On Easkey beach, while engrossed in the incredible fossils on the rocks there, we came across a very large dead turtle. We wondered was it a leatherback as it had a very distinct raised formation on its back which came to a point at the base of the shell.
Xanthe Pratt, Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo
It was indeed a leatherback turtle, which can be more than two metres long and has seven ridges running down the back. Leatherbacks live in the Atlantic and are regular summer migrants to our shores, following the shoals of jellyfish on which they feed. Unfortunately, they can get caught in fishing gear and drown.
On the beach at Tara Cove near Wexford, I saw a lizard at least six inches long. It was curved and had a snake-like head. I never saw one before.
Mary Bradley, Rathfarnham, Dublin
It was the common or viviparous lizard (Lacerta vivipara), our only native reptile. The males have a reddish belly and numerous small spots on the back. The females have a white or yellowish belly, a back-stripe and often thin, light-coloured streaks on either side of the back. They are found in woodland edges, bogs, marshes and moorland.
I found a sample of brown- and white-striped skin from some small creature at an altitude of 500 metres in a fairly boggy area, while walking in the Wicklow Mountains. Have you any idea what it may have belonged to?
Eamon O'Callaghan, Naas, Co Kildare
It is the moulted skin of a female common lizard.
Eye on Nature is edited by Michael Viney. He welcomes observations sent to him at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo; viney@anu.ie. Observations sent by e-mail should be accompanied by postal address.