I was there too
If there’s one thing that was a constant in the old Bishop Lucey Park in Cork it was the pigeons. They swarmed over the old city wall where humans were denied because of a fence around it. Sometimes the wall was thick with them, waiting for a child to come along and scream and laugh at them as they flew into the air in panic.
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
Cork City, where birds have become incredibly adept at turning human carelessness into dining opportunities.
Urban-adapted birds like the seagulls and crows photographed here have developed significantly different behaviours compared to their rural counterparts. City-dwelling seagulls often show reduced fear responses to humans and have learned to time their foraging around peak human activity periods, such as lunch hours when dropped food is most available.
Crows, meanwhile, have demonstrated remarkable problem-solving abilities in urban environments and can even learn to associate specific locations with regular food sources. Studies have shown that urban bird populations often have different dietary compositions, stress hormone levels, and even song patterns compared to rural birds, reflecting their adaptation to city life and the constant presence of human activity.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 150mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/320s |
