One of the most common garden birds in Ireland, the blackbird Turdus merula or Lon Dubh in Irish, is coming under threat from a mosquito-borne virus known as Usutu virus.

Now in Ireland, the virus has been the cause of significant population declines in the UK and other countries, London lost 50% of it's blackbird population between 2019 and 2020.

The blackbird was seen as a symbol of good luck in Ireland, especially in pairs or when it enters a house.

It was said that Saint Kevin of Glendalough, while praying inside his small cell, arms outstretched through an opening, had a blackbird land on his hand. The bird made a nest on it and laid eggs, the saint it is said, remained in position long enough for the eggs to hatch and fledge.

Seamus Heaney even wrote a poem on the legend.

Blackbirds were said to have been brought to Ireland by the legendary Finn MacCool, famous in mythology for creating the Giant's Causeway in County Antrim, from a visit to Norway where he heard their sweet whistle.

Indeed modern studies and evidence from ringed birds show that many blackbirds migrate to Ireland from Norway in winter for the milder climate.

Because it sings so loudly at dusk and dawn, the blackbird is often associated with the Otherworld, being messengers or symbolising reincarnation.

It would be sad to think of a further decline in blackbird numbers here in Ireland so let's appreciate these beautiful ground-hopping songbirds.

May is one of the most scenic months in Ireland, woodlands are carpeted with the colour of bluebells.

The Irish bluebell, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, is found growing wild throughout the Irish countryside in April and May, along road sides in hedgerows, in forests and anywhere with a bit of shade.

Usually sunlight wouldn't add to a woodland image like this, but patches of early morning or late evening light can create depth through a photograph of bluebells in a green forest scene.

Pictured here, May 2025. 

It's too late to photograph bluebells now for 2025 in Ireland so why not join me to photograph Hyacynthoides non-scripta in Ireland in 2026. 

The Quiraing and Trotternish is undoubtedly one of the most photogenic landscape locations in the world.

The Quiraing is part of the 19-mile long Trotternish Ridge, a huge, natural landslip which is the largest in Scotland.

Quiraing takes its name from the Scottish Gaelic Cuith Raing which itself is derived from the Old Norse Kví Rand, meaning “round fold/enclosure”, a safe place for livestock.

Trotternish comes from Tròndairnis, nish as a placename ending means ness, or headland and so Thrond’s Headland is the translation.

The landscape as seen here features basalt that has slipped or moved in landslides, in the North Atlantic Tertiary Volcanic Province (Southern Extension), a large igneous area formed around 60 to 50 million years ago during the Paleogene.