Micahel Viney responds to queries and observations on nature.
While walking on Omey Island off Claddaghduff in Co Galway we came on the corpse of a baby orca. It was about five feet long. A local fisherman said that it had appeared to beach itself three weeks previously and attempts to return it to the water failed.
Avril Harrison, Clontarf Road, Dublin 3.
It could have been a newborn or very young orca or killer whale, as its length at birth is around 2 metres; adults are up to 6 metres for males and 4 metres for females. Killer whales are fairly common around our shores, singly or in pods of three or sometimes more. Since 2000 there have been around 60 sightings. They are in fact large dolphins rather than whales, and are fierce predators of fish and seals.
Sparrowhawks nested in the wood here last spring for the first time since 2000. They are frequently seen flying about but the best sighting was just after Christmas when one shot out from behind the barn, grabbed one of the small birds at the feeder and flew off past the kitchen window not 10 feet away.
Henry Deegan, Callow, Foxford, Co Mayo.
Michael Viney welcomes observations at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo; e-mail: viney@anu.ie. Include a postal address.