Tag Archives: Ireland

Emerald Isle to Emerald Isles Aurora via UAL!

Year 12,

According to United Airlines I was flying over Greenlands’ Graah Fjord last night (Wikipedia Link) as I composed most of this post (content edited and expanded the next day before publishing). All I know is United Airlines service was superb on UAL Flight 981 from Dublin to Chicago (and then on to Duluth). My thanks to Flight Attendant Beth who took this image of me working on my wildlife photographs while I was flying home over the north Atlantic. Molly if flying on to a Greek Island to enjoy some time with a friend for her “70th birthday treat”.

For Molly’s birthday treat, we decided to treat ourselves travel first class for the first time in our 42 years of marriage. It was definitely a very enjoyable way to edit images, and then send pics to all our kids and their spouses noting how how were spending their inheritance! Okay … back to what you subscribe to me for … birds and wildlife. The images accompanying this post were edited on a Boeing 787 flying at 547 mph up at 37,000 feet with Prince Christian Sound of Greenland off to my right.

Eurasian Oystercatcher

European Stonechat

Oh yes … this post title mentions “from the Emerald Isle to the Emerald Isles” and something about the Northern Lights. I arrived home at my house in Duluth by 7 pm, and was in bed by 7:45 pm having been awake for almost 24 hours straight. Given the six hour time difference I woke up at 1 am local … wide awake. Within a few minutes I heard my local owls hooting outside the house. Of course I decided to go out on the deck in the middle of the night (couldn’t sleep given the 6 hour time change) to better listen to Amy (the female Great Horned Owl). I then realized the Aurora Borealis was popping. Twenty minutes later I was in my car driving 35 minutes to Boulder Lake … to watch Lady Aurora dance above the “Emerald Isles”. Life is good!

Walking the Isknagahiny Lough (Loch or Lake)

Year 12

Sometimes you just need to create your own hikes and ignore the tour guides, or as these jaunts are called in Ireland … Walks! My process is to study Google Maps looking for interesting geological features and then switching over to satellite view for closer inspection. This is how Molly and I came to walk the area near and along the shores of Isknagahiny Lough (Lake). The satellite view had intrigued me becauses of rivers, lakes, forests (not as common in the old world), and farmland … all encompassed within only a three mile walk. This is the relevant satellite view from Google Maps of Isknagahiny Lough. as it turned out, our walk was part of the much, much longer Kerry Way.

Isknagahiny Lough Walk – The Remote Road

Isknagahiny Lough Walk – The River

Isknagahiny Lough Walk – The Lake & Boat Launch

Isknagahiny Lough Walk – Farm House and Waterfall

Isknagahiny Lough Walk – One of a HUGE number of Sheep Herds

(video link for blog email subscribers)

Isknagahiny Lough Walk – Flowers were everywhere!

And of course … birds! European Robins were everywhere along our walk. Our weather ranged from totally cloudy and damp to burst of sunshine. The robins and us preferred the sun!

Finally for my subscribers, I added some content to my previous post about our AirBnB Farmhouse. I am inserting that identical content at the end of this post such that you will receive the same benefit as folks who only read my website, but do not subscribe. Here goes … from the very end of the post: Irish Farmhouse Bathroom Birding.

I would wholeheartedly recommend renting our AirBnB (Cottage in County Kerry). Our host has been very responsive, and the listing is 100% accurate. Molly and love the location on the Skellig Ring which does NOT get the same tourist traffic as the nearby Ring of Kerry. Browse my Ireland posts from this blog to learn a bit of the nearby countryside. As we still have two days yet in Ireland, and I am a bit behind on posting content, the number of actual posts will yet increase.

Irish Farmhouse Bathroom Birding (Skellig Ring)(video!)

Year 12

I’ll admit that the title of this post sounds a bit weird, but it shows how one must adjust your birding approach when presented with obstacles! My issue was Molly and I have rented a delightful old farmhouse with fantastic views of the Atlantic Coast in the SW of Ireland … the Skellig Ring near its more famous cousin, the Ring of Kerry.

My problem was some of the local birds hanging out near our farmhouse loved the brambles immediately uphill. However, given the hill’s steepness, those brambles could not be seen (nor the birds perched upon same) from outside while standing in the yard. Enter “Irish Farmhouse Bathroom Birding”. Make certain to watch the video. All the bird images featured in this post were taken from this unique vantage point!

The Birder

The Bird Blind

The Movie (video link for blog email subscribers)

The Birds!

European Blackbird (juvenile)

European Stonechat (the target bird)

Song Thrush (lifer … did not know it was about)

And the view from the farmhouses’ yard!

St. Finans’ Bay (Google says “Finian’s“, but it is wrong)

The Bay

The Valley (called The Glenn)

And of course … the farmhouse! My “birding blind (the bathroom) is on the other side of the farmhouse on the second floor.

I hope you enjoyed this “instructional post” with its “teaching video”!!! I would wholeheartedly recommend renting this AirBnB (Cottage in County Kerry). Our host has been very responsive, and the listing is 100% accurate. Molly and love the location on the Skellig Ring which does NOT get the same tourist traffic as the nearby Ring of Kerry. Browse my Ireland posts from this blog to learn a bit of the nearby countryside. As we still have two days yet in Ireland, and I am a bit behind on posting content, the number of actual posts will yet increase.