Phewww

 

Today marked exactly 30 days since i had last seen a Marsh Harrier and i was starting to get worried about if they were even around still. I know it sounds a bit petty and i should be thankful that i even got to see what is still such a rare species in Ireland at all but for me i had gotten to a stage where i saw them almost weekly and had really fell in love with them. Since i found my first one this winter back in November this is the longest i had gone without seeing one by a long shot and i was starting to think i might not see one again this winter. But then finally as i was driving home this evening and complaining to my mother about the marsh harriers i noticed a bird flying above the flooded field beside me. Instantly i knew what it was. Stop!! I shouted to mam and grabbed my camera to get a few record shots of the bird. What a beautiful bird it is and i think this individual is an adult female that ive seen a few times this winter. I love how elegant they are as they soar through the sky and over the reedbeds. What a bird and i hope i have many more experiences with them in the next few weeks and months 🤞

Northern Lights

 I just arrived home after buying my new tripod when i got a Facebook notification from a group i joined a while back saying that “tonight is the night” and that there was a g1 storm on at the moment. Being fully honest ive no clue what a g1 storm is but apparently this was gonna be one of the best nights of the year to see the Aurora and luckily enough there was clear skies too! I quickly set up my tripod but on my 18-140mm lens and started taking long exposure shots of the sky looking north. Instantly i was starting to get a very light green glow in the distance and I was absolute buzzing. However i was at an awkward angle outside my house and a tree was getting in the way of my shots so i decided to get up to higher ground on a hill 5 mins away from my house to try and get a few better shots and boy am i glad i did! The very first shot i took i got an explosion of green on my camera screen and i could also see bits of purple aswell. I stayed up there for about an hour taking shots of the sky until the aurora started to die down and the lights were barely even visible anymore. I took the photos in raw and did a quick edit to sharpen them up a bit a wow im over the moon with how they turned out. Whats even better is you could just about make out the Aurora with your eyes aswell seen light shades of a yellowish green agaisnt the horizon. What a day and im lucky i had my new tripod or I wouldn’t have gotten any shots.

          From higher ground with Corofin village to the right

Initial shots from my house you can see the aurora faintly just to the left of the tree