I saw these eye-catching little cups growing on the forest floor among the leaves and branches. I have walked this path many times but never saw them before. Daphne Cushnahan, Dungannon, Co Tyrone
It is a fungus called the scarlet elf cup, Sarcoscypha austriaca. It grows on buried twigs of birch and willow and sends up its scarlet fruiting bodies at this time of year. It is quite uncommon, although its habitat is woodlands throughout the country. The colour can vary from scarlet to a more orangey-red.
I found this in the log pile in my shed last Christmas. At first I thought it was a strange plant that could flower in the dark, then realised it was a piece of very weathered thin plastic firmly embedded in the wood. Did the plastic somehow attach itself to the living tree while the tree grew around it? And how did it not simply fall off or blow away? I am curious as to how it might have been made. The logs came from Wexford. Bernadette Madden, Dublin
This is proof, if ever it were needed, of the persistence of plastic in the environment. Someone poked this piece of plastic into a hole in the tree – very firmly indeed. The tree continued to grow around it, and there could be at least five years’ growth for it to be so firmly embedded as to survive the log’s bark removal. Coming from Wexford is not especially significant; it could happen anywhere.
[ Eye on Nature: How a branch of the national tree of Chile ended up in DublinOpens in new window ]
I found this rock at the shore line just north of Clogherhead, Co Louth. It looks like a large fossil but I’m not sure. Ciaran Fitzpatrick
The fossils in the rock are worm trails in a mudstone from the Silurian period, some 430 million years old. Clogherhead contains rocks – greywackes and mudstones – from one of the most interesting collisions to ever happen in Ireland, when the Laurentian and Avalonian plates collided about 400 million years ago. The bedding in the rocks is now vertical from the collision and can be seen at the coastal cliffs there. The 97 huge kerbstones that decorate the outside perimeter of the Newgrange mound are layered greywackes brought there 5,000 years ago from Clogherhead.
My brother found this while clearing leaves. At the time it resembled a flattened slug of about 3-4cm in length and about 1cm wide. It remained inactive, but after I dipped it in water it became more active and extended to a length of roughly 15cm. What is it? James and Colm Brosnan
This is a New Zealand flatworm, which can extend to this length when moving. It is native to the South Island, where it lives presumably in harmony with its neighbours in the soils of the southern beechwoods. But in Ireland it is an invasive pest that feeds on our native earthworms, eating one each per week. Each flatworm can have 100 offspring per season. Definitely squish any you find.
These two lapwings were part of a healthy population wintering in Kilcoole, Co Wicklow. Fiona Murray, Stillorgan
In winter the lapwing is our most widespread wader, occurring in poorly drained wet fields as well as wetland areas. Our native birds are joined by visitors from northern Britain, forming large flocks of several thousands. They feed on invertebrates and have a preference for ploughed fields but, during very cold spells when the ground is frozen, they will move to the estuaries and feed on worms and small invertebrates. It is sometimes called a peewit after its unmistakable two-note call.
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