Photo Gallery

 

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

Sea Road, Newcastle, Co. Wicklow.

Sunday 19th February 2023

 

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Goldfinch

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Male Blackbird

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Wigeon

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Male Greenfinch

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Male Chaffinch

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Goldfinch in flight

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Blue Tit

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Greenfinch in flight

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Great Tit

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Male Chaffinch

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Blue Tit

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Male Greenfinch on left

and female greenfinch

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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

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Singing one of natures beautiful arias!!!!

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How was my performance???

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

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Crane Fly

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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

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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 !!!

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Sparrows gorge on these ripe blackberries

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Meadow Pipit

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Meadow Pipit in the air

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Male Stonechat

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It is joined by some sparrows

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I’m off

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A pair of Starlings

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Drone fly on blackberry flowers

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House Sparrow

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Dragon fly known as the Darter I’m informed

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Dragon fly known as the Darter I’m informed

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—–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

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Such an abundance of blackberries on the Cliff Walk

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There were a number of seals very close to the coastline

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These pigeons just took to flight as we passed the cornfield

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Irish Ferries Boat passing by along the coast

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Common Hawthorn Berries

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Beautiful Fox Moth Caterpillar

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A pair of Cormorants

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A Parasol Mushroom

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A pair of inquisitive Magpies

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Herb Robert flower

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

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

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Cormorants relaxing on a rock

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This little beauty was keeping an eye on proceedings!!

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Knapweed flower

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Flowers of the Molucca Bramble

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Kish Lighthouse

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A pair of Collared Doves

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A Cormorant taking off

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Pair of Great Cormorants

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A Cormorant flying past a Seal

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Cuckoo-pint

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Seal

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Seal taking in some air

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European Shag

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A pigeon in flight

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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

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Cormorants

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Pigeon in the cornfield

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Red Valerian

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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

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Common Darter

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Speckled Wood

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Stonechat

1 (31)

Meadow Brown

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Greenfinches squabble

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Blackberry fruit about to ripen

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Male Linnet

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Redpoll

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Small Tortoishell

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Large White

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Goldfinch

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Honeybee

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And now to the next flower

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Male Chaffinch

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Pheasant

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Common Blue

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Common Blue

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Meadow Pipit

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Female Chaffinch and Blue Tit

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Greenfinch

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Dragonfly

—–O—–

Female Wood Duck and Wildlife

by the

Dargle River,

Bray, Co, Wicklow, Ireland

17th August 2022

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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

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Shop Cornflower

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Red Admiral

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Wawthorn Berries

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Hooded Crow

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Female Mallard Duck

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Little Egret

just caught a fish

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Greenbottle Fly

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Robin Redbreast

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White Wagtail

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Grey Wagtail

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Juvenile Herring Gull

 —–O—–

 

Bray Air Display Sunday July 24th 2022

My second Photo Album

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Irish Air Corps Casa 253

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Irish Air Corps flyover

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Irish Air Corps put on a display

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The Mustang

4a

The Mustang

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Royal Jordanian Falcons Gave a display at the Bray Air Show

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Royal Jordanian Falcons Gave a display at the Bray Air Show

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Royal Jordanian Falcons Gave a display at the Bray Air Show

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Royal Jordanian Falcons Gave a display at the Bray Air Show

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Royal Jordanian Falcons Gave a display at the Bray Air Show

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Royal Jordanian Falcons Gave a display at the Bray Air Show

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Royal Jordanian Falcons Gave a display at the Bray Air Show

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Royal Jordanian Falcons Gave a display at the Bray Air Show

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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

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Catalina Flying Boat

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A wave from the Catalina Flying Boat

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The Vampire, interceptor plane for the Royal Air Force

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The Vampire, interceptor plane for the Royal Air Force

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

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Irish Air Corps flying over LÉ William Butler Yeats

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Irish Air Corps Pilatus

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Irish Air Corps Pilatus

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Irish Air Corps Agusta Westlands AW 139

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Irish Air Corps Agusta Westlands AW 139

on the green helicopter take off area

at the base of Bray Head

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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

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Make a Wish Aeroplane flown by Eddie Goggins aka

The Flying Dentist gave a jaw-dropping performance

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Make a Wish Aeroplane flown by Eddie Goggins

aka The Flying Dentist gave a jaw-dropping performance

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Make a Wish Aeroplane flown by Eddie Goggins

aka The Flying Dentist gave a jaw-dropping performance

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Make a Wish Aeroplane flown by Eddie Goggins

aka The Flying Dentist gave a jaw-dropping performance

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Garda Helicopter

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Garda Helicopter

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Garda Helicopter

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Aer Lingus Regional Aeroplane

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The Irish Coast Guard Helicopter

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The Irish Coast Guard Helicopter

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The Irish Coast Guard Helicopter

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The Irish Naval Service Ship LÉ William Butler Yeats

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People viewing the Bray Air Display

from the Helicopter take off Area

—–O—–

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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

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—–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!!!

A

Three Long Tailed Tits

C

Marmalade Hoverfly

D

Off to the Next flower

G

Taking in the sun

I

Juvenile Blue Tit

J

A soft landing

K

Sparrow

5

In transit

7

Off to the moon

10

Chaffinch in full song

8

Spider lurking under the daisies

3

Shop Yellow Rattle

—–O—–

Little Egret

fishing on the

Dargle River

Bray

Co. Wicklow

May 2022

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—–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!!!!

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—–O—–

Wildlife at

East Coast Nature Reserve

Sunday 27th March 2022

 

—–O—–

1

Blackbird Performing
one of his masterpieces

2

Song Thrush

3

Strong Thrush
stretching for those berries

4

Drone Fly

5

Female Greenfinch

6

Male Greenfinch

7

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

8

Female Chaffinch

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Male Chaffinch

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Female Chaffinch

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Female Sparrow

12

Dunnock

13

14
Blue Tit

15

Male and Female Stonechat

16

Female Sparrow

17

Male Teal
in the flooded field

20

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!!!!

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—–O—–

Wildlife at Rathmichael Woods

Saturday 26th March 2022

1

Singing one of Natures Arias

1a

A first for me !!

Chiffchaff

one of our summer visitors

2

Furze coming into bloom

3

The beautiful Comma Butterfly

4

5

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

6

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

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Song Thrush

8

9Fly on a coltsfoot flower

10

Two Hodded Crows

11

Plane overhead in transit

London to Los Angeles

—–O—–

Mother Blackbird feeding her baby in our garden

Sunday 20th March 2022

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2

—–O—–

Visitors to our Garden

March 2022

1

Robin Redbreast

2

Lovey-Dovey

in the treebeside our house

3

Collared Dove

4

Coal Tit

5

6

Female House Sparrow

7

Male House Sparrow

8

Male Blackbird

9

Peekaboo

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Collared Dove relaxing after it’s meal

12

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!!!

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

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Blackcap

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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!!!!

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The Rook himself

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Female Blackbird and a Male House Sparrow

18

Love these little Pied Wagtails

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Starling

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Blue Tit

(the most regular visitor)

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Female Blackbird

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Dunnock

(another bird with a nice song)

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Blackcap

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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

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—–O—–

A Few More Photos from the River dargle

1

Always happy to see this little beauty !!!

3

Grey Heron in Flight

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The Little Dipper

12

Successful Herring Gull fishing !!!

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Cormorant taking in the sunshine

—–O—–

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

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Mallard dining on the Dargle

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Grey Heron in flight

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Gull coming in to land

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Grey Heron

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Grey Heron in Flight

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The Dive

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Male Mallard

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Grey Wagtail

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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

1a

Mistle Thrush (one of my favourite birds)

1b

2

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

 

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

 

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Hen Bullfinch

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

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Long Tailed Tit

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Mushroom for tea?????

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Speckled Wood Butterfly

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Green-veined White Butterfly

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Meadow Brown

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Small Copper Butterfly ( Small but beautiful !!! )

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—–O—–

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

1

Irish Linnet

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

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Still finding it difficult to perch!!!

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Robin Redbreast!!!

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Hen Chaffinch!!!

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Tortoiseshell Butterfly

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Tortoiseshell Butterfly

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Always popping up!! Stonechat!!

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Juvenile Starling

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Cousins!! Little and Large. Magpie and Raven

15

Juvenile Stonechat

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Great Tit

20

Reed Bunting

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House Sparrow

25

Whitetroath

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Pied Wagtail

32

Two Whirligig Beetles

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We thought this Hen Black was injured.

We should not have worried.

She was just sunning herself.

Flew away when we got closer

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Meadow Brown Butterfly

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Male Chaffinch

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Meadow Pipit

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Hen House Sparrow

—–O—–

Birds Pollinators and More

Bray Head

Ireland

Sunday 20th June 2021

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Cock Bullfinch

3

Speckled Wood Butterfly

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Sailing and Paragliding at Breay Head

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Juvenile Robin

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Cock Stonechat

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

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Juvenile Robin

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Blue Tit

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Speckled Wood Butterfly

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—–O—–

 

River Dargle Never Disappoints

A strool along the Dargle River

Bray

Co. Wicklow

Ireland

Friday 18th June 2021

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This duck and her ducklings were  very well camouflaged

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Little Egret in flight

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Little Egret fishing

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Pigeon coming in to land

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Landed

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Pied Wagtail

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Grey Wagtail

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Sand Martin in flight

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Sand Martin

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Sand Martin

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Grey Heron fishing

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Success

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

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A Cock and Hen Blackbird at the side of the Dargle

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A close up of the Hen Blackbird

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A Cormorant sunning itself close to Bray Harbour Bridge

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Cormorant commences fishing

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Having success

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A large fish this time

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A Busy Bee

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Take off sequence of a Cormorant on the Dargle

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Airborne

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Magpie

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Grey Hooded Crow

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Rook

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A spot of grooming

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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

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The beautiful Stonechat

2

This Grey Hodded Crow was watching us intently

2a

Hen Stonechat

2b

Juvenile Stonechat

3

Cannot forget the Robin!!!!

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Whitethroat

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Rhododendron???

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Whitethroat in flight

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Irish Cock Linnet

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A Beautiful Rook

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Mistle Thrush

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A Song Thrush beautifully going through it’s repertoire

on the highest perch it could find

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

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Off to the next flower

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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.

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

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Where is she off to???

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This magnificent flower is growing on the Greystones Road

—–O—–

A walk around one of the trails at

Vartry Reservoir

Sunday 30th May

2021

1

A Grey Wagtail minus his tail

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

2

Grey Wagtail in flight with an issect he just caught

3

A doomed insect !!!

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

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A person visiting the reservoir informed me

there are plenty of brown trout in it.

These were very small fish possibly brown trout fry

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There were great numbers of them in the reservoir

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He pops up regularly!!!

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This bird literally plucked the insect out of the flower

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The air was full of insects

Birds and fish were feasting on them

15

Long Tailed Tit

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Beautiful cock Chaffinch

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Hen Bullfinch

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Another photo of the cock Chaffinch

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The humble bumble!!!

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Little Grebe in the distance out on the reservoir

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Blue Tit

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A Wren gave us a serenade

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—–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

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One of the many terapins at the sanctuary in the Gardens

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The underwing is a different colour to the top

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

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

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There is always one of these beauties close by especially

where the gardeners have been working on their allotments

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This hen blackbird has found a little morsel!!!

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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

1

This heron captured in flight on the Dargle River

2

Legs down for the landing!!!

3

Landed!!!!

4

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

5

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

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Pied wagtail

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White Butterfly

10Just took flight

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Shortly afterwards it was joined by another

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

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Euphobia

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Mistle thrush in the field

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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

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He wasn’t in any hurry to run away

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Eventually he scampered off

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Coal Tit

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Tree creeper

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No denying this beauty!!!

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A beautiful goldfinch

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

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

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Honeybee busy on the dandelion flower

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

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The Kish Bank Lighouse in the distance

—–O—–

 

Ducklings by the Dargle

Saturday 17th April 2021

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Duck spotted in overgrowth by the riverbank

1a

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

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He chases the duck back into her nest

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He then chases after her very agressively

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

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

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

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They all joined mother duck in the water

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

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

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

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She coaxed them on to the riverbank.

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

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This starling is partial to a small fish !!!

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A blue tit in the nearby trees

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I photographed this blackcap singing melodiously at a different location.

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

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Another photo of the blue tit

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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