I was very surprised to see this painted lady butterfly on February 23rd in my garden. Irishbutterflies.com says that it's a migrant from Africa in June and that they have not been known to survive the Irish winter. – Gill Boazman, Rosscarbery, Co Cork
On February 26th I saw a painted lady butterfly here. I wondered if it just arrived or survived the winter. – Tom Dwane, Meadowvale, Limerick
The painted lady normally arrives from the southern Europe or north Africa in late May or June. There are two possibilities for its appearance in February: that it overwintered, or, that it was carried here on the warm current of air we experienced from the Iberian Peninsula.
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This sparrowhawk visited my allotment in Ringsend Park recently and has been a regular visitor to the allotments. – Tom Curtis, Fitzwilliam Quay, Dublin 4
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I watched this peregrine take 30 minutes to kill and pluck a pigeon, which it took under a dense shrub and spent up to two hours feeding on. – Stephen Butler, Palmerstown
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I was lucky to see this kestrel hovering over Dollymount Strand recently. – Darlene Everitt, Drogheda, Co Louth
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What attacked this oystercatcher, which I found on grassland behind the dunes at Bunduff Strand? – Heather Wood, Cliffoney, Co Sligo
It was a peregrine falcon. They and other birds of prey go to the shore in winter to prey on seabirds.
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These beautiful yellowhammers arrived to feed on the seeds that the fussy blue tits toss from the feeders. I had not seen them for long time. – Ann Doran, Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford
Ethna Viney welcomes observations and photographs at Thallabawn, Louisburgh, Co Mayo, F28 F978, or by email at viney@anu.ie. Please include a postal address.