Bird, bug, butterfly and a wild variety of photos from Belarus, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and Spain by Irish wildlife photographer Patrick J. O'Keeffe and invited guests

Tuesday 31 January 2017

BLACK CROWNED NIGHT HERON (Nycticorax nycticorax) Albufera Marsh, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain


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Click here to see distribution map and to hear calls

The Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), more commonly known as Night Heron, is a medium sized heron in the family Ardeidae which is in the genus Nycticorax. It is the most widespread heron in the world but is absent from large parts of North Africa, Northern Eurasia and Australasia as well as the more northern and colder regions. There are four subspecies or races generally recognised. The northern populations are migratory and winter in the southern parts of the range.

Friday 20 January 2017

LITTLE EGRET (Egretta garzetta) Albufera Marsh, Mallorca, Balearic Islands, Spain


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Click here for detailed species information
Click here to see distribution map and to hear calls

The Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) is a small member of the heron family Ardeidae which also includes Bitterns and Herons. It is found in the temperate parts of Eurasia and Africa as well as Australia and New Zealand. Over the last 60 years or so this species has greatly expanded its range including recolonising its former breeding areas in Northern Europe. It first bred in the Caribbean in the mid 1990’s and is increasingly being recorded along the North American eastern seaboard.

Text © Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Rawbirds.com