Environment

Eye on Nature: Your notes and queries for Ethna Viney

False oxlips, goose barnacles and tadpoles

Weekend Review February 2016. Eye on Nature by Ethna Viney. Could you identify these shells/shellfish which had colonised the neck of a bottle on the beach Bray. They look like mussels but the creatures inside resemble tiny squid. Anne Marie Byrne, Bray, Co Wicklow They were gooseneck barnacles.. Their eggs hatch into free-swimming larvae which float around in the sea. As they develop they fasten on to floating objects where they grow and reproduce to repeat the cycle. They are called gooseneck because centuries ago it was thought that because of their appearance they were embryo barnacle geese, and they seemed to arrive from the sea. [photo enclosed] The gooseneck barnacles Anne Marie Byrne found in a bottle on the beach at Bray, Co Wicklow

Ethna Viney
Sat Feb 6 2016 - 01:00

At the beginning of January I noticed a few lesser celandine and coltsfoot in bloom at Red Rock in Sutton, along with quite a few alexanders that had been flowering since before Christmas. But at the old Baldoyle racecourse I came across what I thought was a cowslip. My botany book suggested a false oxlip. I'm sending you a photograph.
Frank Smyth
Sutton, Dublin 13

Yes, it is a false oxlip, which is a naturally occurring hybrid between cowslip and primrose.

Could you identify the shellfish in my photograph? They had colonised the neck of a bottle on the beach. They look like mussels, but the creatures inside resemble tiny squid.
Anne Marie Byrne
Bray, Co Wicklow

Weekend Review February 2016. Eye on Nature by Ethna Viney. At the beginning of January, I noticed a few lesser celandine and colt’s-foot in bloom at Red Rock, Sutton along with quite a few alexanders which had been flowering since before Christmas. However when walking at the old Baldoyle Racecourse I came across what I thought was a cowslip. My botany book suggested a false oxlip. [photo enclosed] Frank Smyth, Sutton, Dublin 13 Yes, it is a false oxlip which is a naturally occurring hybrid between cowslip and primrose. The false oxlips Frank Smyth of Sutton, Dublin 13, found at the old Baldoyle Racecourse

They are goose barnacles. Their eggs hatch into free-swimming larvae that float around in the sea. As they develop they fasten on to floating objects, where they grow and reproduce to repeat the cycle. They are called goose barnacles because, centuries ago, it was thought from their appearance that they were embryo barnacle geese, and they seemed to arrive from the sea.

Last year the first tadpoles appeared in my pond on January 31st, so the spawn probably arrived in mid-January. This year the first spawn appeared on January 14th.
Neal Cahill
Templenoe, Co Kerry

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Little egrets were very evident during the very wet weather. Mike Vyrne saw one near Ross Strand in Co Mayo. In Dublin, Paul Nash saw a pair at St Mary's Rugby Club, in Templegue.

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

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