Michael Viney responds to queries and observations on nature.
I heard an animal in distress and on looking across to the hedge I saw a rabbit on a small stone in the stream, its belly held firmly by a large rat. After a short time the rat let go and went into the bank and the rabbit stayed on the stone.
Is this common, for a rat to attack a rabbit?
Jenny Clarke, Stackallen, Co Meath
It is unusual for a rat to attack a live rabbit unless it was very small. Rats will often eat dead rabbits.
On Sherkin Island at the end of April, I am convinced that we saw a nuthatch. It was perching on a thin branch and we stood in close proximity for several minutes. I work at a conservation centre and consulted some experts who said it could have been blown in a storm. I have often seen nuthatches in the English midlands.
Kathryn Lennon, Killyleagh, Co Down
There have been no official records of sightings of nuthatches here. It is a very sedentary bird and mainly found in the south of England. But it could have been blown in by a storm.