I came across the lad in my photograph at Ross, Killala. Is it a seven-armed starfish? Two of its arms seem stunted.
Denis Quinn
Killala, Co Mayo
It is indeed a seven-armed starfish, 'Luidia ciliaris', significantly bigger than the common starfish. They are fairly common around the coast at depths of over 4m but more usually at 50-100m. They lose arms to predators but grow them again.
The spider in my photograph seems to be a false widow. Are they dangerous? Is the tiny spider beside it in one of the pictures a different species or a male or a spiderling?
Joe O'Neill
Wicklow
Yes, it is one of those called false widow spiders, ‘Steatoda bipunctata’, recognisable because of the four punctuation marks on its abdomen. It is sometimes called the rabbit hutch spider, because it is commonly found in such a habitat. The tiny one is a spiderling.
I'm sending you a photo of an object I found on Portmarnock beach. It had a piece of weed growing out of the centre. I first thought it might be a sponge, but it was too hard and had root still attached.
Emily O'Byrne
Batterstown, Co Meath
It is a kelp seaweed called furbelows, 'Saccorhiza polyschides'. The warty, sponge-like part is the holdfast that attaches it to the seafloor. Its appearance also gives rise to the name sea hedgehog.
Our resident population of sparrows have disappeared even though we had been feeding them daily.
Gerard Neville
Littleton, Co Tipperary
This year's brood have dispersed to find territories of their own.
Ethna Viney welcomes observations and photographs at Thallabawn, Louisburgh, Co Mayo, F28 F978, or by email at viney@anu.ie. Please include a postal address