24th June 2009

Another glorious day spent around the Durness area.  The area around Loch Borralie and the Golf Course in place had quite an amount of Kidney Vetch, though there was clearly much knapweed that would flower in the coming weeks.  Surprisingly, there were a number of Heath Bumblebees, but no Carder Bees.  Today's orchid was the unobtrusive Frog Orchid, and there were still many Scottish Primrose flowering.  In the afternoon, I met up with Highland Council Ranger Donald Mitchell on his regular Puffin Walk, and it was encouraging that folk had seen our Great Yellow Bumblebee article in the Sutherland newspaper, Am Bratach.  The Puffins were marvellous, as ever, and a handsome dark phase Arctic Skua was caught in an act of piracy, a Sandwich Tern being on the receiving end.  Disturbingly, the sleek and streamlined Arctic Skua has leapfrogged the Amber List and gone 'Straight to Red', with numbers declining precipitously in recent years.  The dunes here are heavily grazed, with only a little Bush Vetch, White Clover and Bird's-foot Trefoil in evidence.  However, there were a few bees around and we caught a queen White-tailed Bumblebee.  This let everyone have a close look at its pattern and the distinctive pollen baskets that the social bumblebees share with the honey bee. 

 

Reflecting on food availability for queen Great Yellow Bumblebees, apart from a few concentrated patches of suitable flowers, e.g. near Loch Borralie and around the Durness Tourist Information, it could be that gardens provide some of the most important spring forage for newly emerged queen Great Yellow Bumblebees.  However, it was time to be off to Kinlochbervie, after a quick look at another site near Durness.  A quick evening stop to rest weary feet, revitalised with a paddle in the welcoming, cool sea, and I popped in at the dunes of Oldshoremore.  Although by now it was 9 p.m., there was a lot of bumblebee activity, and the first clegs of the season were being their usual attentive selves.  A large bumblebee flew by in the evening light – could it have been a Great Yellow?!