We spotted thousands of spiny cockles washed up on Seapoint beach in Termonfeckin in early February. They were washed ashore after Storm Chandra and the high spring tides. Most were alive and closed their shells when touched. Many were using their red foot to check out the alien environment they ended up in. They were all washed out to sea again by another very high tide. Eoin O’Flynn, Co Louth
These Spiny Cockles – Acanthocardia aculeata – live in coarse sand or mud under the sea at a depth of about 10m (32.8ft). They are filter feeders, extracting plankton and nutrients from the water. They burrow into the sand with their large muscular red foot when they feel under threat. Here they were trying to do this, while washed up on the beach, but the ones you photographed were unsuccessful. Hopefully they were still alive when carried off by the next high tide.
This pine marten has taken up residence in my son’s cottage in east Clare. It first appeared in December and though he has blocked all obvious access points, it still gets in. Do you think it’s a female looking for a den site? Enda Scanlon, Ennis, Co Clare
It quite likely is. Female martens search for possible denning sites during the months of November to February. They are excellent and agile climbers and can squeeze through gaps of 45mm (1.7in) – even through a damaged slate. On the other hand, they are often attracted into roof spaces in winter in pursuit of rodents such as mice and rats. They do not live in pairs, females give birth to two/three kits in late March or April, and these are wholly dependent on her for the first 40 days. They are fully protected under the Irish Wildlife Acts.
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What are these birds which we saw near the Lifeboat station when using the lovely children’s playground in Cappa, Co Clare? Killian Grumley Traynor
This is a small squadron of oystercatchers, so-called because they fly rapidly in straight lines with military discipline. They are one of our breeding coastal waders, nesting on or near shingly shores or among rocks and grasses. Despite their name, they feed on cockles, which they can excavate from their hiding places in the mud with their strong bills. In winter, their numbers are augmented by winter visitors from Iceland and the Faroes.
This tree is in flower at the moment – early March – before the leaves have arrived. These are not the usual pollen-bearing catkins of hazel or alder that appear before the leaves. What tree is it? Catherine Harding, Dublin
These are the flowers of the elm tree, not commonly seen in Ireland now thanks to the ravages of the Dutch elm disease that has practically eliminated all our native elms. It most likely is Wych elm Ulmus glabra, although it could be the field elm Ulmus minor or indeed a hybrid of the two. They are wind pollinated and the green, disc-like, wind-dispersed seeds will appear in clusters before or as leaves emerge. They germinate readily, so collect some in late May and grow some saplings that might be tolerant of Dutch Elm disease.
The apple trees in the Irish heritage apple collection at Florence Court House, Co Fermanagh are festooned with lichens most of the year. They don’t harm the apple trees which produce a grand crop most summers. The kitchen garden volunteers, Florence Court.
There are at least four species of lichen on this small twig, both foliose and fruticose species, which only grow where the air is completely free from air pollution. They get all their nutrients from the air, so don’t affect the apple crop.
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