I am stretching out my arms and embracing that Leaving Cert weather on my skin. How're we all keeping cool? Couple ice cubes in the glass of water, t-shirts and shorts, fans on full blast? This month's bird is partial to hanging around the seaside in summer, and they look it, too, with that little… Continue reading Gannet – Divers of the Wine-Dark Sea
We interrupt your regularly scheduled Bird Blog to bring you an important news bulletin. Summer is quite an exciting time for birding because we get so many colourful characters flying in from oversees; many of them expected and some of them not. The bird we'll be talking about today is an example of the latter,… Continue reading Red-Footed Falcon – A Surprise Vagrant!
Happy first day of summer! I love June for all its bright colours - whether they be from nature or from people getting into the Pride spirit; not to mention the great weather we'll get once students start the junior/leaving certs. Ironically, today's bird is a monochrome monarch with a limited colour palette and a… Continue reading Black Guillemot – (L)ittle (G)uillemot (B)ird (T)ime!
This week of summer storms has left me desperate to see some colour. I'm lucky enough to be visited by this brilliant little bird every day at our bird feeders, and I think this bout of grey weather is the perfect time to share its bright colours with you! It's a bird who's utterly striking,… Continue reading Blue Tit – Acrobatic, Aggressive, Adorable
This month's article is about one of the more famous bird visitors we get to Ireland: The Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica), known in Irish as Puifín or Gobachán. There's a lot to talk about when it comes to Puffins. They are auks - short winged, diving seabirds - hailing more specifically from the Fratercula family.… Continue reading Puffin – The Mascot of the Saltees