I took this picture recently of a male garganey at Druids Glen in Co Wicklow. John D Murphy
As its Irish name, Praslacha shamhraidh, indicates, this duck is a summer visitor to Ireland, albeit a very scarce one. It only very occasionally breeds here on well-vegetated freshwater ponds. While these migrants can be seen anywhere in Ireland, sightings are predominantly in the south and east. Garganey breed from Europe eastwards to central Asia, with the population wintering in central Africa. This male must have taken the scenic route to end up in Wicklow in January, while another was spotted at Rahasane Turlough, Co Galway, in January as well.
I found this beautiful stone on White Rock beach in Killiney. It is a fossil, I presume. Andrew Leonard, Dublin
It is not a fossil actually. The geologist Patrick Wyse Jackson tells me that it is rather a nice example of Andalusite schist, which is a metamorphic rock similar to mica schist. It developed when the Leinster granite intruded the surrounding Ordovician country rock at Killiney 400 million years ago and altered it. The dark crystals of Andalusite are arranged in a characteristic star-shaped pattern.
RM Block
I found this mushroom on a mixed sitka spruce/oak woodland. It’s about the size of a match box and white in colour. William O’Callaghan, Mallow
This is a beautiful image of clavulina rugosa, the wrinkled coral/club fungus. The white-/cream-coloured “club” is distinctly longitudinally grooved and flattened in cross section, bearing few, irregularly-shaped branches which have blunt tips. This is unlike other club fungi that have pointed tips. It occurs in late autumn in woodland, singly or in small groups, among leaf litter or on soil. It is mycorrhizal, mostly on conifers, which means that it forms symbiotic relationships with the roots, helping them absorb water and nutrients and in return receives sugars for itself.
Thousands of scallops were recently washed up on Rosslare beach. The scallops were still attached to their shells and were being feasted upon by hundreds of gulls. The last time this occurred on such a scale was in 2018 due to storm Emma. Is it likely to happen more often due to global warming and what is its potential impact on shellfish stocks? Anthony McCarthy, Wexford
While these are indeed bivalve shellfish, they are not scallops but common otter shells, Lutraria lutraria. These have very long siphons for feeding and perspiration, which rather lewdly protrude from the shells even when closed and the animal is living. They live by burrowing in the mud and sand at the extreme lower shore and further out. Storms drag them in and more frequent and stronger storms are a consequence of climate change.
I was mesmerised by this beautiful bird and would love to know its name. We live beside a small woodland and stream, and we find it wonderful to see jays too. Claire Roche, Loughlinstown, Dublin
This is a male adult great spotted woodpecker. Adult males have a red patch on the nape of the neck, which is absent in females, while juveniles have a full red cap. These birds were once common in Ireland – they have several Irish names – snagdarach being one – but with the great woodland clearances they were mostly gone by the early 18th century. They have returned recently of their own volition, first from Wales to Wicklow and recorded there in a garden in 2005 and then somewhat later from Scotland to Co Down. They are now breeding here since 2009 and have been recorded as occurring in every county in Ireland – even breeding in Killarney National Park by 2024.
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