A Mute Swan swimming across a brown, woodland lake. The bird is travelling from left to right and is in side profile. A drop of water is falling from its beak and its reflection is visible in he water in the foreground. The background is brown lake water.

A Grey Heron in close up, perched on a rock at the shore of a lake. The bird is in side profile; looking to the left of the picture. Its body fills the frame to the right with its neck and head in the upper centre. The sunshine is lighting up the bird and the top of the rock it is standing on. The background is water littered with stubs of reeds

Two Whopper swans floating on an estuary. The birds are close together in the centre foreground and towards the right of frame, both are facing to the left with the nearer bird in front of the other. A long drip of water is falling from the nearer birds beak. The rest of the scene is water with small waves rolling in

🪶 @robcrank68.bsky.social has chosen #LongNecks as today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme.
Alt. is #Gulls

I’ve got
- Mute Swan on a Woodland lake
- Grey Heron fishing from a rock
- 2 Whooper Swans on the estuary

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #swanday #stunday

🪶 Alan has chosen #Woodland as today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme.
Alt is #Juveniles.

I’ve gone with a Wren foraging on the forest floor.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #wren #coloraday #greensat

Dark-bellied Goose (with darker flanks and belly) with its head in the air, surrounded by Light-bellied Geese

Standing out (literally and figuratively) - the Dark-bellied Brent amongst the Light-bellied Brent Geese at Pilmore, Youghal Bay, this week. #Rare #IrishBirding #BirdsSeenIn2026

Tolka Branch Birdwatch Ireland presentation talk this Weds. 15th April 2026 @ 7:45PM will be "Encounters With Corvids" by Dr. Fionn Ó Maircaigh in the Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin & car park is free. #Birds #Irishbirding #Crows #Corvids

🪶 Rob has chosen #BirdButt as today’s #BirdOfTheDay.
Alternative is #Grass.

I have a few butt pics;
- a Wren mooning me on a path
- a Robin that turned around at the last second
- a Pied Wagtail giving a half moon

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography

A male Stonechat perched on a concrete fence post in the golden sunset. The bird is in side profile, looking left with its head turned slightly towards the camera. The fence post is just visible at the bottom of the frame. The birds left side is visible and illuminated by the sunlight. The background is out of focus white on the right side and green/brown on the left

🪶 @alan678.bsky.social has chosen #ManmadePerch as today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme.
Alt. Is #NaturalPerch

I’ve gone with a Stonechat on a concrete fence post in the evening sun.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #syonechat #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #sunset #goldenhour

Rob has chosen #BlackHeads for today’s #BirdOfTheDay.
Alternative is #Grey

Here’s an Oystercatcher foraging on the beach in the evening sun, which also fits into #WaderWednesday

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #oystercatcher #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #beach

🪶 For this week’s #WoodpeckerWednesday I have a short (slightly shaky) video of a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming in the forest.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #RedWed #colorADay

A Sedge Warbler singing from a lichen covered, fallen tree in the sunshine. The bird is in side profile with its head raised and beak open in song. It is to the right of centre of frame. The branch is running diagonally along the shot with lichen covering most of the branches. In the foreground are a few out of focus reeds and the background is out of focus green/black

🪶 @alan678.bsky.social has chosen #warblers for today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme.
Alt. is #RareEncounters

I have a shot of a Sedge Warbler in song from last summer.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #warbler #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #birdsong

A male Mallard in the bright sunshine. The bird is in close up, with its body turned away from camera and head turned back. Its left side and side of head are visible in The bright sunshine, showing the details of the feathers and the iridescence of the head feathers. The water is reflecting a dark blue from The sunlight.

A White-headed duck in side profile with its body slightly out of water so its head is lifted slightly. The bird is facing to the left of frame so its left side is showing. The water is a silvery colour, like mercury, with Circles of ripples coming from the duck in the centre

A male Pochard swimming towards the camera in the rain. The bird is swimming diagonally in frame from back right to front left. Its Red head, black front and grey wings and back are visible and its weak reflection is visible in front of it. Its back is covered in drops of water.

🪶 Mallard Monday time; a time to celebrate all ducks.
For this week I have
- a male Mallard in the sunshine
- a White-headed Duck in Spain
- a Pochard in the rain.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #duck #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #mallardmonday #blueskymonday #pochard

🪶 Rob has chosen #Black&Red for today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme.
Alternative is #Pigeons&Doves

I have a close up shot of a bullfinch in the bush.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #bullfinch #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography

🪶 Alan has chosen #Feathers as today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme.
Alternative is #BirdInABush.

I have this shot of a Grey Heron preening in a willow tree.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #heron #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #stunday #greyheron

🪶 Rob has chosen #SmallBirdsInFlight for today’s #BirdOfTheDay.
Alternative is #Finches

I have this shot of a flock of Dunlin taking flight from the shore

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #dunlin #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #birdsinflight #seascape #coast

A Common Buzzard in flight. The bird is in close up; travelling from right to left, the left wing is closest to the camera and visible from the underside, as are the tail and underbelly. The birds head is turned slightly towards the camera and its beak is open in a screech. The background is a light blue sky.

🪶 For this week’s #Flyday I have a shot I got during the week of a Common Buzzard flying by mid screech.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #buzzard #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #raptor #birdsofprey #birdinflight #bluesky

🪶 Alan has chosen #weather as today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme.
Alt. is #Riverbank.

I have a small flock of Pintail huddled together on the lake, beside the forest, on a frosty, foggy morning.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #pintail #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #scape #forestfriday

The very rare, very secretive and well camouflaged American Bittern at Cuskinny Marsh Nature Reserve, Cobh, at first light this morning. #Birds #Rare #IrishBirding #BirdsSeenIn2026 #phonescoped @birdwatchireland.bsky.social

A Common Buzzard in flight: the bird is shot from below so its underside is visible. It is travelling from right to left in the frame and banking slightly to the right so that both of its outstretched wings are visible. The sun is shining weakly so the top of the birds head is slightly illuminated. The background is a blue/grey sky

🪶 @robcrank68.bsky.social has chosen #LargeBirdsInFlight (birds larger than ducks) for today’s #BirdOfTheDay.
Alt. is #Gulls.

I have this shot of a Common Buzzard.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #buzzard #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #birdsinflight #birdsofprey #raptors

A Rook in side profile in the sunshine. The bird is side on; looking to the right on a grassy verge with a path in front of it. The sunshine is bright and its wing is shining metallic, a blue iridescence can be seen on its neck feathers.

A Eurasian Jay perched on a beech tree. The bird is in side profile, turned slightly away from camera with its head turned back to look. The bird did on a branch coming off the trunk of the beech with some smaller, bare, beech branches in the foreground. The background is out of focus greens

A Jackdaw perched on a gnarled old branch against a blue sky. The bird is facing camera with its head turned to the right of frame and its eye looking at the camera. Some patches of white feathers can be seen on its front. The branch it is on is old and covered in lichen. It comes up vertically and then twists around into a horizontal perch.

🪶 It’s time for another #Thursjay,
- a Rook in side profile in the sun
- a Jay in a beech tree
- a slightly leucistic Jackdaw against a blue sky

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #cawmunity #ECK #irishbirding #corvids #naturephotography #jay #jackdaw #rook #crow

🪶 Alan has chosen #Snacks as the #BirdOfTheDay theme but I’ll go with the alternative of #attitude.

I think GS Woodpeckers always look like your very presence offends them.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #woodpeckerwednesday #ECK #irishbirding #naturephotography #RedWed #colorADay

Spring at last in #irishbirding. A nice Avocet find at Tacumshin.

A Goldcrest perched on a thin branch with its beak open in song. The bird is almost in side profile with its right side showing; the branch it is on is running diagonally from The left corner of the frame to about halfway up the right side. The sunlight is shiny in from the left and illuminating the birds tail, wing and body but a shadow is falling on its head and chest. The background is out of focus green and brown vegetation with hints of bluesky in patches

🪶 @robcrank68.bsky.social’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #BestOfTheMonth; the best shot you took in March.

Mine is definitely this accommodating Goldcrest from early in the month.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #goldcrest #eastcoastkin #irishbirding #naturephotography

🪶 Alan has chosen #RuffledFeathers as today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme.
Alt. Is #GardenFeeder

Here’s a Teal I saw last week with damage to its right wing; likely a survived attack.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #teal #eastcoastkin #irishbirding #naturephotography #mallardmonday

Once again...compare to the farce that is #irishbirding 🤦

After a grim start, Sunday produced a few hours of decent #IrishBirding. Migrants still thin on the ground, but patch produced its first singing Chiffchaff (very late).

The Iceland Gull is still about too. Then into the hills, where I had good views of Dipper, Red Grouse, Peregrine and Hen Harrier.

🪶 Rob has chosen #AdultsWithChicks as today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme. Alternative is #yellow.

I have a shot from last summer of a moorhen feeding its brood of chicks.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #moorhen #eastcoastkin #irishbirding #naturephotography

🪶 Alan has chosen #Blue as today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme. Alternative is #Stripes

I’m also going with a Jackdaw; this one in the trees against a blue sky.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #jackdaw #eastcoastkin #irishbirding #naturephotography

A close up shot of a Grey Heron in flight. The bird is travelling from right to left, shot in side profile, and fills up most of the frame. Its wings are in a downward beat and some of the ragged tips of the flight feathers are visible. The longest 2-3 toes are out of frame. The background is a uniform grey sky

🪶 Happy Flyday!

I’ve got a close up shot of a Grey Heron flying by for this week.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #heron #eastcoastkin #irishbirding #naturephotography #greyheron #flyday

🪶 Rob has chosen #WingsOpenNotFlying for today’s #BirdOfTheDay. Alternative is #Eating

A Tufted Duck drying off its wings after a dive.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #duck #eastcoastkin #irishbirding #naturephotography #flyday

🪶 Alan has chosen #Speckled
as today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme.
Alternative is #OneLeg

I have a close up shot of a Song Thrush in the long grass, I love the beads of dew on the blades of grass in this.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #thrush #eastcoastkin #irishbirding #naturephotography

A Goldcrest singing in the sunshine. The bird is close up on a thin branch; in side profile looking to the left. Its head is turned slightly downward and beak open in song; with its tongue showing. The sunlight is lighting up the bird and the small branch and stem it is perched on. The background is an out of focus mosaic of greens and browns dappled with blue sky

🪶 @robcrank68.bsky.social has chosen #OpenBeak for today’s #BirdOfTheDay. Alternative is #Gulls

My second Goldcrest of the week is this shot of one singing.

#birds #birdsofbluesky #birdphotography #goldcrest #eastcoastkin #irishbirding #naturephotography