CAN you explain how ladybirds get into my bedroom which is three floors up?
I have been watching magpies building a nest outside my window. When do they begin to lay their eggs? I never notice small/young magpies. What size are they, and at what age can I expect to see them on the ground?
Una Whelan, Sarsfield Road, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10 Ladybirds can fly quite high. Magpies lay their eggs around the beginning of the second week in April. Young magpies I have the nest when they are about 27 days old, and look almost fully grown. At that stage, their legs are fully developed, and they have roughly 80 per cent of their flight feathers. They spend the following four weeks being fed and protected by their parents during which time their feathers complete their growth and they learn to fly.
I AM writing a book with the title Between The Canals Nature In Inner Dublin and would warmly welcome information on unusual plant or animal life in the inner city, the boundaries being roughly the two canals, Heuston Station and the Toll Bridge. Have any readers ever encountered newts, frogs or shrews within that area? Bat, badger and otter observations would be very helpful. Suggestions about any creature will be gratefully received and duly acknowledged.
Christopher Moriarty, Woodtown Park, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16