DURING this year’s rainy season, temperatures have been soaring to 12 degrees at midnight in west Cork.

IS it to be another invasion of egrets, this time the cattle egret, a small, white heron, not quite as pretty as its cousin, the now familiar little egret, but pretty nonetheless?

IT IS to be hoped the threatened Canarian giant lizards will not fall victim to the likes of Jereme James, charged with smuggling three endangered iguana into the USA using his false leg.

Damien Enright contemplates a few of the wonders we are set to eradicate

AS WE enter the new year, the news from Bali isn’t as good as we hoped but it’s better than no news at all. Buying carbon credits, etc, may be a way to go, but I wonder if it’s not a bit of a cop-out after all.

Damien Enright recalls a strange affair between volunteer and pelican.

ACROSS the stream, in a big field which, unfortunately, fills more full with Japanese knotweed and ragwort every year, we regularly see a man taking his children, a small terrier and a black-and-white cat for a walk.

WHAT a privilege it is to be able to walk the countryside on these dazzling mornings when the storm has passed and see fields shining in the sun, each grass blade sparkling as if it was tipped with diamonds.

Damien Enright on the charms of our winged friends

FOR the weekend birder, the peripatetic birder (the travelling salesman, say) or the twitcher, Finding Birds in Ireland, The Complete Guide, by Dempsey and O’Clery is the book to buy.