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

Showing posts with label Birds of Mayo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birds of Mayo. Show all posts

Sunday, 29 May 2022

EURASIAN SKYLARK (Alauda arvensis) at Annagh Marsh, Mullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland


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The Eurasian Skylark (Alauda arvensis) or commonly referred to as a Skylark is a member of the lark family Alaudidae which is in the genus Alauda.
 
EURASIAN SKYLARK (Alauda Arvensis) distribution map
 
Resident breeding    Summer breeding resident    Passage migrant    Winter non breeding    Introduced resident breeding
 
SanoAK: Alexander Kürthy, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Saturday, 28 May 2022

ROCK PIPIT (Anthus petrosus) on a landing beacon at Blacksod Lighthouse Helipad, Blacksod, Mullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland


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The Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus) or European Rock Pipit is of the family Motacillidae which is in the genus Anthus.

ROCK PIPIT (Anthus_petrosus) distribution map

Green
year round resident  Yellow summer resident  Blue winter resident
 
Jimfbleak, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Thursday, 26 May 2022

EUROPEAN STONECHAT (Saxicola rubicola subspecies S. r. hibernans) male at Cross Lough, Killadoon, Mullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland

 
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The European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) is of the chat family Muscicapidae which is in the genus Saxicola. Preferred habitats include rough grassland, sand dunes and heathland where it is typically seen perched on brambles, gorse or shrubs within the breeding area. 
In the temperate part of its range, nesting commences in late March and up to three broods are raised. It is a partial migrant. Populations from the colder regions move to spend the winter in southern Europe and northern Africa. Successive hard winters, as was the case in 2009/10 and 2010/11 caused severe losses in the mainly sedentary northwestern populations
 
There are two subspecies generally recognised: 
  • Saxicola rubicola rubicola - occurs in central, eastern and southern Europe as well as northern Morocco and southeastern Turkey. 
  •  Saxicola rubicola hibernans - occurs in northwestern Europe including Britain, Ireland, France and Norway.
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Tuesday, 24 May 2022

EUROPEAN SHAG (Gulosus aristotelis) adult at Blacksod Harbour, Mullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland


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The European Shag (Gulosus aristotelis) is of the cormorant family Phalacrocoracidae which is in the genus Gulosus. It occurs in northern and western Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, parts of North Africa as well as parts of the Black Sea Coast. This species breeds in colonies on coastal rocky cliffs and on offshore islands. Can easily be confused with Greater Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) but unlike that species, it is very rarely found inland on lakes or rivers.
  
Three subspecies are generally recognised :
      • G. a. aristotelis – occurs in northwestern European Atlantic Ocean coasts
      • G. a. desmarestii – occurs in the Mediterranean Basin and Black Sea coasts
      • G. a. riggenbachi – occurs in northwestern African coasts
 
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds
 
European Shag (Gulosus aristotelis) distribution map

 Breeding                  Non-breeding - winter 
 
SanoAK: Alexander Kürthy, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Wednesday, 8 December 2021

GREY WAGTAIL (Motacilla cinerea) female at Clogher, Belmullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland


 
 
 
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 The Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) is of the family Motacillidae which is in the genus Passer.
 
 Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) distribution map
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/MotacillaCinereaDistributionMapIUCNv8_2.png
 SanoAK: Alexander Kürthy, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
 
Breeding summer                Breeding resident                Non-breeding winter 

Saturday, 4 December 2021

HOUSE SPARROW (Passer domesticus) male at Blacksod Village, Belmullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland


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 The House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is of the sparrow family Passeridae which is in the genus Passer.

Tuesday, 30 November 2021

GREAT BLACKED GULL (Larus marinus) 2nd winter, feeding on a Grey Seal (Halichoerus grypus) carcass at Faulmore Beach, Faulmore, Belmullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland

 


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The Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) is of the family Laridae which is in the genus Larus.
 
 
Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus) distribution map
 
 https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/RangeMap_Lmarinus.jpg 
 
 Range_map for Larus marinus based on: Lars Larsson, Birds of the World, 2001, CD-rom Mullarney, K. Svensson, L. Zetterström, D. (1999) Fågelguiden, Europas och medelhavsområdets fåglar i fält. Stockholm: Albert Bonniers förlag David Allen Sibley, The Sibley Guide to Birds, 2000, ISBN 0-679-45122-6  No machine-readable author provided. AHA2 assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
 Red - Breeding ground        Purple - All year round        Blue - Winter

Saturday, 27 November 2021

EUROPEAN STONECHAT (Saxicola rubicola subspecies S. r. hibernans) female at Cross Lough, Mullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland


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The European Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) is of the chat family Muscicapidae which is in the genus Saxicola. Preferred habitats include rough grassland, sand dunes and heathland where it is typically seen perched on brambles, gorse or shrubs within the breeding area. 
In the temperate part of its range, nesting commences in late March and up to three broods are raised. It is a partial migrant. Populations from the colder regions move to spend the winter in southern Europe and northern Africa. Successive hard winters, as was the case in 2009/10 and 2010/11 caused severe losses in the mainly sedentary northwestern populations
 
There are two subspecies generally recognised: 
  • Saxicola rubicola rubicola - occurs in central, eastern and southern Europe as well as northern Morocco and southeastern Turkey. 
  •  Saxicola rubicola hibernans - occurs in northwestern Europe including Britain, Ireland, France and Norway.
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Sunday, 21 November 2021

COMMON CHIFFCHAFF (Phylloscopus collybita subspecies P. c. collybita) Blacksod Village, Belmullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland

 
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 The Common Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus collybita) is of the family Phylloscopidae which is in the genus Phylloscopus. This small insectivorous species of leaf warbler is a summer resident from mid March to October which breeds in the northern and temperate regions of Eurasia. In the autumn it migrates south to spend the winter in the Mediterranean Basin, sub Saharan Africa and southwestern Asia. Small numbers also overwinter in northwest Europe.  
There are several subspecies recognised including, Common Chiffchaff (P. c. collybita), Scandinavian Chiffchaff (P. c. abietinus) and Siberian Chiffchaff (P. c. tristis).  
 
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Wednesday, 10 November 2021

SANDERLING (Calidris alba) at Blacksod Harbour, Mullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland

 
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The Sanderling (Calidris alba) is of the family Scolopacidae which is in the genus Calidris. It breeds in the Arctic tundra regions of North America and Asia. This small shorebird winters on the coastal beaches of southern North America, South America, Western Europe, Africa, southern Asia and Australia. It also occurs as a spring and autumn passage migrant at inland locations.
  
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Friday, 5 November 2021

MEADOW PIPIT (Anthus pratensis) at Clogher, Mullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland


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The Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis) is of the family Motacillidae which is in the genus Anthus.

Thursday, 4 November 2021

ROCK PIPIT (Anthus petrosus) at Clogher, Mullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland




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The Rock Pipit (Anthus petrosus) is of the family Motacillidae which is in the genus Anthus.

Friday, 8 October 2021

SOLITARY SANDPIPER (Tringa solitaria) juvenile from 1st to 8th October 2021 found by Derek Charles and Majella Charles [data per www.irishbirding.com] at Clogher, Belmullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland

 

 

 

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 The Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) is of the family Scolopacidae which is in the genus Tringa. This is a long distance migratory shorebird that breeds in the northern forests of Alaska, USA and Canada. It is also a very rare autumn passage vagrant to Western Europe. In mid autumn it moves south to spend the winter in Central and Southern America as well as the Caribbean. 

  This is the 2nd Co. Mayo Record and the 7 previous Irish Records are listed below:

  •   Co. Kerry - (juvenile) 21 to 22-09-1968 at Akeragh Lough    
  •   Co. Cork - (juvenile) 05 to 07-09-1971 at Lissergriffin 
  •   Co. Cork - (juvenile) 15 to 17-09-1974 in a flooded field near O'Driscoll's Castle, Cape Clear Island
  •   Co. Cork - (juvenile) 27 to 30-08-2008 flew over Lough Errul and then along the track at Central Bog, Cape Clear Island
  •   Co. Mayo - (juvenile) 22-09-2009 at Annagh Head and at Termoncarragh Lake
  •   Co. Wexford - (juvenile) 06 to 14-10-2014 at Duncormick, Rathangan and The Cull
  •   Co. Clare - (adult) 15 to 18-08-2016 at Cloghaun Lough, near Kilbaha
  
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds
 
Reference:
  A List of Irish Birds, version 11.0 by Joe Hobbs (download pdf here)
 
Geographical distribution map of Solitary sandpiper
 
Tringa solitaria map.svg
  Breeding   Migration   winter

By Cephas - Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria), In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. retrieved from Neotropical Birds Online: https://neotropical.birds.cornell.edu/Species-Account/nb/species/solsan, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=69875049

Thursday, 7 October 2021

FAEROE SNIPE (Gallinago gallinago subspecies G. g. faeroeensis) at Cartron, Belmullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland



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 The Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is of the family Scolopacidae which is in the genus Gallinago. It breeds in temperate regions of Eurasia. In the colder parts of its range, populations are migratory and move south to spend the winter in southern Eurasia as well as parts of northern and sub Saharan Africa.
There are two subspecies recognised, Common Snipe (G. g. gallinago) and Faeroe Snipe (G. g. faeroeensis) which breeds in Iceland, Orkney, Shetland as well as the Faeroes and has russet brown plumage tones. Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) which occurs in the Americas was formally regarded as a subspecies of Common Snipe but since 2003 it has been upgraded to full species status.
 
 
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds

Wednesday, 6 October 2021

COMMON SNIPE (Gallinago gallinago) showing some characteristics of Faeroe Snipe (Gallinago gallinago subspecies G. g. faeroeensis) at Cartron, Belmullet Peninsula, Co. Mayo, Ireland

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 The Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is of the family Scolopacidae which is in the genus Gallinago. It breeds in temperate regions of Eurasia. In the colder parts of its range, populations are migratory and move south to spend the winter in southern Eurasia as well as parts of northern and sub Saharan Africa.
There are two subspecies recognised, Common Snipe (G. g. gallinago) and Faeroe Snipe (G. g. faeroeensis) which breeds in Iceland, Orkney, Shetland as well as the Faeroes and has russet brown plumage tones. Wilson's Snipe (Gallinago delicata) which occurs in the Americas was formally regarded as a subspecies of Common Snipe but since 2003 it has been upgraded to full species status.
 
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds    
 
 Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) distribution map  
 
GallinagoGallinagoIUCNver2019-2.png
 Breeding            Resident          Winter
 
By SanoAK: Alexander Kürthy. CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=81451030