Pyramidal Orchids bloom

Pyramidal Orchids add a spark of colour  to patches above the high water mark near Lahinch marsh

Ringlet Butterfly

The Ringlet has a short flight time of about 8 weeks. 

Viewed from above they seem quite velvet black, and underwing the spots stand out with a white eye

Can be seen feeding and flitting around bramble flowers.

Common Blue & Small Heath

Common Blue and Small Heath Butterflies are massing in our bogs and grasslands.

A simple walk should be enough to see them

Puffins of The Cliffs of Moher

The Puffin colony around Aile na` Sharrah side of The Cliffs of Moher seems very healthy , 5-10 metres up on the grass patches they bask in the evening sun,the sky full of auks bringing food into the nests and 100`s were sitting out on the water as Puffins do in the late evening

Evening Cliff Trek

A stunning evening at The Cliffs of Moher.

I took my two eldest daughters and their friend on a trek to the base of the cliffs to see the Puffins.

Its was an exiting time for them on the steep decent and climb back, and a moment to remember for all their days.

 You dont forget your first time at the bottom  of this majestic place

We returned to the top to Fulmars gliding in a view of Sunset over the Aran Isles

Tutsan - Hypericum androsaemum

When I came across this quite exotic flower growing on the cascades of Ennistymon I thought it to be and introduced invasive species/ type.
But later I found out Tutsan native plant. When crushed it stinks like a Goat ,hense its other name Stinking Tutsan.

Black tailed Skimmer

 My family and I were out on The Burren near Carron on one of our nature treks
We were watching Black tailed Skimmers copulating in the air and on the limestone.
           Quite a specticle. Children .....Consider it.... evolution on the wing, in motion, right before your eyes.

 The male is the blue one ."The things we all learn"
 He must grip a female by the head or thorax and hold her in the tandem position, with claspers at the tip of his abdomen that fit neatly, like a lock and key, with a special plate on her thorax or behind her eyes.

Once the pair is in tandem, and the female is receptive, she will curl the tip of her abdomen around working the pair into that heartlike copulatory position.

Heath spotted Orchid

Heath spotted Orchid can range in colour from white,pink and purple.

ID can be difficult ,the middle lobe of 3 is shorter and they do flower a few weeks before Common spotted.

These are found along the Cliffwalk path,Doolin

Bee Orchid

I came across a small patch of Bee Orchids close to Lahinch marsh.

A species I always wanted to see and was hoping to find on the Burren this year.

It goes to show that even a local walk in the rain can throw up something to brighten the day.

"Cuckoo Daddy"

Ive spent a few evenings listening to the Cuckoos with my 2 year old boy...The Cuckoo called on Tv while watching Springwatch and my boy responded " Daddy Cuckoo"..A day later " Daddy Cuckoo..Cuckoo".. and there was this Cuckoo on the post outside the kitchen.
Im still yet to get a clear good photo of a Cuckoo, and in a week they will be gone.

Arctic Terns - Inis Meáin

One of my main reasons to visit Inis mann was in hope of seeing a variety of Terns, and on my wish list was Little Tern, which I did not see today.

A few pairs of Arctic Terns were courting and investigating nest sites high on the beach , giving exceptional views. 

Approx 35-40 Arctics were roosting on boulders at the eastern end of the beach with a few Sandwich Terns ,It was a hot day and small flurries of fishing trips close to shore to gather sand-eel to present for their partners in courtship seemed to be the only activity.
A adult Med Gull was also present.

Inis Meáin -The unseen Aran Isle

On arrival at Inishmann (the middle Aran island) we(my wife &little boy) were alone, all tourists on the boat went to the 2 other more commercial islands. 

Walls & more walls like a maze . The weather was as hot as ive ever felt in Ireland , we started our trek

Western Marsh Orchid

 The season of wild flowers had started and fields were in bloom with Buttercups,Bloody Cranesbill,Oxe eye Daisys,Western Marsh Orchid the list goes on . Lapwings were nesting close to the path and trying there best to clear us from there area. Skylarks sang there song in theclear blue sky
We walked the length of the north-side beach without seeing another footprint, and  that is rare enough in modern times

Lapwing

Oxe-eyed Daisy

Skylark

After we made our way off the beach and through the maze of hidden roads among rocky walls we made our trek way uphill to the pub for some well earned Beers

My outcome of this island would be different from the other 2 . Its wilder ,quieter ,harder work and way less touristy which suits me just fine.

Fulmars and a Peregrine Falcon

Fulmars Glide.

To me,The  Fulmar installs a sense of freedom , they seem to live with ease ,gliding back and forth along the updrafts of the cliffs...Effortless behavior.

While watching the Fulmars a Peregrine Falcon  shot passed aggressively hunting the clifftops.