Observations from readers
I heard my resident blackbird trilling on a nearby block of flats. His song included a house alarm, a car alarm and a mobile phone. G Monaghan, Parnell Rd, Dublin 12.
Thrushes and starlings also mimic ringing sounds.
I was salmon fishing on the Moy near Foxford recently when I saw a robin, ringing wet, with a mayfly in its beak. Vincent Coleman, Ballina, Co Mayo
For years a wasp has been trying to build a nest on our bedroom curtains. We removed it and bring it outside. The curtains make the nest barely visible. Could it be the same wasp? Christine Raab-Heine, Dowra, Co Leitrim.
Queen wasps only live for one year. It must be the camouflage potential of the curtains that attracts them.
We saw a young cuckoo in the garden being fed copious amounts of worms by a pair of blackbirds. The cuckoo is already bigger than an adult thrush. Martha Leathem, Gorey, Co Wexford.
On an angling trip west of High Island and Inishark we came across six killer whales in two groups of three. We also saw a group of common dolphins and a basking shark. John Brittain, Blue Water Fishing, Clifden, Co Galway.
Michael Viney welcomes observations at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo; e-mail: viney@anu.ie. Include postal address.