I took this picture of a purple sandpiper at Spanish Point in Co Clare at the end of December. John Glynn, Kilrush
This is a gorgeous picture of the purple sandpiper lit by low winter sunlight. It is a winter visitor from Arctic tundra regions and it has Red Conservation status. It feeds on rocky shores and in areas with mounds of seaweed – on gastropods and other molluscs as well as the larvae, pupae and adults of kelp flies.
I spotted this on Lissadell beach recently. Can you tell me something about it? Roisin Mc Laughlin, Co Dublin
This is the bulbous holdfast of a large kelp with the delightful common name Furbellows (Saccorhiza polyschides). The name refers to the frilly edges of the flattened stipe or stalk of this large brown seaweed. The holdfast at the end of the stipe anchors it to the rocks on the extreme lower shore where it grows. Violent winter storms tear off these kelps and wash them up on the shore and this is the collar-like holdfast, folded in on itself and quite detached from the rest of the plant.
READ MORE
These mushrooms have appeared in abundance this year, growing from the roots of a large beech tree we removed a few years ago from the garden. What are they and are they poisonous? If poisonous, is there any harm in adding them to the composter? James Hanrahan, Léim an Bhradáin, Cill Dara
This is the Bootlace Fungus – Armillaria – a destructive pathogen that kills a wide range of trees and woody shrubs. Its consumption is not recommended, as some individuals have been known to react adversely to it. It is not advisable to put this one in the composter because spores and resistant fragments of rhizomorphs/’bootlaces’ would survive composting and could subsequently be spread in gardens possibly infecting susceptible shrubs and trees. Better let it decay in situ – as it would in woodland. Other poisonous fungi, that don’t kill trees, could be put into the composter. The degradative activities during composting would surely destroy any residual potentially dangerous toxins, with no risk of them entering the human food chain. However, if in doubt, just dig a hole and bury the specimens in soil!
I found these beautiful little shells washed up on Portmarnock’s Velvet Strand after an easterly storm. Can you tell me what they are? Martin O’Malley
These rejoice in the name Pelican’s Foot Shell and are single tower shell marine molluscs with a flamboyant flared outer lip on the lowest whorl. This provides cover for the owner when feeding on particles in the mud in which it lives off the coast in waters down to 80 metres in depth. It is particularly abundant from Dublin Bay to Dundalk Bay and empty shells wash up on the beaches after storms. They make fine additions to sandcastles in summer.
I saw three herons on the one tree. How come? I always thought they were solitary birds. Thomas Treanor
You don’t say where or when you saw them. When herons are looking for food in rivers or along the seashore, they keep away from each other so that there is no competition for whatever food might be found. If you are in Dublin Zoo when the sealions are being fed, you will see several herons assembling in the trees surrounding the ponds in the hope of being fed one or two fish by a kindhearted keeper. And of course, herons nest in heronries high in the trees and there may be up to ten nests in a single tree and up to 50 herons in the whole heronry.
Please submit your nature query or observation, ideally with a photo and location, via irishtimes.com/eyeonnature or by email to weekend@irishtimes.com
