A bunch of us from Mountain Meitheal West put up a new stile that cross the fence behind the Ben Lettery in the Twelve Bens on Sunday. Why ? Because the sheep had learned how to climb over the old ladder-style one. #mountainmeithealwest #stile #TwelveBens

Full moon over Galway city - all calm for now

Facebook memory reminds me that it is 6 years since @tg4.bsky.social did a story on our volunteer work on Mám Éan (and we’re still there!) #MountainMeithealWest #trailmaintenance #MámÉan #Galway #WesternWay #Ireland

The last Mountain Meitheal West volunteer day of 2025 took place last Saturday, repairing drainage along a section of the Western Way near Letterbreckaun (Binn Bhriocáin) mountain, the 2nd highest of the Maumturks. The weather was kind, and we made good progress. #MountainMeithealWest

I've a trailcam set up by a wet area in the meadow to record Common snipe but they haven't appeared yet. But it captured a thrush and a fieldfare - a winter migrant from Scandinavia. #fieldfare #thrush #westmeath #ireland #rahugh #wildmeadow

China's electrification transition is dramatic, and leaving us in the dust. So much for LNG-powered trucks! China and soon India are leapfrogging to the new. And our leaders pushing LNG and retreating on ZEVs look sad & vision-less in comparison. www.nationalobserver.com/2025/11/19/n...

Half an hour before sunrise #UniversityofGalway

The leaves on the apple trees in my back garden are still hanging on, and they provide excellent foraging for this Goldcrest, which can pick off tiny insects living on the leaves. I've slowed the video by 50% for ease of viewing. @birdwatchireland.bsky.social #goldcrest #backgarden #habitat #galway

A new visitor to this perch in the meadow. It can see a faint reflection of itself in the trail cam, hence the bemusement. #trailcam #greycrow #Rahugh #Westmeath #Ireland

What else to do on a wet, Bank Holiday Monday. #sodabread #Galway #homebaking #cooking #Ireland

Me, after two days of my wife's birthday celebrations...

20 years ago, I went for a hike over the mountain behind Kylemore Abbey with other members of the Galway Walking Club, which I had joined earlier that year. The route, which I don't think is accessible anymore, finished by passing the statue overlooking the abbey and down the path to the abbey.

Are you a little confused about how Ireland’s Presidential Election works? Fear not: I have once again picked up some 🔴 popular 🟠 coloured 🟡 chocolate-based 🟢 confectionary 🔵 treats 🟣 to show how the #aras25 votes are counted. @virginmedianews.bsky.social

It's Presidential election day today in Ireland. Democracy is a precious thing, so going to vote is a good thing. When I was born, the Irish President (De Valera) was a survivor of the 1916 Rising and a key figure in the fight for anyone in this state to have a vote. #IrishPresidentialElection

I like men a lot but the more time I spend with them the more I understand why nuns live so long

I repaired the high perch in the meadow this week after it fell down, and look who came back first. @birdwatchireland.bsky.social #BarnOwl #Rahugh #Westmeath #Ireland #trailcam

On a late August evening three years ago, I watched Emperor dragonflies aggressively defend their territories and hunt on the wing over a Burren lake. However, they too were being hunted by a nearby kestrel. #Burren #dragonfly #anaximperator #emperor #Ireland #nature #kestrel

I've was clearing the overgrowth from the lawn yesterday (due to the construction work earlier this year) and spent half the time uncovering frogs which I then returned to the wildlife pond (and yes, there are STILL tadpoles swimming in the pond) #frog #tadpole #Galway #wildlife #pond

There are STILL tadpoles in the wildlife pond in my back garden. These ones really don't want to leave home.... #tadpole #wildlifepond #backgarden #Galway #Ireland

Saw my first Whoopers of the season on the outskirts of Galway city this morning, along with a Marsh Harrier (first time this year too). #WhooperSwans #birdmigration #MarshHarrier #Galway

I recorded this earlier today - there are still a small number of tadpoles in the garden wildlife pond , and they look like they have a while to go before they transform into frogs. At least it will help keep the algae in check ! #tadpoles #wildlifepond #Galway #Ireland #biodiversity

Lots of bats hunting over the Eglinton Canal in Galway this morning #bats #Galway #Ireland

The equinox has passed and the first frost of the season has appeared at the meadow #Rahugh #Westmeath #Ireland #wildmeadow #equinox #frost #seasons #autumn

Nice hiking weather in Connemara today #TwelveBens #Derryclare #Galway #Ireland

Me, taking a pic in Connemara - 5 years ago this week #Connemara #Galway #KillaryFjord #hiking #Ireland

Spuds!

A juvenile bullfinch wondering when it will be fed next (recorded back in June) #juvenile #fledgling #bullfinch #bird #Rahugh #Westmeath #Ireland @birdwatchireland.bsky.social

I finally got around to posting a video update on my back garden pond in Galway - youtu.be/4iekeGqwZec. (I also mention my new nature project, which is very exciting for me). And there are STILL a couple of tadpoles in the garden pond, yet to transform. #GardenPond #Nature #biodiversity #Galway

Make yourself heard! A wren giving it everything in the garden during the week. @birdwatchireland.bsky.social #wren #galway #ireland

Someone has finally discovered the perch I built for them (and has used it all week) ! A Common Buzzard surveying the meadow below, on Monday afternoon. #CommonBuzzard #Rahugh #Westmeath @birdwatchireland.bsky.social

Looking like an inside day today... #weather #aimsir #fliuch #rain #Galway #Ireland

A pair of willow warblers in the meadow a couple of weeks ago (video slowed to 50%) #WillowWarbler #bird #Rahugh #Westmeath #Ireland #meadow @birdwatchireland.bsky.social

The rowan tree on my street is already nearly stripped of berries, probably by birds like this blackbird feeding its 2nd brood (ignore the incorrect timestamp). I wonder if there will be enough food to forage in the hungry winter months ahead ? #blackbird #rowan #Galway #Ireland

A juvenile hen harrier hunting over marshland at the edge of Galway city this morning #henharrier #Galway #Ireland @birdwatchireland.bsky.social

Sunday was a great day for hiking in Connemara. #Maumturks #mountains #hiking #Galway #GalwayWalkingClub #Ireland #wildatlanticway #TwelveBens

You wait all year to see a 22-spot ladybird and then 17 of them show up all at once! I have a small , raised bed at the meadow to grow peas and a colony of Psyllora vigintiduopunctata seem to have made it their home. #22-spotladybird #rahugh #westmeath #ireland

There's only room for one wren on this perch! #wren #troglodytestroglodytes #dreoilín #rahugh #westmeath #ireland #biodiversity #birding #ireland #nature

There's a REALLY quick and easy survey for the public consultation on the Basic Income for the Arts scheme - it only takes a few seconds, anyone can fill it in, and it could make a huge difference to arts workers in Ireland. Take a few ticks to places a few ticks here: ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/run...

Female Brown Hawker dragonfly laying eggs onto a piece of floating wood in a shallow pool of water last Sunday in Rahugh, Co. Westmeath #BrownHawker #dragonfly #rahugh #westmeath #ireland

A sparrowhawk that visited my back garden a couple of weeks ago. #sparrowhawk #galway #ireland

Every time I visit Mám Éan in summer, I call to a nearby pond that is a great environment for damselflies and dragonflies. On my most recent visit last month, dragonflies were in short supply but there were plenty of damselflies. This Emerald damselfly looks like a work of art up close.

Back in May, I could hear a male blackcap calling in the meadow. Last week, the fruits of his endeavour were clear: a female blackcap feeding a juvenile female - I'm not sure what sort of berry she has. #blackcap #rahugh #westmeath #ireland #birds @birdwatchireland.bsky.social

Motherfucking wind farms…

Why are no trespassing signs appearing on Irish mountains that hikers have accessed for decades? Can walkers really sue farmers when they injure themselves on private land? Listen to my conversation with @johnsmyth.bsky.social about land access in Ireland. ➡️ pod.fo/e/304bbb

Common Emerald damselfly (female, I think) at the side of a bog pond near Mám Éan in the Maumturk mountains in west Galway. #EmeraldDamselfly #CommonSpreadwing #LestesSponsa #Galway #MámÉan #Connemara #Ireland

Meanwhile, in Cork

To be a Rock and not to Roll... We were working on our own Stairway to Heaven at the weekend, adding some steps to a stretch of the mass path at Mam Ean in Connemara. The steps will help prevent the 'drift' of stone and scree down the hill, and make the path a bit easier to ascend. #mountainmeitheal

First new potatoes this year, and very tasty they were, too. #newpotatoes #Westmeath #Rahugh #Ireland

I made a perch overlooking my meadow in the hope that it would attract predators, and so it did. Look at the talons on the long-eared owl . Next time, I'll try to adjust the trail cam so it doesn't over-expose the birds at night. @birdwatchireland.bsky.social #LongEared #Owl #Rahugh #Westmeath

One of a pair of Common Buzzards soaring over the fields in Rahugh, Co. Westmeath last Friday, on one of the hottest days of the year so far. @birdwatchireland.bsky.social #CommonBuzzard #Rahugh #Westmeath #Ireland #biodiversity #nature #birds