Eye On Nature

On April 24th I heard a sound in the sky that I hadn't heard for ages, and there I beheld 25 wild geese flying over Portumna town at great height. They were flying in two Vs with a few birds in between and they seemed to be excited. I would have thought they would be hatching out their young in some northern clime by now. - Eamon Hayes, Portumna, Co. Galway

They were very probably Greenland white-fronted geese which had spent the winter on the Wexford Slobs. The third week in April is the regular time of departure for their Arctic breeding grounds. No doubt they were excited, but what you heard was their normal flight contact call.

Along the banks of the Grand Canal at Portobello I saw some ducks with young in early March. In other years it has not been unusual for ducks to spend some time out of the water on the bank, but it is unusual for ducklings to do so. This year some of the families left the water and the bank, to stand about on the road in the path of traffic. They were reluctant to be driven back. Could rats or other predators have been the cause of this behaviour? - Roddy Peavoy. Portobello, Dublin

March was early for ducklings to hatch and the brood may not survive. Ducklings need a good supply of protein, and insects were scarce in March. The ducks that were leading their young away from the banks of the canal were more likely to be searching for food.