§ March 19th, 2010
I moved house just before Christmas, and one of my first tasks was to hang up bird-feeders in the back garden. I bought a big bucket of bird feed, filled the feeders and waited for the crowds of birds that would surely arrive. The garden backs onto some overgrown gardens on Bohermore road and there is plenty of cover for small birds. At the same time, I planted plenty of bulbs in pots so that I would have plenty of crocuses, daffodils and other Spring flowers to welcome in the new year.
Alas, the cold snap did for both enterprises. For the first couple of weeks, there were plenty of sparrows, finches and tits clustered around the feeders. But once the temperature dropped well below zero, the numbers died away (as did the birds). I had even left out thawed drinking water but there were days on end when no birds landed in the garden. Likewise, the soil in the pots froze, and not a single bud burst through the soil. Before I left for a trip abroad last week, I dragged all of the pots out of the shade down to the back wall of the garden. At this time of the year, the sunshine reaches the back wall for most of the day, and sure enough, when I returned this weekend, buds were finally emerging in most of the pots.
There has been a revival too in the bird numbers. Sparrows appear better than other species at surviving the extreme cold (pr maybe there were just more of them to begin with) but finches are also showing up [not a single Blue Tit or Great Tit appears to have survived in the neighbourhood - they were regular visitors before the freeze]. On Saturday morning, the goldfinch pictured above visited the garden – the first since December – and feasted for about 30 minutes. The feeder he chose was one that most of the other birds shun – because it is close to the kitchen window (and so located for photography reasons).
The picture shows the goldfinch chewing on a sunflower seed, and was taken with a Canon 7D attached to a Canon 100-400mm lens – picture was taken through the kitchen window. The colours have not been enhanced – the plumage really is that beautiful.
§ March 16th, 2010
The Irish Blog Awards will take place at the end of March in Galway. On the day itself, the big do is usually preceded by a bunch of other smaller activities. One is a photowalk planned for a few hours during the day – basically , a bunch of photographers roaming about the city taking snaps of anything that moves. As far as I can tell, the route is still to be decided but I’d be amazed if the Long Walk isn’t included. Picture above is of the Long Walk at low tide.
The list of websites nominated for an award is here [caution - those of you easily distracted might want to set aside an afternoon or two to browse through all of the sites].
Well done to Damien and crew for all the work organising the awards.
§ March 14th, 2010
Noisy, garrulous, roving about in large groups and sometimes a bit comical to look at – I wasn’t in Galway last week so I don’t know how the students behaved during Rag Week. The city is still standing so they can’t have been too bad. As for their feathered equivalents – starlings (sturnus vulgaris, druid as Gaeilge) – one can forgive them a lot given their beautiful plumage. This one was one of a group mooching for food beside the lobster pots on the pier in the Claddagh on Saturday morning.
Here is a poem by Philip Casey called Starling – the link also an amazing clips of huge flocks of starlings flying at sunset.
§ March 11th, 2010
The best mornings in Galway are when you can see the rain falling…somewhere else. This particular morning – a couple of months ago – huge rainclouds sailed slowly like galleons across Galway Bay, before bombarding the Burren with rain.
§ March 10th, 2010
An icebound walkway at the edge of Lough Errill near Mohill in Co. Leitrim. Picture taken at the same time (and place) as this one.
It’s been quite a cold and dry year so far. There’s been very little rain in Galway since the new year began, and plenty of cold days. I just hope the inevitable rainy days don’t all arrive at once.
§ March 9th, 2010
Sunrise over Ross Lake, west of Galway city.
§ December 21st, 2009
A selection of photos from what was not a particularly productive year. Still I suppose I have to be thankful to have made it to 2009 after all that 2008 brought.
Happy Christmas to you all and here’s to a peaceful 2010. Thanks for your support, it has given me great strength.
