Recently I found a dead blackbird with two strange-looking flies on its body. They were bigger than a housefly but had much flatter bodies and easily darted in and out between the feathers. Brendan Dollard, Ashbourne, Co Meath
The flies were bird keds or louse flies, probably Ornithomyia avicularia, which live on blackbirds, thrushes, owls and pigeons. They are usually around from June to October.
Recently I saw a little egret in a stream near Dundrum Town Centre. It was all white with a black beak and legs, in shallow water. How do I distinguish male from female in winter?
... Denise Gill, Ballinteer, Dublin 16
Little egrets have been moving steadily northwards for the past decade from their original landfall on the south coast. There is no obvious difference between the sexes, but the male is slightly larger.
In the last few months I have spotted a female goldcrest, a treecreeper and a bluetit feeding on my Cedrus atlantica - the treecreeper on the base and the tiny goldcrest flitting all over.
... Joseph Fagan, Castleknock, Dublin 15