Waxwing: nomad from the North
Waxwings: nomads from the north.Though we continue to enjoy a relatively mild winter here in Ireland, central and northern Europe are contending with much harsher winter conditions. With a bare landscape and [...]
Nest boxes
There is never a bad time to put up nest boxes. Bear in mind that their design and in particular the dimensions of the opening provided is very important as regards the particular species [...]
Garden Bird Survey, 30 years of monitoring and growing.
A Dunnock scavenges under the feeders. (c. Oran O'Sullivan) The results of last winters Garden Bird Survey are now available. They make very interesting reading, given the sharp weather experienced [...]
Goldcrest: the featherweight champion
Goldcrest. (c. R Coombes) Gram for gram, Goldcrest is the featherweight champion of our garden birds. One of the most diminutive visitors to the garden weighing in at only 6 [...]
Cache, Carry, Shop and Save
Cache and Carry Goldfinches, usually come in two's, and spread the word when Nyjer seed is on offer. (Oran O'Sullivan) Shorter days and longer, cool nights are the catalyst for [...]
Sparrows round the house
The male House Sparrow is a smart combination of grey, chestnut and black. (c. Oran O'Sullivan) Sparrows, like Robins, give us a sense of companionship around the garden. During the [...]
Swallows on a Wire
Swallows gather (c. R. Coombes) After a summer of prolonged dry hot spells, the telegraph wires are laden with chattering hirundines: Swallows and House Martins enjoying the last days of [...]
Song Thrushes deal with Drought.
Dealing with drought is a now familiar task for gardeners, especially here in the east of the country. The lawn looks like Wimbledon after two weeks pounding on the courts: brown and [...]
First time to the Feeders
3 Juvenile Blue Tits hang out beside the Nut feeder (c. Oran O'Sullivan) A number of people have remarked that the garden is alive again with young birds, fresh out [...]
Summer sun worship
It's not unusual for folk to indulge themselves and relax in a sunny place to soak up the suns rays, at this time of the year, having first applied protective sun screen, [...]
The ABC project
When Brian O’Reilly, the Rector of St. Saviours Church, Rathdrum approached local resident Oran O’Sullivan with an idea to improve matters for local wildlife, it seemed a natural thing to do. Walking [...]
Wicklow’s Garden Wildlife
Wicklow has a wealth of gardens which have the potential to be hugely valuable as havens for wildlife. Planting for birds and pollinating insects helps them to thrive, ensuring that they have [...]
Celebrating Swifts
Swift (c. R. Coombes) Celebrating Swifts seems the natural thing to do in this long hot summer. A few years ago, sitting on a hot veranda in a small [...]
Dawn Chorus at sunrise
Blackbird: a celebrated songster (c. Oran O'Sullivan) With sunrise occurring at about 06.00 at the beginning of May, there’s a great opportunity to witness the dawn chorus, at a reasonable [...]
Dusk Chorus woodland walk, Thursday 3rd May 2018
Join us on a dusk chorus woodland walk in Ballyteigue Woods near Rathdrum, county Wicklow. Meet at the forestry barrier, entrance to Wheeler's Lane at 19.30, Thursday 3rd May. This event is [...]
Interview
Donal O’Donoghue of the RTE Guide interviews Oran O’Sullivan, co-author of Ireland’s Garden Birds and principal of Irish Garden Birds.ie First published in 2008, Ireland’s Garden Birds has become a bible for birdwatchers and bird [...]
Colourful Callers
All show (c.Oran O'Sullivan) A regular wake-up call (or song) of late, is the early morning crowing of a male Pheasant or two. The di-syllabic notes 'not unlike clearing one's [...]
All that Jizz.
Male and Female Siskins get upside down to feed (c.Oran O'Sullivan) One of the great buzz words for insiders of the birdwatching community is ‘Jizz’. So, what does that [...]
Hard weather for hardy residents
Brambling, female, (c. Oran O'Sullivan) Hard weather in March. There’s a definite novelty to snow events, particularly occurring so late in the winter. the novelty tends to wear off when [...]
Siskins passing through
Looking back over my notes and Garden Bird Survey data sheet, I remind myself that a February speciality is due in the garden round about now. The local woodland is stripped of berries and [...]
February: a shivering start to Spring
February in the Garden. Though it may not feel like it, February is the first month of Spring when the hours of daylight begin to stretch and meet us as we depart for, [...]
Hats off to the Blackcaps
Male Blackcap (c. R. Coombes) Irish gardens are increasingly important to one species of warbler, the Blackcap, The Blackcap typically occurs in about 40% of Irish gardens in winter, according [...]
Robin or Bullfinch for Christmas?
Robin (c. Oran O'Sullivan) Driving down our unlit muddy lane, on increasingly dark mornings an hour before sunrise, I have to be careful not to collide with least two Robins, [...]
Magnificent Murmurations
Watching a low stream of about a dozen Starlings skimming in off St. Georges Channel on the south east corner of county Wexford, I wondered at the strength of purpose, the direct [...]