Two wood pigeons alighted on the wooden arch in my garden and began to "mouth" one another by engaging their open beaks as if one was feeding the other. After a few minutes one pigeon mounted the other and appeared to go through the "motions". Then they reversed positions and the other also appeared to go through the "motions" before departing to feed. They were hardly aware of the same-sex marriage law passed last year. Martin Crott, Blackrock, Co Louth
I photographed this heron on St Helen's beach in Wexford. S/he seems very solitary. Do herons only have company when mating? Larry Dunne, Rosslare Harbour, Co Wexford
Herons are usually solitary when feeding, but they also feed in groups where there is an abundance of food. And they often roost and nest in heronries.
My husband has a great interest in wildlife in general. He works on a pig farm and he has noticed that a swallow has spent the winter in one of the pig sheds. It doesn't come out despite being encouraged to do so through an open door. Is this an unusual occurrence? Mary Costigan, Threecastles, Co Kilkenny
The swallow must have come from a late brood and wasn’t strong enough to leave when the rest of the swallows departed. Strange that it doesn’t come out, but it probably gets enough insects inside the pig shed.
I misidentified the photograph in Eye on Nature March 19th as a lizard. It was a smooth newt. The main visual difference between a lizard and a newt is the number of toes on the forefeet: the lizard has five toes, the newt four.
Ethna Viney welcomes observations and photographs at Thallabawn, Louisburgh, Co Mayo, or by email at viney@anu.ie. Please include a postal address