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 September. Show all posts
Showing posts with label September. Show all posts

Friday 28 December 2012

BLACK LEGGED KITTIWAKE (Rissa tridactyla) Gormanston Beach, Gormanston, Co. Meath, Ireland

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

The Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) is of the gull family Laridae which is in the genus Rissa. The only other member of the genus Rissa is the Red-legged Kittiwake (Rissa brevirostris) where less than 200,000 pairs breed on some of the Bering Sea Islands between Russia and Alaska,USA.
 
Patrick J. O'Keeffe /Raw Birds

Thursday 27 December 2012

EUROPEAN SHAG Phalacrocorax aristotelis Port Oriel, Clogherhead, Co.Louth, Ireland

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GREAT CORMORANT (Phalacrocorax carbo) at Port Orial, Clogherhead, Co. Louth, Ireland

 
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Click external link here for detailed species information
 Click external link here to see distribution map and to hear calls
 
The Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) is of the family Phalacrocoracidae which is in the genus Phalacrocorax. It has a scattered distribution in parts of North America, Eurasia, Africa and Australasia. 
There are a number subspecies recognised including the ground nesting Common Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo carbo) which occurs in Britain and Ireland that breeds on coastal rocky outcrops and on off shore islands.  The tree nesting Continental Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) which breeds in Northern Europe extending eastwards to Japan, but has in recent times colonised parts of southern Britain. This is apparently a rare subspecies in Ireland with less than 70 records but is in all probably under recorded.
 
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds