Honey bees on snowdrops

Today was sunny with a temperature of almost 10 degrees and the wind speed dropped almost into single figures so it was the best day of the year so far for the bees.  Even though it was cooler than they would like they came out to forage in numbers for the first time this year.

The bees were collecting pollen and nectar.  Snowdrop pollen is orange and some of the pollen baskets were loaded. The bees spend a lot of time grooming the pollen and can hang on to a flower with one leg while doing so.  They seem to clean their tongues with their front legs in flight after leaving a flower, as shown in the next two photos.

There are quite a lot of snowdrops in the garden - probably covering about 100 sq metres in the wood - and with the cold windy weather we have had all year so far I was worried the flowers would be over before the bees got out to them.

Night-time trail camera - Otter part 1

At last some success in capturing a night-time otter photo with the trail camera.  Since seeing the otters on the ice at Big Waters I have been trying to get otter pictures in the dark.  It has taken more than a dozen nights to get these few photos.  The otters move quickly and I can see on the videos that they are perhaps more aware of the flash for the colour pictures than are the fox or the badger.  Obviously the infrared photos don't bother them.  I think these first photos are of the mother.  Size is difficult to assess here but I think she has a higher back and more perfect shape.

And I think this is the cub with a proportionately larger head.

On at least half the nights there was no otter activity at all - I suppose they were somewhere else.  There have also been quite a few near misses.  This was the first photo I got - at least it was evidence that they were around and that the camera was roughly in the right place.

This wasn't too bad but the otter was a bit too far away.

And this one was rather too close.

Then I got several pictures of retreating otters.

And proof that there is more than one.  I have this on video from the Bushnell as well but the quality when uploaded isn't good enough to show here.

The camera also picked up evidence of an American mink, despite the presence of the otters.

Oh, and the badger didn't want to be left out so it popped in for another photo opportunity.

Last night was the best yet and the camera took a dozen photos, the best of which are here.  I don't know if the otters are getting used to my scent or to the flash or if the camera sensitivity has improved.  I'll keep at it and post more pictures if they are good enough.

Bird of the week - Long-tailed tit

Long-tailed tits are present in the garden all winter, moving through the trees in flocks, or tribes, several times a day.  At this time of year the tribes break up and one or two birds, presumably nesting nearby, come down to the feeders.  I have see the first doing so this week.

Long tailed tits do less well in severe winters but the long term trend shows an increasing population.

BTO Garden BirdWatch data also show a long term increase in reporting

and show that reports peak at this time of year.

Read more about long-tailed tits on the BTO website here or BTO BirdFacts here or BTO BirdTrends here.  Listen to the BBC Tweet of the Day on long-tailed tit here.

Cresswell barn owl

The barn owl at Cresswell has been putting on a good show recently.  It was flying this afternoon from 3pm in beautiful light.

Queue for the bath

Well this was fun.  I wondered why I had to keep refiling the birdbath so I set up a spy camera to keep an eye on things.  It started off in fairly civilised fashion, taking turns for a drink.

One of the great tits was the first to dip her toe in the water.

Then this guy turned up ...

... and started throwing his weight around ...

... so the other birds kept a respectful distance, out of splashing range.

By the time he had finished most of the water had gone.

With the shallower water the smaller birds seemed more confident that they wouldn’t be out of their depth.

To start with it was still one at a time ...

... but a queue began to form ...

... and they realised that soon there might not be any water left.

The pictures then started to deteriorate because of water on the lens.

And the sparrow's toes began to go all wrinkly.

This guy turned up late but wasn’t sure that someone else’s bathwater was his cup of tea.

In less than an hour this was all that was left.  Time for a refill.

Hedgehog update

Mrs H has now been coming for food every night for two months.  She eats a 150g pack of Sainsbury's dog food and drinks half a dish of water.  I guess I'm committed to this until spring arrives.  She has obviously decided this is better than hibernating.