Listening to the small summer waves rolling in, as the Cliffs stretch off in the background. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

(1/2) An ex Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis). Spotted this small slow worm on a grassy path in the Burren and had hoped it was just sunbathing. Unfortunately on closer inspection this was not the case.

(1/2) A Goniatite shell fossil from the same shale layers that run through the Cliffs of Moher. You can see, what were, the individual internal flotation chambers.

A nest of stones - wonder when they'll hatch 🤣 County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Cooling off with Fiadh in the shallows during our current heatwave 🌞💧 County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

A slightly tattered Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) butterfly, on a background of map lichens. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

A Sow-thistle (Sonchus arvensis), standing tall against a clear Summer sky. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Gina, chasing flies with her lips!! 🫏🪰 County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Carrigeen head emerging from cloud shadow on a wind flecked sea. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

A fossil Bryozoan sea mat with a few Crinoid segments scattered around. A structure, as fine as lacework, that has managed to remain intact for over 300 million years. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Not a native species to ireland, but the cones on this Korean fir growing behind my father's house were so distinctive and pretty I had to share 😍

A large piece of a Solitary Rugose Coral fossil. County Sligo, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

A Ballan Wrasse (Labrus bergylta). Irelands largest wrasse species, they come in a variety of colours, with green, orange and brown beginning the most common. All Ballan Wrasses are also born female!! County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Looking across Donegal bay from behind Carrigeen head as a Herring gull chatters above, and a pair of Choughs can just about be heard over the wind. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

(1/2) Resembling the tiny parts of an impossibly intricate and eye-catching timepiece, strewn from a watchmakers toolkit, these are in fact fossil Crinoids, Corals, Bryozoans and Brachiopods.

Ladies mantle (Alchemilla sp.) leaves are covered in tiny hairs that make them hydrophobic (water repellant). Pic1 with a few rain drops gathered at it's centre . Pic2 Saturated, after a light morning mist. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Sliabh Liag cliffs, County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

A driftwood nugget. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Part of a seabird skeleton - possibly from a Cormorant or a Shag. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Bell Heather (Erica cinerea) flowers on a boggy hillside. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking

(1/2) These twisted rock strata were once layers of sediment on the floor a huge ancient sea called the Iapetus Ocean.

A Communal Coral fossil. County Sligo, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Marsh Thistles (Cirsium palustre) A white individual and a more common purple one. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Carigeen tower - a napoleonic era watch tower built circa 1805. And a commercial fishing boat heading out to sea for a trip. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Morning on Sliabh Liag cliffs, County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Fossilized Crinoid stems and segments, Cup corals and Bryozoans. Ghosts of tiny carboniferous era marine lives emerging in almost perfect detail from the surrounding rock. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) flowers and their distinctive seed pod clusters from which they get their name. A common coastal flowering plant here in Ireland. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

What looks like boiled sweets are actually Beadlet anemones (Actinia equina) holding on to a rock at low tide. They close up to and hold some water inside to remain hydrated until the tide comes back in. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

The Glen river in full flow after an evening of heavy rain. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

A Solitary Rugose Coral fossil. A remnant of an ancient tropical sea that once covered this area over 300 million years ago. County Donegal, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours