Michael Viney responds to queries and observations on nature.
A lone goose seems to be part of the swan community currently on the canal between Portobello and Harold's Cross Bridge. The mating season has started and I fear the goose's love life may prove somewhat disappointing.
Róisín Sheerin, Harold's Cross, Dublin 6
Occasionally a goose joins a flock of swans. On an island in a small lake near here a domestic goose stayed for many years with a flock of swans.
Walking by a small lake I saw six or seven agitated, loud-quacking mallards. I noticed a cat stalking a wood pigeon on a branch about four feet above the lake. The bird seemed unaware of the commotion. From four feet, the cat pounced. Both fell into the water - the pigeon flew off and the cat swam to the bank - the quacking stopped and the ducks dispersed.
Joseph G. Kelly, Terenure, Dublin 6
I'm certain I heard a cricket chirping from a tree in Lisdoonvarna last June.
S. Flynn, Ballybrack, Co Dublin
There are no known bush crickets in Ireland. You may have heard a grasshopper warbler whose song can have a ventriloquial effect.