Pitsford Bee Hotel

During my lunchtime today i stood out looking at the new Bee Hotel that has been created and it was looking fantastic. How simple but effective it is, made out of a few stacked up pallets and then filled with natural materials, leaves, cones, bamboo, bricks with holes, plant stems and Wood blocks with holes drilled in them. Surrounded by Bee favoured plants makes it a great habitat. It was only created a week and it was starting to be used and continued to be.  

Today with only a little sun out it was buzzing with invertebrates. The mining bees were in and out of the holes which was great and sharing with a Potter Wasp . They take a prey item in, lay their egg on it and then close up and do the same again so they fill the hole as you can see with some of the holes below. When the egg hatches it will then have food and pupate so they can all then exit at a similar time - very clever. You can see that there are some holes that have been sealed up already and a good sign for next year.

The Plants around were also in flower and attracting lots of of other insects too. There was a Common Carder Bee. Also Buff-tailed, Red-tailed and White tailed Bumble Bees gathering nectar and pollinating the flowers.

Common wasps and Median wasps were chewing the wood around the edges. They mushing it up into a pulp and then use it in building their paper nests.

There were lots of Butterflies too taking advantage of the nectar on the Buddleja around it including Red Admirals, Peacocks, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Brimstone, Meadow Browns and Gatekeepers.

All in all it is now a great invertebrate habitat that is really showing off!

New Role

I started my new role today as Projects Officer for the Wildlife Trust BCN and what a colourful beginning. 

I met the wider reserve team and we did a Grassland survey at the Collyweston Grassland Reserve and it was really out in flower. When we arrived the sun was out and the area was positively humming with invertebrates. 

 

Turtles laying eggs

We have been out to Cape Verde for a week and couldn’t help immersing myself in turtles.

Firstly we went on a beach tour to see if we could see any come ashore to lay eggs and didn’t we just.

We got a Birds Eye view as she had dug her nest and then went into a trans to lay around 80 eggs. Viewing was only from behind so there was no disturbance and by Infra-red with us all dressed in back.

The scientists were taking down all the particulars for records and this one was relatively small at 79cm. Perhaps a younger female who start laying at around 25 years old. Can you believe that only one in 1000 of these eggs make it to adulthood.

It was an emotional event watching her lay for around 40 minutes and everything that means.

Secondly I was out snorkling on the reef and managed to swim with a few youngsters as they were feeding on sea grass. What an experience of a lifetime, both of which I’ll never forget.

Water Stick Insect In Scotland

This week i have been on a Colsec field meeting to Wigtownshire and what a lovely place it is. A back drop of hills, open fields, lots of bays and miles of coastline. RSPB Crook of Baldoon was superb, although this cow was keeping an eye on me.

That was looking out to see but looking inward they have built a whole wetland area of scrapes, lakes and ditches tp protect nesting wading birds and it was great to see lapwings, egrets and redshank already making it home.

Also making it home was a Ranatra linearis (Water Stick insect). This is a first record for Scotland only having been known as far North as Carlisle before. It was great that it was just a juvenile and there will be more of them about and breeding next year. 

It is a weak flyer that is very gangly and seems to put a lot of energy in to get not very far which may have impeded its spread across the UK but it is going for it now and i am sure it will find plenty of suitable habitat as it continues.