Recently in Wildlife Category

Rose-ringed parakeet, Amsterdam, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Rose-ringed Parakeets on a snowy winter's day on Heemstedestraat, suburban Amsterdam. The birds are year round residents, having built up from a feral populations in the 1970s.

Discarded water bottle and seagull on a frozen canal, Amsterdam, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

A seagull stands on the frozen Schinkel canal/river in Amsterdam, beside a discarded plastic Spa bottled water container.

Walrus at Poole-Pynten, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Walrus, Odobenus rosmarus, taking it easy on a Sunday afternoon at Poole-Pynten, Prins Karls Forland island, Svalbard.

Arctic Fox mother and cub, Ny-Alesund, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Arctic Fox mother and cub, Ny-Alesund, Alopex lagopus, living under the &"London Houses" - the Dutch research station at the international research base at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard. The mother had lost her white winter coat in the preceding weeks - those are id-tags on her ears, as she's a known character in the area!

Common Eider Duck, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Eider drake stands on a roadway outside Longyearbyen, while craning its neck to vocalise its oh-oooo call. Common Eider Duck, Somateria mollissima, at the dog yard outside Longyearbyen, on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The eider nest between two enclosures of sled dogs on the outskirts of Longyearbyen, where the eggs are safe from the arctic fox, which is too scared to come close to the howling dogs.

Picture made during the Greenpeace Arctic Under Pressure expedition, 2010

Arctic Terns, sterna paradisea, Ny Alesund, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Arctic Tern, sterna paradisea, preparing to mate and nest in the Arctic scientific research village of Ny-Alesund, Svalbard.

Photographed during the Greenpeace Arctic Under Pressure expedition 2010. www.greenpeace.org/arctic2010

Arctic Terns, sterna paradisea, Ny Alesund, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Arctic Tern, sterna paradisea, preparing to mate and nest in the Arctic scientific research village of Ny-Alesund, Svalbard.

Photographed during the Greenpeace Arctic Under Pressure expedition 2010. www.greenpeace.org/arctic2010

Arctic Terns, sterna paradisea, Ny Alesund, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Arctic Tern, sterna paradisea, preparing to mate and nest in the Arctic scientific research village of Ny-Alesund, Svalbard.

Photographed during the Greenpeace Arctic Under Pressure expedition 2010. www.greenpeace.org/arctic2010

Purple sandpiper, Ny Alesund, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Purple sandpiper, caldiris maritma, on the beach, at Ny Alesund, Svalbard.

Photographed during the Greenpeace Arctic Under Pressure expedition 2010. www.greenpeace.org/arctic2010

Ivory Gull perched above seal meat, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Ivory gull, pagophila eburnea, perched above a rack of dried seal meat at the dog yard, Ny-Alesund, Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway. Populations are currently in decline throughout the Arctic, possibly because of decreasing sea ice, and the PCBs and DDE found in the food they eat, for instance seal carrion from polar bear kills.

Photographed during the Greenpeace Arctic Under Pressure expedition 2010. www.greenpeace.org/arctic2010

Male Snow Bunting, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Male Snow Bunting, Plectrophenax nivalis, on tundra, with coal fragments from old coalmine at Ny-Alesund, Spitsbergen, Svalbard.
Photographed during the Greenpeace Arctic Under Pressure expedition 2010. www.greenpeace.org/arctic2010

Svalbard Reindeer, Ny-Alesund, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Svalbard Reindeer, Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard. There's about 10,000 Svalbard reindeer, a small subspecies of mainland European reindeer, and are endemic to Svalbard. They are not domesticated, and are not owned by anyone.

Photographed during the Greenpeace Arctic Under Pressure expedition 2010. www.greenpeace.org/arctic2010

Seal in the harbout at Ny-Alesund, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Seal, probably Ringed Seal, in the harbour at Ny-Alesund

Photographed during the Greenpeace Arctic Under Pressure expedition 2010. www.greenpeace.org/arctic2010

Black Legged Kittiwake, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Black Legged Kittiwake, rissa tridactyla, landing amongst fragments of sea ice Kongsfjord, Svalbard. Kittiwake populations have been under pressure in recent years, as changes to food sources, possibly caused by climate change and other environmental factors, have forced the birds to travel further, for longer, to get food.

Photographed during the Greenpeace Arctic Under Pressure expedition 2010. http://www.greenpeace.org/arctic2010

Five Pigeons Waiting, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Five Pigeons perched on a railing in Blessington Street Basin, Dublin. There's a nice canvas copy of this hanging in the Woodstock Cafe, Phibsboro, Dublin


Get the print

Crimson Rosella, Platycercus elegans elegans, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Crimson Rosella, Platycercus elegans elegans, at the campside at Tidal River, Wilsons Promontory National Park, Victoria, Australia

Eastern Grey Kangaroo, at Tom Groggins, Mount Kosciuszko National Park, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

"you talking to me? Well I'm the only one here..."

Eastern Grey Kangaroo, at Tom Groggins, Mount Kosciuszko National Park

Freaky Kangaroo, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

"I told you I was freaky.... you just won't believe me" - Flight of the Conchords.
Eastern Grey Kangaroo, with an injured or sick eye at Tom Groggins, Mount Kosciuszko National Park

Black Guillemots on the Liffey, Dublin, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Lovely Black Guillemots or tysties, Cepphus grylle on the Liffey, Dublin, , beside Sean O'Casey Bridge. They've been around a couple of weeks now... which is a little strange, as the tystie is normally a cliff-dwelling species...

This photo was taken nearly a month ago, but I saw them last weekend in the same area. I didn't have my 100-400 with me, so this is taken with a 70-200.

This Examiner article from 2006 suggests they've been around quite a while: Tystie treat as auks try the inner city

Little Egret, Egretta garzetta, on the Tolka River, Dublin, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Little Egret, Egretta garzetta, taking off this afternoon on the Tolka River, Dublin. Interestingly, these are a summer migratory visitor - I've never noticed this so early in the year before.

Grey Heron, Ardea Cinerea, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Aha, it's letting me get closer! I spent a bit of time today, coming back from the shop, and he was really just too lazy to fly away. I shot 250 photos... here's one of the closest with the Canon 100-400 L USM IS 4.5-5.6


Grey Heron, Ardea Cinerea on the bank of the Tolka River, by Fairview Park in Dublin today (13/02/2009).

Grey Heron, Ardea Cinerea, blowing in the wind, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

My friend The Heron, again, hanging out behind a fence by the Tolka River. At least this time I had the right lens (Canon 100-400 L IS USM). The heron's feathers are blowing in the wind, and that's a fence in the foreground, in case you're wondering. Here's the other photo of the heron from last week...

Grey Heron, Ardea Cinerea, right beside Annesley Bridge on the bank of the Tolka River, by Fairview Park in Dublin (11/02/2009).

Grey Heron, Ardea Cinerea, originally uploaded by Dave Walsh Photography.

Grey Heron, Ardea Cinerea, standing in the falling snow on the bank of the Tolka River, by Fairview Park in Dublin today (02/02/2009).

Jackdaw, corvus mondedula, originally uploaded by blather.

Jackdaw, corvus mondedula - the smallest crow. Photographed in Clontarf, Dublin.

Pigeon Porn!, originally uploaded by blather.

Pigeons mating on the north quay, Dublin.

Grey Seal off Bull Island, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.

Bull Island is a UNESCO protected biosphere reserve in the Northern suburbs of Dublin. It features two golf clubs, and Dollymount beach, used for kitesurfing and other outdoor activities. Wildlife includes seals and bird life.

Grey Seal at Bull Island, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.

Young grey seal at Bull Island, Dublin. Usually the seals - common and grey - are pulled up on the sandbanks, but this day there was none to be seen, except for two that appeared i nth water, like big wet dogs, curious about the crazy humans.

Bull Island is a UNESCO protected biosphere reserve. This one had gotten nervous of me and dived into the water, leaving the main group. It soon got courage and reappeared, flopped back up onto the sand again.

Wikipedia: Bull Island »

Grey Squirrel in the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather.

Grey Squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, in the National Botanic Gardens, Dublin, Ireland. Grey Squirrels - introduced to Ireland in a basket, as a present, in 1911 at a posh wedding in Castleforbes, Co. Longford, they've now multiplied to the point where they've caused a decline in the native red squirrel population. Greys have a wider diet, can digest unripe acords - reds cannot, so acorns vanish while the reds wait. Greys also carry diseases that they are immune to - but which can spread to reds, which are not immune.

Reds can still be found in Dublin, here and there, in places like St. Anne's Park and there's plans to reintroduce them to the Phoenix Park.

Get high resolution version: Mute Swan nesting on the Tolka River, Dublin, originally uploaded by blather. Look underneath the swan - you can see the eggs!

Mute Swan nesting on the Tolka River, Dublin, near Ballybough Bridge or Luke Kelly Bridge, on the road to Fairview. Not sure if this was the male or female - they share the nesting work, tho the male usually stands guard while the female sits. The previous day I had seen both at the nest, but the light wasn't good. There was a batch of large eggs in the clutch - they produce around six eggs, sometimes up to ten or eleven. It takes about 35 days before they hatch - lets hope these ones will be safe from cats and globshitey humans.