matt Byrne, Bray, Co. Wicklow)

13b

Hoverfly (back garden)

Dragonfly taking in the heat!!! Isn’t it beautiful ?????????

Hoverfly and greenfly on plant

These sheep are just beautiful!!!

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A visit to Arklow Nature and Wildlife Reserve is a must when in Arklow. Situated beside the Arklow Bay Hotel. We visited on Sunday 7th May 2023.

Swans and cygnets

Cygnets

Orange tipped butterfly

Moorhen

—–o—–

Some of the beautiful birds one can see at the East Coast Nature Reserve

Sea Road, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow.

Sunday 19th February 2023

Goldfinch

Male Blackbird

Wigeon

Male Greenfinch

Male Chaffinch

Goldfinch in flight

Blue Tit

Greenfinch in flight

Great Tit

Male Chaffinch

Blue Tit

Male Greenfinch on left

and female greenfinch

Cute Blue Tit

—–O—–

Residents of

East Coast Nature Reserve

On our visit to East Coast Nature Reserve at Newcastle, Co. Wicklow, Ireland we were delighted to meet some of the residents on a beautiful warm Sunday afternoon. Sunday 2nd October, 2022

Singing one of natures beautiful arias!!!!

How was my performance???

A Dock Bug. It’s menu mostly seeds and leaves from docks

Crane Fly

Ballooning Spider. After a little research I’ve learned that this spider exudes electrostatically charged silk which when caught by the wind lifts it into the air so it can move from one area to another

Ballooning Spider. After a little research I’ve learned that this spider exudes electrostatically charged silk which when caught by the wind lifts it into the air so it can move from one area to another. Caught the silk in this one !!!

Sparrows gorge on these ripe blackberries

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit in the air

Male Stonechat

It is joined by some sparrows

I’m off

A pair of Starlings

Drone fly on blackberry flowers

House Sparrow

Dragon fly known as the Darter I’m informed

—–O—–

Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland certainly didn’t disappoint with it’s abundance of wildlife. Saturday/Sunday 17th/18th September 2022

Such an abundance of blackberries on the Cliff Walk

There were a number of seals very close to the coastline

These pigeons just took to flight as we passed the cornfield

Irish Ferries Boat passing by along the coast

Common Hawthorn Berries

Beautiful Fox Moth Caterpillar

A pair of Cormorants

A Parasol Mushroom

A pair of inquisitive Magpies

Herb Robert flower

You certainly have to pinch this one! Seal having a nap!!!

Cormorants relaxing on a rock

This little beauty was keeping an eye on proceedings!!

Knapweed flower

Flowers of the Molucca Bramble

Kish Lighthouse

A pair of Collared Doves

A Cormorant taking off

Pair of Great Cormorants

A Cormorant flying past a Seal

Cuckoo-pint

Seal

Seal taking in some air

European Shag

A pigeon in flight

Plenty of Shags on this Rock. You might see the odd one on the Dargle River now and again. Closely related to the cormorant but smaller

Cormorants

Pigeon in the cornfield

Red Valerian

Our friend the Seal!!!

—–O—–

East Coast nature Reserve, Sea Road, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow, Ireland is a magic place that never disappoints. It’s a nature lovers paradise . Such a selection of beautiful creatures , birds, insects, wild flowers, fruits and the MOST BEAUTIFUL DRAGONFLY!!!!!! It posed and the only time it moved slightly is when the camera clicked. There was always a little jerk of it’s head then. I finished the album with a few of the beautiful sheep that were grazing peacefully in the field

Sunday 21st August 2022

1 (1)

1 (2)

Common Darter

1 (11)

Speckled Wood

1 (23)

Stonechat

Meadow Brown

Greenfinches squabble

Blackberry fruit about to ripen

Male Linnet

Redpoll

Small Tortoishell

Large White

Goldfinch

Honeybee

And now to the next flower

Male Chaffinch

Pheasant

Common Blue

Meadow Pipit

Female Chaffinch and Blue Tit

Greenfinch

Dragonfly

—–O—–

Female Wood Duck and Wildlife

by the

Dargle River,

Bray, Co, Wicklow, Ireland

17th August 2022

Wood Duck is native to North America. They are held in wildfowl collections . I was so surprised to see this female Wood Duck swimming on the Dargle River so I presume it escaped from a collection. Some have escaped in England and Wales and are considered an invasive species.
This bird is very healthy and as I was leaving this area of the Dargle, (beside Egan’s Complex) it took to flight and proceeded down stream

Shop Cornflower

Red Admiral

Wawthorn Berries

Hooded Crow

Female Mallard Duck

Little Egret

just caught a fish

Greenbottle Fly

Robin Redbreast

White Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Juvenile Herring Gull

—–O—–

Bray Air Display Sunday July 24th 2022

My second Photo Album

Irish Air Corps Casa 253

Irish Air Corps flyover

Irish Air Corps put on a display

The Mustang

Royal Jordanian Falcons Gave a display at the Bray Air Show

Irish Naval Service Ship LÉ William Butler Yeats and the Irish Coast Guard on duty off the Bray Coast during the Bray Air Show 2022

Catalina Flying Boat

A wave from the Catalina Flying Boat

The Vampire, interceptor plane for the Royal Air Force

Irish Air Corps Pilatus (Plural probably Pilati !!!)

Irish Air Corps flying over LÉ William Butler Yeats

Irish Air Corps Pilatus

Irish Air Corps Agusta Westlands AW 139

on the green helicopter take off area

at the base of Bray Head

26a

The Gallery at the Cross on Bray Head had a great view from here !!!!

26c

The Irish Air Corps

flew over the Irish Naval Service Ship LÉ William Butler Yeats

and the Irish Coast Guard

Make a Wish Aeroplane flown by Eddie Goggins aka

The Flying Dentist gave a jaw-dropping performance

Make a Wish Aeroplane flown by Eddie Goggins

aka The Flying Dentist gave a jaw-dropping performance

Make a Wish Aeroplane flown by Eddie Goggins

aka The Flying Dentist gave a jaw-dropping performance

Make a Wish Aeroplane flown by Eddie Goggins

aka The Flying Dentist gave a jaw-dropping performance

Garda Helicopter

Aer Lingus Regional Aeroplane

The Irish Coast Guard Helicopter

The Irish Naval Service Ship LÉ William Butler Yeats

People viewing the Bray Air Display

from the Helicopter take off Area

—–O—–

I captured this photo this afternoon, 23rd July 2022, close to the old Golf Club , Bray. The bird on the left trying to land I’m sure is a Willow Warbler. The perched bird is a Male Stonechat and and the bird on the right is a juvenile Stonechat begging for food!!

—–O—–

A Visit to Bray Air Display

24th July, 2022

—–O—–

An Unusual Visitor

Geina Moth.

An unusual visitor to our garden today.
Did a little research on it and I believe it’s the Geina Moth.
It is small. 17mm (.669 inches)
Absolute Beauty !!!!!

—–O—–

Wild life at Shanganagh Park never ceases to amaze !!!

June 2022!!!

Three Long Tailed Tits

Marmalade Hoverfly

Off to the Next flower

Taking in the sun

Juvenile Blue Tit

A soft landing

Sparrow

In transit

Off to the moon

Chaffinch in full song

Spider lurking under the daisies

Shop Yellow Rattle

—–O—–

Little Egret

fishing on the

Dargle River

Bray

Co. Wicklow

May 2022

—–O—–

Wheatear photographed at the East Coast Nature Reserve, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow. Absolutely beautiful to see in flight with it’s very prominant white rump!!!!

—–O—–

Wildlife at

East Coast Nature Reserve

Sunday 27th March 2022

—–O—–

Blackbird Performing

one of his masterpieces

Song Thrush

Strong Thrush

stretching for those berries

Drone Fly

Female Greenfinch

Male Greenfinch

(I love them so much I had to put up a second photo)

Female Chaffinch

Male Chaffinch

Female Chaffinch

Female Sparrow

Dunnock

Blue Tit

Male and Female Stonechat

Female Sparrow

Male Teal

in the flooded field

Greenfinch

keeping an eye on me

—–O—–

Great Spotted Woodpecker at East Coast Nature Reserve, Sea Road, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow. Sunday, 27th March, 2022. Two firsts: First time to see one and first time to photograph one!!!!

—–O—–

Wildlife at Rathmichael Woods

Saturday 26th March 2022

Singing one of Natures Arias

A first for me !!

Chiffchaff

one of our summer visitors

Furze coming into bloom

The beautiful Comma Butterfly

I think this is a very large queen bumblebee

She was very busy exploring the grass verge

looking for a suitable location for her nest

Song Thrush singing beautifully and keeping an eye on the food above

Song Thrush

Fly on a coltsfoot flower

Two Hodded Crows

Plane overhead in transit

London to Los Angeles

—–O—–

Mother Blackbird feeding her baby in our garden

Sunday 20th March 2022

—–O—–

Visitors to our Garden

March 2022

Robin Redbreast

Lovey-Dovey

in the treebeside our house

Collared Dove

Coal Tit

Female House Sparrow

Male House Sparrow

Male Blackbird

Peekaboo

Collared Dove relaxing after it’s meal

This little beauty is a new visitor to our garden.

It is the Blackcap.

It has a beautiful song and I believe it’s nicknamed the Northern Nightingale!!!

Blackcap. Just so happy to see it I put in a few extra photos

Blackcap

Male Blackbird

Male Blackbird. He came down to day on to the fence and started to sing (about eight feet away) but unfortunately a rook came down and that was the end of his performance!!!!

The Rook himself

Female Blackbird and a Male House Sparrow

Love these little Pied Wagtails

Starling

Blue Tit

(the most regular visitor)

Female Blackbird

Dunnock

(another bird with a nice song)

Blackcap

Last but certainly not least

” The King or maybe the Queen)

Comes down quite often and only visits the pot plants.

Live food I would think it is after

—–O—–

The birds that visit us regularly to get some food and we are very lucky to have two large trees in front of the house where many birds come to visit!!! January 2022

—–O—–

This Beautiful Starling visited our garden for some food

January 2022

1-IMG_9114 - Copy

—–O—–

A Few More Photos from the River dargle

Always happy to see this little beauty !!!

Grey Heron in Flight

The Little Dipper

Successful Herring Gull fishing !!!

Cormorant taking in the sunshine

—–O—–

Some wildlife captured on the River Dargle , Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland on Friday afternoon, 8th October, 2021

Mallard dining on the Dargle

Grey Heron in flight

Gull coming in to land

Grey Heron

Grey Heron in Flight

The Dive

Male Mallard

Grey Wagtail

White Mallard Duck

—–O—–

Wildlife in Rathmichael Wood, Shankill, Co. Dublin

I have to say we found this wood by accident. Absolutely beautiful place teeming with wildlife. Great place to have a most enjoyable walk

Mistle Thrush (one of my favourite birds)

My first photo of the beautiful Male Crossbill. I had only read about them up until now

Stood by the pond and not one dragonfly would land so here is one in flight!

Hen Bullfinch

Little door to a fantasy house on a tree trunk!!!

Long Tailed Tit

Mushroom for tea?????

Speckled Wood Butterfly

Green-veined White Butterfly

Meadow Brown

Small Copper Butterfly ( Small but beautiful !!! )

—–O—–

Photos taken at East Coast Nature Reserve, Sea Road, Leamore Upper, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Irish Linnet

This little Stonechat fledging found it difficult to perch in the strong breeze!!!

Still finding it difficult to perch!!!

Robin Redbreast!!!

Hen Chaffinch!!!

Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Always popping up!! Stonechat!!

Juvenile Starling

Cousins!! Little and Large. Magpie and Raven

Juvenile Stonechat

Great Tit

Reed Bunting

House Sparrow

Whitetroath

Pied Wagtail

Two Whirligig Beetles

We thought this Hen Black was injured.

We should not have worried.

She was just sunning herself.

Flew away when we got closer

Meadow Brown Butterfly

Male Chaffinch

Meadow Pipit

Hen House Sparrow

—–O—–

Birds Pollinators and More

Bray Head

Ireland

Sunday 20th June 2021

Cock Bullfinch

Speckled Wood Butterfly

Sailing and Paragliding at Breay Head

Juvenile Robin

Cock Stonechat

We enjoyed watching this paraglider at Bray Head, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Juvenile Robin

Blue Tit

Speckled Wood Butterfly

—–O—–

River Dargle Never Disappoints

A strool along the Dargle River

Bray

Co. Wicklow

Ireland

Friday 18th June 2021

This duck and her ducklings were very well camouflaged

Little Egret in flight

Little Egret fishing

Pigeon coming in to land

Landed

Pied Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Sand Martin in flight

Sand Martin

Grey Heron fishing

Success

The water in the Dargle was very clear and fish were clearly visible

A Cock and Hen Blackbird at the side of the Dargle

A close up of the Hen Blackbird

A Cormorant sunning itself close to Bray Harbour Bridge

Cormorant commences fishing

Having success

A large fish this time

A Busy Bee

Take off sequence of a Cormorant on the Dargle

Airborne

Magpie

Grey Hooded Crow

Rook

A spot of grooming

Adult and young Starlings

—–O—–

A Walk up to the Cross on Bray Head

then along the upper walk and down to the Greystones Road

The beautiful Stonechat

This Grey Hodded Crow was watching us intently

Hen Stonechat

Juvenile Stonechat

Cannot forget the Robin!!!!

Whitethroat

Rhododendron???

Whitethroat in flight

Irish Cock Linnet

A Beautiful Rook

Mistle Thrush

A Song Thrush beautifully going through it’s repertoire

on the highest perch it could find

Don’t know the name of this beauty yet???

Off to the next flower

Of all the birds I have photographed I never came across a more inquisitive little one than this.

He would keep looking at us then come forward a few more yards until he was literally beside us.

It was a real treat.

This Greenfinch was quite a distance away near the Old Greystones Road

Where is she off to???

This magnificent flower is growing on the Greystones Road

—–O—–

A walk around one of the trails at

Vartry Reservoir

Sunday 30th May

2021

A Grey Wagtail minus his tail

He was very busy fly catching by the side of the Reservoir

Grey Wagtail in flight with an issect he just caught

A doomed insect !!!

A Blackcap in full flow !!!! They have a beautiful song

A person visiting the reservoir informed me

there are plenty of brown trout in it.

These were very small fish possibly brown trout fry

There were great numbers of them in the reservoir

He pops up regularly!!!

This bird literally plucked the insect out of the flower

The air was full of insects

Birds and fish were feasting on them

Long Tailed Tit

Beautiful cock Chaffinch

Hen Bullfinch

Another photo of the cock Chaffinch

The humble bumble!!!

Little Grebe in the distance out on the reservoir

Blue Tit

A Wren gave us a serenade

—–O—–

The Birds and the Bees at Festina Lente

A beautiful afternoon spent wandering around the Walled Gardens at Festina Lente,

Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland enjoying nature at it’s very best, Sunday, 16th May, 2021

One of the many terapins at the sanctuary in the Gardens

The underwing is a different colour to the top

Lots of swollows breed in the stables and are a joy to watch in the gardens

Not everything is perfect in nature but this butterfly had no problem flying from flower to flower

There is always one of these beauties close by especially

where the gardeners have been working on their allotments

This hen blackbird has found a little morsel!!!

Swallow in flight

—–O—–

Nature is flourishing in Bray and it’s environs. These photos were taken on Sunday afternoon 25th April 2021, in different areas of Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

This heron captured in flight on the Dargle River

Legs down for the landing!!!

Landed!!!!

Dandelions are in bloom everywhere at the moment. They are a highly nutritious plant both for humans and wildlife

These three little ducklings have grown very quickly. In the last folder of photos taken, there was the mother and fifteen ducklings. A gentleman studying the wildlife on the Dargle informed me that so far nine or ten of the ducklings have survived. These ducklings have moved further up the river and I took these few photos from opposite Egans Complex, Upper Dargle Road

Pied wagtail

White Butterfly

Just took flight

Shortly afterwards it was joined by another

This was a busy little honeybee. Notice the pollen pouch on it’s leg

Euphobia

Mistle thrush in the field

The walk took us under some very large trees and there was a rustle in the leaves and out popped this inquisitive grey squirrell. He kept wagging his tail

He wasn’t in any hurry to run away

Eventually he scampered off

Coal Tit

Tree creeper

No denying this beauty!!!

21a

A beautiful goldfinch

What is he feasting on? The highly nutritious dandeloin seeds!!!!

This blackbird was singing beautifully as are all cock blackbirds at the moment. His mate would be hatching nearby

Honeybee busy on the dandelion flower

The people at the Cross were treated to an exhibition of paragliding

The Kish Bank Lighouse in the distance

—–O—–

Ducklings by the Dargle

Saturday 17th April 2021

Duck spotted in overgrowth by the riverbank

She is approached by a drake that has been swimming with another duck

He chases the duck back into her nest

He then chases after her very agressively

She sounds scared as she tries to escape him pulling at her feathers

After this agression which lasted about a minute he calmly entered the river to join the duck he had been with before

The mother duck then exited her nest with her brood which numbered fifteen ducklings

They all joined mother duck in the water

As I photographed the ducklings this hooded crow alighted on a post about three feet away. This bird showed no fear whatsoever

Meanwhile this grey wagtail, a regular by the river was looking for food among the stones

Mother and babies enjoy a swin in the river close to our side

She coaxed them on to the riverbank.

This heron flew past and hopefully did not spot the ducklings as I believe they are predators.

This starling is partial to a small fish !!!

A blue tit in the nearby trees

I photographed this blackcap singing melodiously at a different location.

I spotted my first swallow of this year looking very well after the marathon journey to summer with us

Another photo of the blue tit

The old Solus Tower at Little Bray. A memory from bygone days.

—–O—–

A few recent photos taken very recently. It is a very exciting time as all the birds are pairing up for the breeding season and some have already begun building their nests

This shag was busy fishing on the Dargle
He takes a dive!!! Success !!!!! The Shag Photo sequence of two swans landing on the Dargle

Swans courting on the Dargle

Two cygnets reaching maturity

The Grey Wagtail Two Pied Wagtails Grey Hooded Crow taking a bath. Dipper diving Spot the Heron Three Brent geese fly past They fly low past Bray Harbour wall A beautiful crow Little Egret Prime real estate near Old Bray Golfclub

End of February 2021

—–O—–

A few nature observations from the Peoples Park. Lower Dargle Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow. 3rd February, 2021.

My first time to spot a beautiful dipper in action!!

This cormorant was very busy fishing

Delighted to make a correction on this one. An ornitologist friend of mine has advised me and I am very grateful that this bird is in fact a shag (same family as cormorant). It is smaller than the cormorant and frequents the river less . Great to have been there at the right place at the right time.

Just dived!!

Can stay underwater for ten to fifteen seconds and when they surface it can be quite a distance from where they dived

Great excitement when we spotted this dipper. It was a beauty and we observed it doing a bit of DIPPING!!!!

A wagtail just flew past in this shot!!!

This beautiful mistle thrush brought back some memories. The first time I saw this magnificent bird was when I was a child in Frayne, my townland outside Athboy, Co. Meath. An ash tree grew at the front of our house. About ten feet from the base there was a three branch fork. Every year the mistle thrush built her nest here. There would be four eggs and the four always hatched. When she would leave the nest we would be able to have a look. Never bothered her when we would be out playing . She would never fly away. We could sit at the kitchen table and observe the comimgs and goings. It was pure magic.

Juvenile gull

Black headed gull

This grey hooded crow was busy by the river turning over stones to catch unsuspecting prey

—–O—–

Plenty of action by the Dargle River at the People’s Park, Lower Dargle Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow, Ireland yesterday, January 22nd 2021

Male and female mallard

Black headed gull in winter plumage. In summer it has the black head (actually it is dark brown). In winter it just has the dark spot behind the eye. They were the most predominant gull in the People’s Park yesterday