Readers' observations on nature.
During a recent downpour I watched three swallows doing aerobatics around one another. How did they keep the rain bullets out of their eyes?
Paul Mohr, Corrandulla, Co Galway
Birds have upper and lower eyelids, but also a third eyelid, called the nictitating or winking membrane which, when drawn across the cornea, protects the eye and enables the bird to see.
During a boat trip a few miles off the Old Head of Kinsale, we spotted a leatherback turtle and also some small fish breaking the water and appearing to skim the surface for a few inches. They were longer than sprat and all emerged in unison moving in the same direction. Finally we saw a pod of around 10 bottlenose dolphins.
Nicholas Harvey, Kilbrittain, Co Cork
Could the fish have been fleeing from the feeding dolphins?
I have been observing woodpeckers in the Phoenix Park for the last 15 years. From the amount of sightings I have had in recent years, they must be on the increase.
Ray Dixon, Oxmantown, Dublin 7
