I have noticed that mature rooks have been killed and ripped apart leaving only the wings intact and a few small feathers, There have been reports of mink in the hedgerows.
M.J. Hayes,
Milltown, Co Kerry.
That sounds much more like a fox.
Honeycomb structures appeared last summer on an oak which had been blown down by the wind. They are papery and brittle. I never saw bees or wasps around them but sometimes there were black flies.
Dawn West,
Ardfert, Co Kerry.
They are the nests of tree wasps, empty at the end of the breeding season.
Last month flock of small birds joined the mallards, moorhens and swans at Baggot Street Bridge. They had light-grey backs, white breasts, yellow beaks with black tips, black smudges behind both ears, brown tips on the wings, black tail and yellow legs.
Catherine Walsh,
Wilton Place,Dublin 2.
They could be young black-headed gulls in winter plumage.
Michael Viney welcomes observations at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo; e-mail: viney@anu.ie. Include a postal address.