Michael Viney responds to reader's queries and observations on nature.
At the end of Pigeon House pier I saw a white and black bird with a short neck sitting on the water. It dived and took a long time to come up. I checked the bird books and it seems to be a smew.
Conor McCarthy, Dublin 4.
The smew is a regular, but scarce, winter visitor to this country, mainly to northern counties and inland lakes, but it occasionally visits estuaries.
We live in a suburban area and we had a robin popping in and out. However there has been no sighting of him of late.
The Rice family, Wilton Road, Cork.
Your robin was a female (it is very difficult to distinguish between the sexes) and she answered the call of a male robin that had a territory, probably not far away. The cock robin chooses a territory, then sings and the hen comes to him.
In mid-March, on a visit to Birr Castle, I counted five brimstone butterflies flying in different parts of the grounds. I have always thought that butterflies got their name from the brimstone which is yellow like butter.
Wyn Beere, Kilternan, Co Dublin.
The brimstone is one of the first butterflies to fly in spring when it emerges from hibernation. And, yes, it is believed that butterflies got their name from these sulphur-yellow beauties.
Edited by Michael Viney, who welcomes observations sent to him at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo. e-mail: viney@anu.ie.Observations should be accompanied by postal address.