Like any thirty-something-year old, I only get to go on holiday if it’s for someone’s wedding. My trip to Northern Ireland was no exception. My partner’s cousin was getting married. Someone I’d never met. But I dusted off the suit I’d last worn only four months ago (and would do so another two times this summer) and hopped on the plane.

Thankfully, we had a few days after the wedding to explore the northern coast. Despite my blood consisting mostly of Guinness, I lugged my camera around Portstewart, the Giant’s Causeway, and finished with Rathlin Island. The latter was the home of an RSPB nature reserve with of a bounty of seabirds to photograph, the most distinguished of which was the wee puffin.

But first, I warmed up the camera at Solitude Park in Banbridge, where we spotted a local celebrity — the heron.

It’s a wondrous, chaotic time when baby birds roam the wetlands. Chicks squabble for food and parents yell to stop them wandering off. They waddle across the shallows and swim the deep end in rows. They peacefully nap at the shore and curiously poke their little heads out of lofty nests.

WWT Slimbridge had these in spades. My previous post showed this place in winter. Now, summer has transformed the landscaped. The conditions couldn’t be more different — bright sun and dry clothes, with the birds eager to explore instead of searching for shelter from the relentless rain.

Here are just a few of my shots from the day: house martin chicks waiting for a snack, young ducklings resting, older ducklings diving, a moorhen following its mum, flamingoes bathing, and even some loitering dragonflies.