This SHOULD Be Obvious, But Fox Hunting Is Evil
During the Summer, when the evenings were long, I used to cycle into the countryside, camera and recorder ready, to get some bird photos and record some bird vocalizations. And every so often something would happen that would make my heart stop (metaphorically, don’t worry!) I would stop the bike, and approach a field, maybe…
The Sedge Warbler, The Frank Zappa Of The Bird World
During the Summer of this year (2025), I spent many happy days in the Glen River Park listening to the birds singing. Whether it was the jovial baritone of the wood pigeon, the achingly beautiful tones of a blackbird, or the relentless, breathless clicking of the stonechat, all of these sounds brought me great joy,…
Servitude Or Death, The Fate Of Earth’s Animals.
I talked in my previous blogpost: about how the slender billed curlew is extinct. There are no more of them left. Any sighting you get of one, will be a photograph. Any sound you hear from them, will be a recording. Now, let’s contrast that with another bird. The domestic chicken. How many of them…
Shorts, T-Shirt, And A Raincoat, A Battle Between Summer And Winter On The Nagle Mountains
It’s September 14th now, so, it’s around that time when you start to to accept, Winter will arrive, our time is limited, better enjoy the last days of sunshine. But it’s a quite ambiguous time of year, on previous years, the week after this day could be, bitter cold, like Winter came early, or, beautiful…
The Strange Tale Of How The Courtmacsherry Estuary Became A Haven For Birds
One of my passions is getting clear photos of curlews in flight. I see that splendid plumage and the elegant, elephant like beak, and the camera is at the ready. Sometimes it’s nice and clear like the one you see here, and sometimes it’s a blurry mess. And hearing them sing, that takes me straight…
The Wonderful Birdlife Of The Coolim Cliffs
Last year, during my yearly visit to the Coolim Cliffs, I wrote this: And perhaps some of you are thinking, wouldn’t it be great if I wrote another post about the birds of the Coolim Cliffs? Well, your wish will very soon be granted, and by very soon I mean immediately, because that’s what this…
A Raven, A Kestrel, And Bees!!!!!
Before I go on a long cycle, I always check the weather forecast beforehand. I like the security of knowing that there’ll be no rain, it won’t be too hot or too cold, and that the wind won’t be strong enough to make for a difficult cycle. But, before my last cycle, the weather forecast…
Finding Hope Along the Cork Harbour Greenway
I feel for the last few years hope is something that’s been in short supply. The horrific genocide in Palestine, the re-election of Trump, the seemingly unstoppable climate change catastrophe, well, it could be stopped if the powers that be wanted to, but they won’t, and the fact that an unbelievable amount of birdlife in…
Bottlehill Forest Is A Great Place To Listen To Bird Song. But It Shouldn’t Be.
One of my favourite places to listen to bird song, and record bird song, is Bottlehill Forest (I’m not sure if that’s even the exact name of the place, but that’s what I’ve come to know it as.) Some of my clearest recordings of robins and chaffinches were recorded there. And now I look forward…
A Zebra Jumping Spider Comes To Visit Me On My Backyard Patio Table
One of the reasons I got obsessively into wildlife was my absolute fascination with jumping spiders. I would watch video after video after video about them, and Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children Of Time was also a big part of it. That’s a book about how jumping spiders are given a virus that gives them higher intelligence…
The Arrival Of The Baby Birds, One Of The Best Times Of The Year!
I wrote last year about how much joy I get from seeing baby birds slowly grow into adults over the span of often as little as a few months: And they grow up so fast! People say that about humans. No, humans do not grow up fast. Thirteen years to reach puberty? Birds are already…
Amazing Pilots, The Peregrine, The Kestrel And The Mute Swan
Sometimes I’m blown away by the fact that birds are sentient aircraft. When I overhear people complaining about how there are too many pigeons or seagulls around, I think about it the other way, I feel privileged that I get to share a planet with such amazing animals. Birds are amazing pilots. And what I’m…
The Best Action Films Are Right Above You.
Will we ever return to the classic action films of old? Will the Marvel films ever find their way again? Are our films doomed to forever be a mess of crappy looking C.G.I? Well, what if I told you there was something better than any action film in the cinema, and all you have to…
The Music Of Other Minds
As I write this, I can hear music outside. It’s the music of a mind so different from mine. A brain diverged from my own by at least 300 million years of evolution. It’s the music of, a woodpigeon! The sound of a wood pigeon I recorded: https://xeno-canto.org/977080 WOO-WOO-WOO-WOO!!!!! I love the song of woodpigeons.…
After Months Of Frustration I Finally Photographed A Kingfisher
To me kingfishers are like the aurora borealis of the bird world. There is a lot of luck involved in seeing one, and the attempt can lead to a lot of frustration and dissapointment. I haven’t even seen the Aurora Borealis yet, and I’m almost forty. Despite knowing the difficulties that were in store for…
I Was Woken Up Early By Jackdaws For Three Consecutive Weeks, And I Loved It
I hate being woken up early. It’s, an important function being interrupted, like, drinking water is important and necessary, to me being woken up is like trying to drink water, and the water keeps dissappearing. So, being woken up, is not nice! But, I’ve learned that I don’t feel that way if birds wake me…
Most Of The Birds I Have Encountered in Courtmacsherry Are In Danger Of Extinction
I am currently staying in Courtmacsherry, where, I am seeing such an amazing variety of birdlife that it’s overwhelming. And it’s exhausting. Yes, I experience such intense happiness that I experience exhaustion, there are so many weird, wonderful and amazing birds down here that sometimes my brain just goes, “That’s enough for today, recharge by…
The Joy And Frustration Of Photographing Birds In Flight
One personality trait I have, that makes me quite ill suited to the bird photography related goal I’m about to talk about, is that I’m extremely impatient. And I don’t understand it. If it’s a beautiful day with the sun shining, and I see an amazing bird, and I’m within striking distance of getting a…
Nature Boy by Seán Ronayne, a Beautiful Story About Irish Wildlife and Why We Must Protect It
I remember it was April of this year that I first heard about Seán Ronanye, a fellow Cork man who had the audacious plan to record every birdsong in Ireland. And I remember how he described his passion for animals and wildlife, and, I remember thinking there was something very familiar about it. I did…
I Photographed Fifty Different Species Of Bird
This, year, my year of getting really, obsessively interested in wildlife, I decided to set myself a goal. That is, photograph and identify fifty different species of bird. I wasn’t sure if I’d succeed or not, because plenty of times I’d “get stuck”, having seen 44 birds, and not seeing any new species for a…
A Pleasant Start To The Winter
Since I got seriously into wildlife in April this year, I haven’t been looking forward to the Winter much. Just the thought of not being able to see many of my favourite animals anymore, not until next Spring anyway, seemed kind of depressing. Would the Winter prove to be a hellish dystopia of no bees,…
Pigeons are Great, Stop Hating Them You Freak!
So, a few days ago, in Fitzgerald’s Park, I saw this absolutely gorgeous baby bird, I’m not sure weather it’s a pigeon or a dove, sometimes it can be easy to get those two mixed up, as they are a similar species. Look at you, look at you, look at you, look at you! Isn’t…
Ten Years Of The Nagle Mountains
July 14th, 2014. That is when I first set off on my bike for the Nagle mountains. And April of that year was also when I started cycling. Ten years of cycling, and ten years of the Nagle mountains. Where does the time go! I remember before that trip, just looking at random locations on…
The Courtmacsherry Estuary And Its Spectacular Birds
During my recent stay near Courtmacsherry, most days were spend dedicating at least some time to visiting the estuary. The estuary extends from Courtmacsherry to Timoleague, and on days when my energy wasn’t too high I’d just walk part of the way, but on more energetic days I’d walk all the way to Timoleague and…
Magnificent Insects On the Coolim Cliffs
I’ve written about the Coolim Cliffs before, one of the best places on Earth in my opinion: But in this post I’d like to mainly talk about my visit this year, after becoming a wildlife enthusiast. It feels like I’m seeing my old favourite places anew now, because now I’m much more conscious of what…
A Wonderland For Honeybees in Fitzgerald’s Park
Update: I’ve just realized this is my 100th post. YAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!!!! Most of my wildlife adventures take place in either the Glen River Park, which is great for seeing birds and insects, and The Lough, which is great for all manner of waterbirds. But what I didn’t realize at first was that a great place for…
The Elation Of Seeing Baby Birds Growing Up
2024 has been a complicated year for me. For my own personal development, for making new wonderful friends, for having some of the most amazing experiences of my life, it’s probably the best year of my life. But, looking at the state of the world this year, I’ve also got really horrible thoughts that maybe,…
Magnificent Leaping Aliens, Encounters With Grasshoppers
I’m a big fan of a type of science fiction called speculative evolution, this is where a writer, and often times they are also an artist, designs creatures that do not exist, but are realistic in the sense that they are based on our understanding of biology and evolution. Often speculative evolution involves taking educated…
An Encounter With An Extremely Happy Bumble Bee (Assuming Bees Experience Happiness)
This post will contain most of the photos from one of my absolute favourite encounters with a bumble bee. It gave me such joy that even when I’m quite old and bald as a cue ball (joking! I’ve been as bald as a cue ball since I was 24!) I think I will still remember…
A Joyous Encounter With An Orange Legged Furrow Bee
Most of my photography wildlife trips take me to the Glen River Park. It’s quite near my house, so I don’t even have to bike over there, just a short walk. It’s a wonderful, though neglected place. Neglected because there is constantly kids setting fire to the gorse, and the fire brigade has to be…
Seeing the Nagle Mountains Through New Eyes, And Hearing It Through New Ears
I only just came back, just under two hours ago, from a cycle to the Nagle Mountains. So, today I’m going to try something interesting. Usually my cycling blogposts about a specific trip don’t get written until, at the soonest, a day later, and at the latest several years later (partly because I didn’t yet…
Goldenrod Crab Spiders are Adorable And Terrifying, Some Thoughts On Suffering In The World Of Wildlife
One of my favourite spiders is the Goldenrod Crab Spider. I often encounter them on top of hogweed. And, before I go any further, learn about the dangers of hogweed if you’ve any interest in nature and wildlife, I’m always very careful not to touch hogweed, because it’s, quite, quite bad for humans: Giant hogweed…
The Somewhat Long Winded Story Of How I Got Really Into Bird And Bug Photography
Note: In order to save on costs I’ve had to start uploading all relevant images outside of WordPress. For reasons that have me completely stumped, and when I say that I mean I’ve spent hours trying to fix the problem, the images, which I feel are an integral part of this post, simply refuse to…
Ponderings Of An Autist 