Our collection of parrots, watercolour on velum, from Eleazar Albin's 'Natural History of Birds', mid 18th century

A Toco Toucan evades a Great Kiskadee mid-flight in Brazil's Pantanal. What many don't realize is that toucans are opportunistic raiders. They'll steal eggs and chicks from other birds' nests, and that formidable bill, evolved primarily to reach fruit at the branch tips other

Other highlights today included brief views of a Merlin, Whooper Swans flying over, another appearance by the Manx-ringed Herring Gull, plus Rooks and Jackdaws (both uncommon migrants to the island) causing some corvid chaos on the beach

Sleeping on the job…

The Jays are busy storing acorns for winter, that wasn't there yesterday

It's #WombatDay! The Wombat was (briefly) first described in 1800 as "the largest of all the Opossums: size of a Badger: colour pale yellow: fur longish and sub erect: nose strongly divided by a furrow" https://t.co/V3zKSxJioo (#SciArt 1798: https://t.co/vvGBj7cosR) 🧪 📖 🌏

Delighted to spot Fionn Ó Marcaigh’s piece on Irish corvids in the latest Irish Wildlife Trust magazine! 😀 Fionn @Scaladoir is the author of our bestselling Encounters with Corvids - IWT members can even win a free copy! #CorvidsEncountersBook #IrishCorvids #Crows #Birds

Pup season for the Grey Seals at @CopelandBirdOb 47 pups so far on Old Lighthouse Island with potentially a few more to come as autumn progresses. Just one fatality in the storms, but lots of marine litter dumped on the shores

It's now three weeks into the Rathlin Grey Seal pupping season and we've already counted at least 143 born so far! Watching from the cliffs this week we've seen pups of all ages and stages, from baggy newborns to fully moulted and everything in between

Go dté tú slán ar do thuras, a Mhancháin.

Lovely but brief encounter with a small flock of Twites this morning, for a few moments showing well on the fence and foraging on the track ahead. A Merlin racing past was an even more fleeting thrill - our first sighting of the autumn

First image: Greek Cycladic marble figure, circa 2500-2400 BCE. Second image: Plastic figure of Kronk, The Emperor's New Groove, McDonald's Happy Meal toy, 2000, found on a Cornish beach, early 2023.

What a fantastic night at Tradition Now! Room to Rhyme was bursting with some of our greatest artists.The Moynihan's kicked things off with an amazing set, Alannah Thornburgh's performance was breathtaking & Rattling Ark wrapped up the evening with an unforgettable performance!

The Grey Seal pupping season is well underway on Rathlin - at least 48 born as of yesterday, probably more by now! Watching from the clifftops, a couple of precocious wee pups were already having fun playing in the rock pools, both with mum nearby

🚨 Dataset Update 🚨 The Water Beetles of Ireland dataset has just recently been updated. The dataset now has 44,501 across 323 taxa Major thanks to Brian Nelson for this latest update and for also providing the great pictures below.

Tá na díospóireachtaí toghcháin ar an líon beag uaireanta a bhreathnaím ar an teilifís ar na saolta seo. Tá ríthábhacht le díospóireacht Ghaeilge a bheith ar @TG4TV Is é ceann de na croídhualgais atá orthu feictear dom.

In what may be the oldest depiction of a gun on an Irish manuscript - an ink drawing of a musket on a @NLIreland charter from 1543 from the earl of Ormond to a Martin Potercelo granting property in Kilkenny. Potercelo is described as a 'gonn-' or gonner (gunner) in the grant.

You can't miss it! Fionn (@Scaladoir) is great, corvids are great, and @DublinBookFest is great :) #corvidsencountersbook #corvids #crows #Irishcorvids #birdwatching #birdtalk #birders #phoenixpark #walkingtour @opwireland

Also on Sunday 3 August at Farmleigh, join Fionn Ó Marcaigh for a captivating walk of the grounds, based on his illuminating new book, Encounters with corvids. Free event but spaces limited so book your spot now to join us! ➡️ https://t.co/694YYtjmu2 @Scaladoir @NatWorldPubli

Eagrán mhí Iúil 2025 ar fáil le hordú anois ó https://t.co/khy9rIYOu6 #gaeilge #comhar