Early morning bumblebee

Like most of us, bumblebees take time to get going in the morning.  I found this one early yesterday in bright sunshine but with an air temperature of only 2 or 3℃.  It is a mountain bumblebee queen (Bombus monticola), still not warm enough to fly comfortably.  Perhaps the most attractive bumblebee, it is also known as the bilberry bumblebee, appropriate here as it was sheltering at the base of bilberry plants.  It was shy about having its photo taken and flew of without striking a better pose than these.

Shooting buzzards

Twice in recent days I have been buzzed by a buzzard while I was out looking for dragonflies.  I was carrying only a 300mm lens, which is good for dragonflies but wasn't ideal for the buzzards as they flew overhead.  It was useful practice as birds in flight isn't one of my specialities.  Focussing is difficult even with autofocus and exposure is also a problem with a dark bird silhouetted against a blue sky.  Still, it was fun to try.  Here are the best of a bad lot.  All fairly heavily cropped.

The bilberry bumblebee

This is a bee I have been hoping to see for the past couple of years.  I eventually found one in Harwood Forest in Northumberland where I was doing my walk for the BTO Breeding Bird Survey.  It is a queen Bombus monticola, the bilberry bumblebee.  It is quite unmistakeable with its bright pink/orange tail.

Bombus monticola is found mainly in upland habitats but, despite its name, is not limited to bilberry.  This one was feeding on gorse.

I'll keep my eyes open on the next visit next month to look for more of these beautiful bees.