What are the dates of the last sightings of swallows, swifts and martins before they migrate?
I saw a single swallow jinking its way south on October 28th. What were its chances of making it to its winter destination?
Peter Carr, Maynooth, Co Kildare
There have been records of sightings of single swallows as late as January, but normal migration takes place in September and into October. The chances of the later ones reaching Africa are slim. Sand martins depart mainly in September, but can start earlier. House martins go in August and September. Swifts return south mainly in August with some in September.
We came across what looked like a scorpion on the Sugarloaf in Co Wicklow. It was like a beetle, totally black, with a scorpion-like tail and small pincers at the head, When prodded, he lifted his tail to show two tiny red spikes. - Richeal Tierney, Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin
It was a rove beetle, the devil's coach-horse or deargadaoil in Irish. It lurks in dark places and hunts slugs and other invertebrates at night.
A simple solution to deter badgers, foxes and cats from using lawns is to fill clear glass bottles with water and place a few of them on the lawn. At a pinch, plastic bottles will do but are unsightly. - David O'Keeffe, Barna, Co Galway
Edited by Michael Viney.
E-mail: viney@anu.ie