Eye on Nature: Your notes and queries

On August 28th I watched 189 gannets fly west past Mizen Head in 15 minutes.
Sandy Perceval
Tubbercurry, Co Sligo

They could have come from the nesting colony on the Great Saltee.

I saw a beautifully built straw nest, with a little entry hole, on top of a swallow's nest in the stable. Who was the resident?
Celia Geoghegan
Newtown Cunningham, Co Donegal

The nest in your photograph looks like a wren's. They often take over swallows' nests and weave loose straw nests.

I watched a seal in Ferrycarrig Estuary that between dives would shoot across the surface, making a huge bow wave. Could this be a fishing technique?
Brendan Keenan
Bray, Co Wicklow

Possibly, or interacting with another seal.

Could you identify an insect that I saw on hedging? It looked like a bumblebee but was plain black and very hairy.
Esther Dully
Glengarriff, Co Cork

Your photograph shows a giant tachinid fly – a parasite on large caterpillars.

Michael Viney welcomes observations at Thallabawn, Louisburgh, Co Mayo, or by email at viney@anu.ie. Please include a postal address