ON November 29th I saw a ring ouzel as it skittered downstream along the surface of a fast-flowing upland stream. It was like a black- bird but with a distinctive white crescent on its chest. Should this bird not have migrated south by then? - Patrick Largey, Omagh, Co Tyrone
It would have been a dipper which is rather smaller than the ring ouzel and the bird more likely to be flying along the surface of a stream.
Recently we watched a blue tit perched near our window. During a 15- minute period it remained uncharacteristically still except for occasional small movements of the head. We thought it was sick but when another tit approached the nut feeder, it chased the visitor, ate some nuts itself and flew off. Early in October I was passing an islet in the Waterworks pond when I saw a pair of swans reaching into the water, plucking out what looked like stones and dropping them on the bank behind them. Were the stones part of a nest building process? - Tom Honey, Belfast
The blue tit was guarding the nut feeder as part of its territory. Swans need grit and gravel for their gizzards to break down the plant material they eat. Your swans were probably looking for suitable sized and shaped stones.