Michael Viney responds to queries and observations on nature.
One morning recently we noticed all of the furze bushes covered in cobwebs, highlighted because of the morning dew and the sunshine. The cobwebs stretched for literally hundred of yards along the road... Austin M Slattery,Lahinch, Co Clare
These are the sheet webs of the tiny money spiders and are composed of a multitude of dome-shaped webs. When the dew settles on them they become concave.
The peace of our quiet avenue was shattered recently when a bird of prey attacked a pigeon and held it down on the road. It was brown and about the same size as the pigeon. Just as suddenly the pigeon escaped and flew off.... Michael Collins,Kimmage, Dublin
It was probably a female sparrowhawk, living in the hedges and trees. A pigeon is usually a bit big for the sparrowhawk.
I found a two-headed dandelion with a double stem what happened to it? Linda Keohane, Furbo, Co Galway
It was a fasciated plant with a growth distortion caused by the bacterium Corynebacterium fascians which causes an overproduction of the hormone cytokinin which triggers lateral division of the cells.