View allAll Photos Tagged BookDepository
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide 2nd Edition with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
markThe Iberian Magpie (Cyanopica cooki) is a bird in the crow family. It is similar in overall shape to the Eurasian magpie (Pica pica) but is more slender with proportionately smaller legs and bill. It has a glossy black top to the head and a white throat. The underparts and the back are a light grey-fawn in colour with the wings and the feathers of the long tail are an azure blue.
The Iberian magpie occurs in southwestern and central parts of the Iberian Peninsula, in Spain and Portugal. However, it can sometimes be spotted also in south-western France, and recently its presence has been reported even in north-western Italy. It inhabits various types of coniferous (mainly pine) and broadleaf forest, including parks and gardens in the eastern populations.
This taxon is sometimes treated as conspecific with the azure-winged magpie (C. cyana), but this population is 5400 miles (9,000 km) away from those in eastern Asia. Genetic analyses have suggested that Iberian and azure-winged magpies are distinct at species level.
This species usually nests in loose, open colonies with a single nest in each tree. (wikipedia)
Iberian Magpie were common along the coast near Faro, Portugal, and in the scrublands. A beautiful and charismatic bird.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, with a 155–215 cm (61–85 in) wingspan. The two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe (north to Finland), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan) and southern Africa. The white stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends for soaring do not form over water.
A carnivore, the white stork eats a wide range of animal prey, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. It is a monogamous breeder, but does not pair for life. Both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. (wikipedia)
We were fortunate that the flight path of a pair of White Stork was right by our apartment balcony in Portugal. Amazing birds.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The European Robin is probably the most familiar garden bird in Europe - the bright orange-red breast and facial area make it unmistakable. Upperparts a uniform greyish brown, belly and lower breast greyish white. The bill is dark and pointed and the legs black. Can appear very plump and rounded, especially in cold weather when the bird fluffs out its feathers. Can be very confiding, often perching motionless close to gardening activity. Occasionally cocks tail briefly. (Birdwatch Ireland)
This individual hangs out at the base of the Great South Wall, Poolbeg, Dublin Bay.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
Pale ale in Dublin town.
Taken with a Canon A1 camera with a Canon FD 50mm f1.8 on Fujicolour (which is really rebranded Kodak Gold) 200 film, and developed and scanned by the good folk in Gunns on Wexford Street.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Mediterranean gull (Larus melanocephalus) is a small gull. This gull breeds almost entirely in the Western Palearctic, mainly in the south east, especially around the Black Sea, and in central Turkey. There are colonies elsewhere in southern Europe, and this species has undergone a dramatic range expansion in recent decades.
The Mediterranean Gull is slightly larger and bulkier than the Black-headed Gull with a heavier bill and longer, darker legs. The breeding plumage adult is a distinctive white gull, with a very pale grey mantle and wings with white primary feathers without black tips. The black hood extends down the nape and shows distinct white eye crescents. The blunt tipped, parallel sided, dark red bill has a black subterminal band. The non breeding adult is similar but the hood is reduced to an extensive dusky "bandit" mask through the eye. This bird takes two years to reach maturity. First year birds have a black terminal tail band and more black areas in the upperwings, but have pale underwings. (wikipedia)
A recent colonist, the Mediterranean Gull arrived in Ireland in 1995 and first bred in the Republic in 1996 in Co. Wexford. Prefers low lying islands near the coast on which to breed. Only two or three pairs breed but this is likely to increase with more and more birds seen in suitable habitat in the breeding season. Regularly breeds, at Ladies Island Lake in Co. Wexford, along with other nesting seabirds, including Black-headed Gulls, with which it is often associated. In winter, Ireland attracts birds from northwest France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and the Baltic States, occurring from September to April.
Dublin Bay is a good place to see them in winter.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) is a small passerine bird which breeds in much of the northern half of Europe and also northwestern Asia, from southeastern Greenland and Iceland east to just east of the Ural Mountains in Russia, and south to central France and Romania; there is also an isolated population in the Caucasus Mountains. It is migratory over most of its range, wintering in southern Europe, north Africa and southwestern Asia, but is resident in Ireland, Great Britain, and neighbouring areas of western Europe. However, even here, many birds move to the coast or lowlands in winter. This is a widespread and often abundant small pipit. It is an undistinguished looking species on the ground, mainly brown above and buff below, with darker streaking on most of its plumage; the tail is brown, with narrow white side edges. It has a thin bill and pale pinkish-yellow legs; the hind claw is notably long, longer than the rest of the hind toe. The call is a weak tsi-tsi. The simple repetitive song is given in a short song flight. Birds breeding in Ireland and western Scotland are slightly darker coloured than those in other areas, and are often distinguished as the subspecies Anthus pratensis whistleri, though it intergrades clinally with nominate Anthus pratensis pratensis found in the rest of the species' range.
The generic name 'pipit', first documented by Thomas Pennant in 1768, is onomatopoeic, from the call note of this species. In colloquial use by birders in Ireland, the name Meadow Pipit is often abbreviated to "mippit". Old folk names, no longer used, include "chit lark", "peet lark", "tit lark" and "titling"; these refer to its small size and superficial similarity to a lark. (wikipedia)
This adult bird was alighting on a tree before flying in to feed hungry fledglings along the Irish east coast.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
There are three species: the Bohemian waxwing (B. garrulus), the Japanese waxwing (B. japonica) and the cedar waxwing (B. cedrorum). The Bohemian waxwing is a starling-sized bird. It is short-tailed, mainly brownish-grey, and has a conspicuous crest on its head. The male of the nominate subspecies has a black mask through the eye and a black throat. There is a white streak behind the bill and a white curve below the eye. The lower belly is a rich chestnut colour and there are cinnamon-coloured areas around the mask. The rump is grey and the tail ends in a bright yellow band with a broad black border above it. The wings are very distinctive; the flight feathers are black and the primaries have markings that produce a yellow stripe and white "fishhooks" on the closed wing. The adult's secondaries end in long red appendages with the sealing wax appearance that gives the bird its English name. The eyes are dark brown, the bill is mainly black, and the legs are dark grey or black. In flight, the waxwing's large flocks, long wings and short tail give some resemblance to the common starling, and its flight is similarly fast and direct. It clambers easily through bushes and trees but only shuffles on the ground.
The range of the Bohemian waxwing overlaps those of both the other members of the genus.
The Bohemian waxwing's call is a high trill sirrrr. The Bohemian waxwing has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in northern regions of Eurasia and North America.
This waxwing is migratory with much of the breeding range abandoned as the birds move south for the winter. Migration starts in September in the north of the range, a month or so later farther south. Eurasian birds normally winter from eastern Britain through northern parts of western and central Europe, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and northern China to Japan. North American breeders have a more southeasterly trend, many birds wintering in southeast Canada, with smaller numbers in the north central and northeastern US states. Birds do not usually return to the same wintering sites in successive years. One bird wintering in the Ukraine was found 6,000 km (3,700 mi) to the east in Siberia in the following year.
In some years, this waxwing irrupts south of its normal wintering areas, sometimes in huge numbers. The fruit on which the birds depend in winter varies in abundance from year to year, and in poor years, particularly those following a good crop the previous year, the flocks move farther south until they reach adequate supplies.They will stay until the food runs out and move on again. (wikipedia)
Always a pleasure seeing Waxwing. This bird was one of a flock of 50 in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Dublin city. Every few years there is a larger invasion into Ireland when the food supplies in their normal winter range is exhausted prematurely. Flocks of up to 400 Waxwings have been recorded in Ireland. This year seems to be one of those irruptive years for the species.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Little Gull, Hydrocoloeus minutus or Larus minutus, is a small gull which breeds in northern Europe and Asia. It also has small colonies in parts of northern Canada. It is migratory, wintering on coasts in western Europe, the Mediterranean and (in small numbers) the northeast USA. As is the case with many gulls, it has traditionally been placed in the genus Larus. It is the only member of the genus Hydrocoloeus, although it has been suggested that Ross's Gull also should be included in this genus.
This is the smallest gull species, with a length of 25–27 cm, a wingspan of 75–80 cm and a weight of 68-133 grammes. It is pale grey in breeding plumage with a black hood, dark underwings and often a pinkish flush on the breast. In winter, the head goes white apart from a darker cap and eye-spot. The bill is thin and black and the legs dark red. The flight on rounded wings is somewhat tern-like. (wikipedia)
A stunning bird and a joy to watch. Large flocks of Little Gulls get pushed up through the Irish Sea in certain weather conditions in Spring and Autumn. Taken in Swords, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but otherwise migrates to Africa. It has a toehold in Alaska as a scarce breeder. In some areas, notably Britain and Ireland, the sub-species Pied Wagtail (M. a. yarrellii) predominates.
This is a slender bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. The nominate subspecies Motacilla alba alba is basically grey above and white below, with a white face, black cap and black throat. The Pied Wagtail has a much blacker back than the nominate race, black of throat continues on side of neck. (wikipedia)
The Pied Wagtail alighting on a wire fence after dropping into a puddle for a wash. Turvey, Co. Dublin.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Rook (Corvus frugilegus) is a member of the Corvidae family in the passerine order of birds. Named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, the species name frugilegus is Latin for "food-gathering".
Rooks are distinguished from similar members of the crow family by the bare grey-white skin around the base of the adult's bill in front of the eyes. The feathering around the legs also look shaggier and laxer than the congeneric Carrion Crow. The juvenile is superficially more similar to the Crow because it lacks the bare patch at the base of the bill, but it loses the facial feathers after about six months. Collective nouns for rooks include building, parliament, clamour and storytelling. Nesting is always colonial (rookeries), usually in the very tops of the trees. Branches and twigs are broken off trees (very rarely picked up off the ground), though as many are likely to be stolen from nearby nests as are collected from trees.
Though resident in Great Britain, Ireland and much of north and central Europe, vagrant to Iceland and northern Scandinavia, it also occurs as an eastern race in Asia where it differs in being very slightly smaller on average, and having a somewhat more fully feathered face.
In captivity, when confronted with problems, rooks have recently been documented as one of multiple species of bird capable of tool use to obtain a goal. (wikipedia)
This individual was quite perturbed by people walking along the seafront of Blackrock. Co. Louth.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) is a small wading bird, one of two species of turnstone in the genus Arenaria. It is now classified in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae but was formerly sometimes placed in the plover family Charadriidae. It is a highly migratory bird, breeding in northern parts of Eurasia and North America and flying south to winter on coastlines almost worldwide. It is the only species of turnstone in much of its range and is often known simply as Turnstone.
At all seasons, the plumage is dominated by a harlequin-like pattern of black and white. Breeding birds have reddish-brown upper parts with black markings. The head is mainly white with black streaks on the crown and a black pattern on the face. The breast is mainly black apart from a white patch on the sides. The rest of the underparts are white. In flight it reveals a white wingbar, white patch near the base of the wing and white lower back, rump and tail with dark bands on the uppertail-coverts and near the tip of the tail. The female is slightly duller than the male and has a browner head with more streaking.
Non-breeding adults are duller than breeding birds and have dark grey-brown upperparts with black mottling and a dark head with little white. Juvenile birds have a pale brown head and pale fringes to the upperpart feathers creating a scaly impression. (wikipedia)
This was taken along the Great South Wall at Poolbeg, Dublin Bay. The birds have come in from Iceland and other northern parts to spend the winter along the Irish coasts. Always busy feeding, chattering and can be quite tame.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio) is a carnivorous passerine bird and member of the shrike family Laniidae. Its breeding range stretches from Western Europe east to central Russia. It is migratory and winters in the eastern areas of tropical Africa and southern Africa. Once a common migratory visitor to Great Britain, numbers declined sharply during the 20th century, and it is now classified as a UK 'Red List' species. (wikipedia)
Shrikes like to perch prominently on the tops of bushes, fence posts and telephone wires, where they have a good view of potential prey. Items caught are then taken to a larder where they are impaled on a thorn or wedged in a fork. (RSPB)
This 1st year bird was found on Howth Head, Dublin by Mark Collins, and is on the 5th record for County Dublin. Fantastic bird.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) is a long-legged predatory wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water or stalking its prey through the shallows.
Standing up to a metre tall, adults weigh from 1 to 2 kg (2.2 to 4.4 lb). They have a white head and neck with a broad black stripe that extends from the eye to the black crest. The body and wings are grey above and the underparts are greyish-white, with some black on the flanks. The long, sharply pointed beak is pinkish-yellow and the legs are brown.
The birds breed colonially in spring in "heronries", usually building their nests high in trees. A clutch of usually three to five bluish-green eggs is laid. Both birds incubate the eggs for a period of about 25 days, and then both feed the chicks, which fledge when seven or eight weeks old. Many juveniles do not survive their first winter, but if they do, they can expect to live for about five years.
The main call is a loud croaking "fraaank", but a variety of guttural and raucous noises are heard at the breeding colony. Grey herons have the ability to live in cities where habitats and nesting space are available. In the Netherlands, the grey heron has established itself over the past decades in great numbers in urban environments. In cities such as Amsterdam, they are ever present and well adapted to modern city life. They hunt as usual, but also visit street markets and snackbars. Some individuals make use of people feeding them at their homes or share the catch of recreational fishermen. Similar behaviour on a smaller scale has been reported in Ireland (Dublin, Galway and Cork). (wikipedia)
A lovely adult bird perched out along the River Tolka in Dublin. Can you spot the Dipper?
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) is a small white heron. Until the 1950s, the Little Egret was restricted to southern Europe. Over the next few decades it became increasingly common in western France and later on the north coast. It bred in the Netherlands in 1979 with further breeding in the 1990s.
In Ireland, the species bred for the first time in 1997 at a site in County Cork.
This individual was photographed at Harper's Island Reserve in Cork Harbour.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
Coots are medium-sized water birds which are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica. Coots have predominantly black plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water. They are close relatives of the moorhen. The greatest species variety is in South America, and it is likely that the genus originated there. They are common in Europe, Japan (in winter) and North America.
They have prominent frontal shields or other decoration on the forehead, and coloured bills, and many, but not all, have white on the under tail. Like other rails, they have lobed toes. They tend to have short, rounded wings and are weak fliers, although northern species are nevertheless capable of covering long distances; the American Coot has reached Ireland on rare occasions. Those species that migrate do so at night.
Coots can walk and run vigorously on strong legs, and have long toes that are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. These birds are omnivorous, taking mainly plant material, but also small animals and eggs. They are aggressively territorial during the breeding season, but are otherwise often found in sizeable flocks on the shallow vegetated lakes they prefer. A flock of coots is known in the US as a cover. (wikipedia)
This is an adult Eurasian Coot hanging out with 3 other Coot at Turvey, Co. Dublin.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is a small, stocky wader native to the Old World.
The breeding habitat is marshes, bogs, tundra and wet meadows throughout northern Europe and northern Asia. It is migratory, with European birds wintering in southern and western Europe and Africa (south to the Equator), and Asian migrants moving to tropical southern Asia. The North American Wilson's snipe was previously considered the same species, and is listed as such in older field guides.
It is a well camouflaged bird, it is usually shy and conceals itself close to ground vegetation and flushes only when approached closely. When flushed, they utter a sharp note that sounds like scape, scape and fly off in a series of aerial zig-zags to confuse predators. They forage in soft mud, probing or picking up food by sight. They mainly eat insects and earthworms, also some plant material.
The male performs "winnowing" display during courtship, flying high in circles and then taking shallow dives to produce a "drumming" sound by vibrating its tail feathers. This sound has been compared by others to the bleating of a sheep or goat; hence in many languages the snipe is known by names signifying “flying goat,” “heaven's ram,” as in Scotland by “heather-bleater”, in Ireland as Bog Bleater, She-goat of the Air, and in Finnish the name taivaanvuohi, "sky goat". (wikipedia)
There are two subspecies of common snipe, G. g. faeroeensis in Iceland, the Faroes, Shetland and Orkney (wintering in Britain and Ireland, and pictured here), and G. g. gallinago in the rest of the Old World. It is still hunted as a gamebird in much of its range, including Ireland, despite being Amber-listed in Ireland due to concerns over the European population which has undergone a moderate recent decline.
I was sheltering in my car during a rainstorm in the WIcklow hills when this bird flew right at the my car and into a culvert next to where I was. It fed up and down the culvert for 15 minutes, completely ignoring me. Magic birds. It was very dark, so I am quite pleased with how this image turned out.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The cycle lane along the Grand Canal, Dublin.
Taken with a Leica M4-P and Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f2 lens on CineStill XX black and white film, and developed and scanned by the good folk in Gunns on Wexford Street.
this book, "latin for americans", was just sitting up on the roof of the book depository, open to chapter XX i believe. click here to see an image of this book from the other side shot by Ken Jacoby.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
At first glance, the Bar-tailed Godwit resembles a smaller version of a Curlew - similar shape (long legs and neck) and plumage (grey/brown, with streaking). The long, straight and slightly upturned bill, however is quite different. Summer plumaged birds occur sometimes in Ireland, showing varying amounts of orange/brick red on the body feathers. Bar-tailed can easily be confused with the slightly longer-legged and more elegant Black-tailed Godwit, however in flight, Bar-tailed always shows fairly uniform, grey brown upperwings, a long white rump and a finely barred tail (Black-tailed is strongly patterned with black and white wings and tail and a square white rump). Usually seen feeding along outer shoreline of estuaries. Sometimes in large flocks. (BirdWatch Ireland)
The Bar-tailed Godwit breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra mainly in the Old World, and winters on coasts in temperate and tropical regions of the Old World and of Australia and New Zealand. Its migration includes the longest known non-stop flight of any bird and also the longest journey without pausing to feed by any animal (11,026 km (6,851 mi)). (wikipedia)
This pair of Bar-tailed Godwit were flying off the shoreline of Skerries, Co. Dublin in the teeth of Storm Agnes during the autumn of 2023. The birds powered through with ease.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, with a 155–215 cm (61–85 in) wingspan. The two subspecies, which differ slightly in size, breed in Europe (north to Finland), northwestern Africa, southwestern Asia (east to southern Kazakhstan) and southern Africa. The white stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends for soaring do not form over water.
A carnivore, the white stork eats a wide range of animal prey, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. It is a monogamous breeder, but does not pair for life. Both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years. (wikipedia)
We were fortunate that the flight path of a pair of White Stork was right by our apartment balcony in Portugal. Amazing birds.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
Roughly Robin-sized, the Hedge Accentor. known in Ireland as the Dunnock (pronounced Done-uck), is a sturdy dark brown bird, with bold black streaking and a bluish-grey head and neck, a thin pointed bill and orange-brown legs. Fairly common in gardens, parks, woodland and farmland, though usually only seen singly or in pairs. Tends to remain low in vegetation or creeps along the ground close to or under hedges. (Birdwatch Ireland)
They are usually very skulky but now the males are singing to mark territory so open shots like this are possible.
*One of the out-take from a rare commissioned shot for the cover of a novel which was supposed to be printed by now.
Unfortunately, the printing didn't happen.....at least until now
mode:Tokyo Rumando
taken during Summer of 2013
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Great South Wall, Dublin Bay. The tide was coming in, and was over 4m, which to lead to quite a few walkers getting a boot full on their walk back.
Taken with a Leica M4-P and a Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f
F2 lens on Lomography Metropolis film. Developed and scanned by the excellent John Gunn Camera Shop on Wexford Street.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The great black-backed gull (Larus marinus) is the largest gull in the world. It is 64–79 cm (25–31 in) long with a 1.5–1.7 m (4 ft 11 in – 5 ft 7 in) wingspan and a body weight of 0.75–2.3 kg. it is a very aggressive hunter, pirate, and scavenger. It breeds on the European and North American coasts and islands of the North Atlantic and is fairly sedentary, though some move farther south or inland to large lakes or reservoirs. The adult great black-backed gull has a white head, neck and underparts, dark grey wings and back, pink legs and yellow bill.
This species can be found breeding in coastal areas from the extreme northwest portion of Russia, through much of coastal Scandinavia, on the Baltic Sea coasts, to the coasts of northwestern France, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Across the northern portion of the Atlantic, this gull is distributed in Iceland, the Faroe Islands, southern Greenland and on the Atlantic coasts of Canada and the United States.
Great black-backed gulls are opportunistic feeders, apex predators, and are very curious. They will investigate any small organism they encounter and will readily eat almost anything that they can swallow. Unlike most other Larus gulls, they are highly predatory and frequently hunt and kill any prey smaller than themselves, behaving more like a raptor than a typical larid gull. They get much of their dietary energy from scavenging, with refuse, most provided directly by humans, locally constituting more than half of their diet. (wikipedia)
The Great-black backed Gull is resident along all Irish coasts. Less frequently seen inland, usually only following storms. They follow trawlers and other fishing boats along the coast, even hitching a ride on smaller lobster and crab fishermen's boats, just like this one. This was off Dun Laoghaire, Dublin.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The northern shoveler, known simply as the shoveler in Ireland, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern Europe, the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central, the Caribbean, and northern South America.
This species is unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill. The breeding drake has an iridescent dark green head, white breast and chestnut belly and flanks. In flight, pale blue forewing feathers are revealed, separated from the green speculum by a white border. In early fall the male will have a white crescent on each side of the face. In non-breeding (eclipse) plumage, the drake resembles the female.
The female is a drab mottled brown like other dabblers, with plumage much like a female mallard, but easily distinguished by the long broad bill, which is gray tinged with orange on cutting edge and lower mandible. The female's forewing is gray. (wikipedia)
The species is resident and a breeding species in Ireland. Wintering birds originate from breeding populations which range across France, northern Europe, the Baltic and western Russia. Ireland and northern Britain also support the small Icelandic breeding population during the winter. (Birdwatch Ireland)
This male Shoveler was present on the pond in Dublin.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Northern Wheatear or Wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) is a small passerine bird and is the most widespread member of the wheatear genus Oenanthe in Europe and Asia. The Northern Wheatear makes one of the longest journeys of any small bird, crossing ocean, ice, and desert. It migrates from Sub-Saharan Africa in Spring over a vast area of the northern hemisphere that includes northern and central Asia, Europe, Greenland, Alaska, and parts of Canada. In Autumn all return to Africa, where their ancestors had wintered. Arguably, some of the birds that breed in north Asia could take a shorter route and winter in south Asia; however, their inherited inclination to migrate takes them back to Africa.
Birds of the large, bright Greenland race, leucorhoa, makes one of the longest transoceanic crossings of any passerine. In spring most migrate along a route (commonly used by waders and waterfowl) from Africa via continental Europe, the British Isles, and Iceland to Greenland. However, autumn sightings from ships suggest that some birds cross the North Atlantic directly from Canada and Greenland to southwest Europe (a distance of up to 2500 km). (wikipedia)
This is fresh juvenile bird migrating south through Ireland to Africa during the autumn, stopping off on the saltmarsh of the North Bull Island, Dublin along the way. Always a buzz seeing a Wheatear during migration time.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
There are three species: the Bohemian waxwing (B. garrulus), the Japanese waxwing (B. japonica) and the cedar waxwing (B. cedrorum). The Bohemian waxwing is a starling-sized bird. It is short-tailed, mainly brownish-grey, and has a conspicuous crest on its head. The male of the nominate subspecies has a black mask through the eye and a black throat. There is a white streak behind the bill and a white curve below the eye. The lower belly is a rich chestnut colour and there are cinnamon-coloured areas around the mask. The rump is grey and the tail ends in a bright yellow band with a broad black border above it. The wings are very distinctive; the flight feathers are black and the primaries have markings that produce a yellow stripe and white "fishhooks" on the closed wing. The adult's secondaries end in long red appendages with the sealing wax appearance that gives the bird its English name. The eyes are dark brown, the bill is mainly black, and the legs are dark grey or black. In flight, the waxwing's large flocks, long wings and short tail give some resemblance to the common starling, and its flight is similarly fast and direct. It clambers easily through bushes and trees but only shuffles on the ground.
The range of the Bohemian waxwing overlaps those of both the other members of the genus.
The Bohemian waxwing's call is a high trill sirrrr. The Bohemian waxwing has a circumpolar distribution, breeding in northern regions of Eurasia and North America.
This waxwing is migratory with much of the breeding range abandoned as the birds move south for the winter. Migration starts in September in the north of the range, a month or so later farther south. Eurasian birds normally winter from eastern Britain through northern parts of western and central Europe, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and northern China to Japan. North American breeders have a more southeasterly trend, many birds wintering in southeast Canada, with smaller numbers in the north central and northeastern US states. Birds do not usually return to the same wintering sites in successive years. One bird wintering in the Ukraine was found 6,000 km (3,700 mi) to the east in Siberia in the following year.
In some years, this waxwing irrupts south of its normal wintering areas, sometimes in huge numbers. The fruit on which the birds depend in winter varies in abundance from year to year, and in poor years, particularly those following a good crop the previous year, the flocks move farther south until they reach adequate supplies.They will stay until the food runs out and move on again. (wikipedia)
Always a pleasure seeing Waxwing. This bird was one of a flock of 50 in an industrial estate on the outskirts of Dublin city. Every few years there is a larger invasion into Ireland when the food supplies in their normal winter range is exhausted prematurely. Flocks of up to 400 Waxwings have been recorded in Ireland. This year seems to be one of those irruptive years for the species.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Western Jackdaw (Corvus monedula), also known as the Eurasian jackdaw, European jackdaw, or simply jackdaw, is a passerine bird in the crow family. Found across Europe, western Asia and North Africa, it is mostly resident, although northern and eastern populations migrate south in winter. Four subspecies are recognised, which mainly differ in the colouration of the plumage on the head and nape.
The Western Jackdaw is a black-plumaged bird with a grey nape and distinctive pale-grey irises. It is gregarious and vocal, living in small groups with a complex social structure in farmland, open woodland, on coastal cliffs, and in urban settings. An omnivorous and opportunistic feeder, it eats a wide variety of plant material and invertebrates, as well as food waste from urban areas. Western jackdaws are monogamous and build simple nests of sticks in cavities in trees, cliffs, or buildings.
Names in English dialects are numerous. Scottish and north English dialects have included ka or kae since the 14th century. The Midlands form of this word was co or coo. Caddow is potentially a compound of ka and dow, a variant of daw. Other dialectal or obsolete names include caddesse, cawdaw, caddy, chauk, college-bird, jackerdaw, jacko, ka-wattie, chimney-sweep bird (from their nesting propensities), and sea-crow (from the frequency with which they are found on coasts). It was also frequently known quasi-nominally as Jack.
In some cultures, a jackdaw on the roof is said to predict a new arrival; alternatively, a jackdaw settling on the roof of a house or flying down a chimney is an omen of death, and coming across one is considered a bad omen. A jackdaw standing on the vanes of a cathedral tower is said to foretell rain. (wikipedia)
I am a big fan of Jackdaws. They have great character and are quite handsome birds.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide 2nd Edition with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) is the most widespread species of swallow in the world, occurring on all continents, with vagrants reported even in Antarctica. It appears to have the largest natural distribution of any of the world's passerines, ranging over 251 million square kilometres globally.[not verified in body] It is a distinctive passerine bird with blue upperparts and a long, deeply forked tail. In Anglophone Europe, it is just called the swallow; in northern Europe, it is the only member of family Hirundinidae called a "swallow" rather than a "martin".
There are six subspecies of barn swallow, which breed across the Northern Hemisphere. Two subspecies, (H. r. savignii and H. r. transitiva) have fairly restricted ranges in the Nile valley and eastern Mediterranean, respectively. The other four are more widespread, with winter ranges covering much of the Southern Hemisphere.
The barn swallow is a bird of open country that normally nests in man-made structures and consequently has spread with human expansion. It builds a cup nest from mud pellets in barns or similar structures and feeds on insects caught in flight. This species lives in close association with humans, and its insect-eating habits mean that it is tolerated by humans; this acceptance was reinforced in the past by superstitions regarding the bird and its nest. There are frequent cultural references to the barn swallow in literary and religious works due to both its living in close proximity to humans and its annual migration. The barn swallow is the national bird of Austria and Estonia. (wikipedia)
Barn Swallows that breed in Ireland spend the winter in South Africa and have been recorded as covering up to 11,660 km (7,250 mi) on their annual migration! An amazing feat. This adult was completing its nest building in the Scrape Hide at Harper's Island Wetlands in Cork Harbour.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Common Redshank or simply Redshank (Tringa totanus), is a Eurasian wader. Common Redshanks in breeding plumage are a marbled brown color, slightly lighter below. In winter plumage (as shown here) they become somewhat lighter-toned and less patterned, being rather plain greyish-brown above and whitish below. They have red legs and a black-tipped red bill, and show white up the back and on the wings in flight.
It is a widespread breeding bird across temperate Eurasia. It is a migratory species, wintering on coasts around the Mediterranean, on the Atlantic coast of Europe from Ireland southwards, and in South Asia. They are wary and noisy birds which will alert everything else with their loud piping call. Like most waders, they feed on small invertebrates. (wikipedia)
This was taken from the first hide at Harper's Island Reserve in Cork Harbour during the late winter. Such a beautifully marked bird.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Mediterranean gull (Larus melanocephalus) is a small gull. This gull breeds almost entirely in the Western Palearctic, mainly in the south east, especially around the Black Sea, and in central Turkey. There are colonies elsewhere in southern Europe, and this species has undergone a dramatic range expansion in recent decades.
The Mediterranean Gull is slightly larger and bulkier than the Black-headed Gull with a heavier bill and longer, darker legs. The breeding plumage adult is a distinctive white gull, with a very pale grey mantle and wings with white primary feathers without black tips. The black hood extends down the nape and shows distinct white eye crescents. The blunt tipped, parallel sided, dark red bill has a black subterminal band. The non breeding adult is similar but the hood is reduced to an extensive dusky "bandit" mask through the eye. This bird takes two years to reach maturity. First year birds have a black terminal tail band and more black areas in the upperwings, but have pale underwings. (wikipedia)
A recent colonist, the Mediterranean Gull arrived in Ireland in 1995 and first bred in the Republic in 1996 in Co. Wexford. Prefers low lying islands near the coast on which to breed. Only two or three pairs breed but this is likely to increase with more and more birds seen in suitable habitat in the breeding season. Regularly breeds, at Ladies Island Lake in Co. Wexford, along with other nesting seabirds, including Black-headed Gulls, with which it is often associated. In winter, Ireland attracts birds from northwest France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland and the Baltic States, occurring from September to April.
Dublin Bay is a good place to see them in winter.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The European goldfinch or goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), is a small passerine bird in the finch family that is native to Europe, North Africa and western Asia. It has been introduced to other areas including Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay.
The goldfinch has a red face and a black-and-white head. The back and flanks are buff or chestnut brown. The black wings have a broad yellow bar. The tail is black and the rump is white. The female is very similar to the male but has a slightly smaller red area on the face.
The goldfinch is often depicted in Italian renaissance paintings of the Madonna and Child. Goldfinches are commonly kept and bred in captivity around the world because of their distinctive appearance and pleasant song. In Britain during the 19th century many thousands of goldfinches were trapped each year to be sold as cage-birds. One of the earliest campaigns of the Society for the Protection of Birds was directed against this trade.
In the poem The Great Hunger by Patrick Kavanagh, the goldfinch is one of the rare glimpses of beauty in the life of an elderly Irish farmer:
"The goldfinches on the railway paling were worth looking at
A man might imagine then
Himself in Brazil and these birds the birds of paradise" (wikipedia)
An adult Goldfinch feeding on thistle that is going to seed.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) is a small white heron. Until the 1950s, the Little Egret was restricted to southern Europe. Over the next few decades it became increasingly common in western France and later on the north coast. It bred in the Netherlands in 1979 with further breeding in the 1990s.
In Ireland, the species bred for the first time in 1997 at a site in County Cork.
When feeding, the little egret stalks its prey in shallow water, often running with raised wings or shuffling its feet. (wikipedia)
This adult bird, still exhibiting some breeding plumage feathers, was hopping and stalking prey at low tide in Dublin Bay.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The European golden plover (Pluvialis apricaria), also known as the Eurasian golden plover or just the golden plover within Europe, is a largish plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers: the American golden plover, Pluvialis dominica, and Pacific golden plover, Pluvialis fulva, which are both smaller, slimmer and relatively longer-legged than European golden plover, and both have grey rather than white axillary feathers (only properly visible in flight).
The European golden plover is quite thickset, with its wings only being slightly longer than its tail. Its most distinct feature is a white "s"-shaped band stretching from its forehead to its flanks.
The European golden plover is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. (wikipedia)
There was a nice winter flock of Golden Plover off Blackrock, Co. Louth, in Dundalk Bay, coming to rest on the exposed mudflats at low tide. Such a great sight to see and hear, as they come wheeling down in loose flocks to settle.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It breeds in central Canada and southern Alaska and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America.
The greater yellowlegs is similar in appearance to the smaller lesser yellowlegs. Its closest relative, however, is the greenshank, which together with the spotted redshank form a close-knit group.
Adults have long yellow legs and a long, thin, dark bill which has a slight upward curve and is longer than the head. The body is grey-brown on top and white underneath; the neck and breast are streaked with dark brown. The rump is white. It ranges in length from 29 to 40 cm (11 to 16 in) and in weight from 111 to 250 g (3.9 to 8.8 oz). Wingspan is 23.6 in (60 cm).
These birds forage in shallow water, sometimes using their bills to stir up the water. They mainly eat insects and small fish, as well as crustaceans, marine worms, frogs, seeds and berries. (wikipedia)
This is Ireland's 16th record of this fantastic wader, so an incredibly rare bird here. It is the first time I have ever seen the species anywhere, so I was thrilled to see it so well. What an amazing find by Stephen Delaney. I wonder is it the same bird seen earlier in the year in Co. Kildare?
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
Lock 07 on the Grand Canal, located at the bridge between Portobello and Rathmines, Dublin.
Taken with a Leica M4-P and Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f2 lens on CineStill XX black and white film, and developed and scanned by the good folk in Gunns on Wexford Street.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The White Wagtail (Motacilla alba) is a small passerine bird in the wagtail family Motacillidae, which also includes the pipits. This species breeds in much of Europe and Asia and parts of north Africa. It is resident in the mildest parts of its range, but otherwise migrates to Africa. It has a toehold in Alaska as a scarce breeder. In some areas, notably Britain and Ireland, the sub-species Pied Wagtail (M. a. yarrellii) predominates.
This is a slender bird, with the characteristic long, constantly wagging tail of its genus. The nominate subspecies Motacilla alba alba is basically grey above and white below, with a white face, black cap and black throat. The Pied Wagtail has a much blacker back than the nominate race, black of throat continues on side of neck. (wikipedia)
The Pied Wagtail alighting on a wire fence before dropping into a puddle for a wash. Turvey, Co. Dublin.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Willow Warbler (Phylloscopus trochilus) is a very common and widespread leaf warbler which breeds throughout northern and temperate Europe and Asia, from Ireland east to the Anadyr River basin in eastern Siberia. It is strongly migratory, with almost all of the population wintering in sub-Saharan Africa.
It is a bird of open woodlands with trees and ground cover for nesting, including most importantly birch, alder, and willow habitats. The nest is usually built in close contact with the ground, often in low vegetation. Like most Old World warblers (Sylviidae), this small passerine is insectivorous. In northern Europe, it is one of the first warblers to return in the spring though is later than the closely related Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita. (Wikipedia)
This is a recently arrived individual was singing away and feeding well along a row of alders on the edge of the BWI East Coast Nature Reserve.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Common Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs), also called by a wide variety of other names, is a small passerine bird in the finch family Fringillidae.
The name chaffinch comes from Old English ceaffinc, literally "chaff finch", and is the source of the nickname chaffy or chaffie. This bird is widespread and very familiar throughout Europe. It is the most common finch in western Europe, and the second most common bird in the British Isles. Its range extends into western Asia, northwestern Africa, and Macaronesia, where it has many distinctive island forms. In the Canary Islands of Tenerife and Gran Canaria, the Common Chaffinch has colonised twice, giving rise to the endemic species known as the Blue Chaffinch and a distinctive subspecies. In each of the Azores, in Madeira, and in the rest of the Canaries there is a single species on each island. (wikipedia)
A beautiful male Chaffinch attending the feeding station at the Birdwatch Ireland's East Coast Nature Reserve (ECNR) near Newcastle, Co. Wicklow.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide 2nd Edition with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
The Eurasian Jay is a corvid widely spread throughout the Western Palearctic. Eight racial groups (33 subspecies in total) were recognised by Steve Madge & Hilary Burn in 1994. There are nine subspecies recognised in Europe alone.
In Portugal, where this bird was photographed, it is mainly resident, and occurs across the country with an almost uniform distribution, attending several wooded areas, such as oak, montado landscapes, pine forests and urban parks and gardens. in Portugal Jays are a protected species, and this is because of the benefits that they bring to the ecology of the area. They are far more numerous than is widely recognized.
Its food is diverse and consists of invertebrates, seeds and fruits.
The scientific name of the Jay – Garrulus glandarius – alludes to two important features of the species: garrulus is a Latin term meaning “chatty” or “noisy”, emphasizing its strident vocalization, moreover, recognized as the “alarm of the woods”; glandarius refers to ability to harvest acorns (glandis).
I came across several Jay just after dawn near freshwater and small wooded areas near Faro, Portugal. A beautiful, loud, and charismatic bird, that looks slightly different than the race of Eurasian Jay we have in Ireland.
Shorebirds of Ireland, Freshwater Birds of Ireland and The Birds of Ireland: A Field Guide with Jim Wilson.
www.markcarmodyphotography.com
Taken with a Yashinon Auto 5cm lens on a Canon A1, and with Washi D 500 film.
this was one of my contenders for the woodbridge pub show . it didn't make the final cut, so it's getting posted here instead :)