Hel Hath No Birdies

I was recently contacted by Conor O'Brien asking if I would review his new book "Ireland Through Birds". Always happy to have something to read on my train commutes, I gladly accepted. A week later the book arrived and I delved straight in. Ireland Through Birds -Conor W. O'Brien - Merrion Press - €22.58 on Amazon for the paperback. €7.99 for the kindle edition. €5.61 for the google books version. This is a book that does exactly what it says on the tin. It's Ireland... through birds. And so rather than being an all consuming hunt for the species being discussed, or poetic description of the species without end, the reader is instead brought into the far flung corners of our island in a manner that is perfectly described and beautifully written. The author selects 12 species to track down over the course of a year, but rather than treat the book as one story arc, it's best to treat it as a collection of short stories, hybridized with the conservation...

Myself and Lyra took off into the country side for the day on Saturday, in search of Rough Legged and Golden Eagles. We failed on the Goldie front, probably due to the slight drizzle at times, but Rough Legged Buzzards were absolutely every where. Rough Legged Buzzard - nearly every lane I turned down had some, with a Max of 6 in one flock at Myrans, fighting and tussling in the air. Superb birding. Rough Legged Buzzard - showing why they are so named. I prefer the new age unshaven leg look. No no. Call me liberal. At times they would almost bar your path. This bird sat until the car was practically underneath on the way out. Stunning Big Sky Raptors Other birds moving included good numbers of swans and geese. Whooper Swan On Sunday we hunted around Suomenoja for migrants. There was quite a bit of activity, including a few chiffs, song thrush, dunnock and a single mig Treecreeper in th...

I've been enjoying the last push of raptors making their way south of late. We have entered that time of year where Rough Legged Buzzard and Golden Eagle make their way south and presumably somehow decide if they stay on the south coast or keep on pushing. I came across a deer carcass the previous weekend, which held a dozen White Tailed Eagle in close attendance. Look at those wings!! It was an amazing sight to see these behemoths wheeling in and squabbling like vultures over the carcass. Absolute beasts. Adult White Tailed Eagle 1st Winter White Tailed Eagle, with some eagles in the backdrop. Monsters Several Rough Legged Buzzard juveniles were also floating around eyeing up the carcass and have been moving in decent numbers in general. A bird that always delights me.  Rough Legged Buzzard - I've seen about 100 of these in the past week as their migration hits peak time. Goshawk were als...