11th August 2009

Hot news from Caithness!  Teresa, one of Phyllida’s volunteers, has seen SIX Great Yellow Bumblebees on the outskirts of Thurso, and by one of the quarries!

 

Rather a damp day, but had some visits in Kirkwall, to Scottish Natural Heritage to collect the BBCT events materials, and to Richard Shearer, the Orkney seed merchant, with whom I had a very valuable discussion.  I saw the big green hopper where all the seed mixes are made up – it gets to be a very busy place in April and May with farmers and contractors waiting for the right time to sow.  Richard has played a key role in the increase in the number of ‘Birds & Bees’ crops in Orkney, now totalling close to, if not more than, 100 hectares.  We hope to see the same increase in Caithness!

 

I dropped off some bumblebee information to the brother of someone I had met the day before; I was by coincidence parked next to a BBCT member’s car!  We were chatting and I found they were visiting family on the island.  After photographing some of the Sainfoin coming through in the BBF crops, I made a couple of other calls and stopped off at the RSPB office in Stromness.  Then off to Orphir, where Richard Shearer had said there were some fields with a strong Red Clover crop.  The fields were obvious, the wet weather just now providing a slight reprieve for the bees, before the crop is baled as silage.  Despite light rain, there was a great deal of bumblebee activity, with many Garden Bumblebees, a number of fresh Moss Carder Bees and at least ten Great Yellow Bumblebees, foraging for both pollen and nectar.  One seen flying away was perhaps a new queen but possibly a very large worker.  However, some heavier rain set in so it was back to base to prepare for departure tomorrow.

 

I have also just been told that Cambridge has a “Swarm Co-ordinator” – for honey bees, of course.

 

 

10th August 2009

A few more visits today, first of all meeting up with Alan Leitch of RSPB in Orkney.  We looked at a number of ‘Birds & Bees’ crops, and a couple of areas of clover mix provided by BBCT.  A damp start, but the rain soon eased off and by lunchtime the sun was beginning to break through.  By this time, however, we had recorded Great Yellow Bumblebee in all the ‘Birds & Bees’ crops – the clover mixes (christened by Alan, ‘BBF’ or ‘Bumblebee Fodder’ mix) won’t flower fully until next year.  The number of Great Yellow Bumblebees in the crops is clearly determined by the amount of Phacelia present, despite the occasional use of Fodder Radish.  Thus, we saw anywhere between 1 and 30 Great Yellow Bumblebees, but interestingly almost all workers, with just a couple of males.  We also looked at a field that was now fallow, which were full of arable plants associated with cultivation.  Hemp Nettles were particularly abundant, and in among the many Garden Bumblebees and Common Carder Bees, there were two Great Yellow Bumblebee workers.

After lunch, I visited Dick and Pat Matson.  Dick is the Orkney Field Club chairman, and has been growing unharvested/game cover crops for ten years.  Dick has also sown a ‘BBF’ mix, to which he has added Phacelia.  This is in addition to another mix with reed canary grass and red clover, and another of Chicory (a tall, robust plant with large, blue, rather daisy-like flowers) with Sweet Clover – another component of the BBF mix.  There were Great Yellow Bumblebees collecting pollen at Phacelia and at the Red Clover (flowering now, i.e. a year ahead of the BBF mix).  The record from Red Clover is the first direct evidence that Great Yellow Bumblebees will collect pollen from these agricultural varieties.  We even saw one visiting the flowers of Chicory, presumably for nectar.  These were also visited by White-tailed and Heath Bumblebees, and both carder bees.  So, we managed six of Orkney’s seven species, but just couldn’t find the seventh – the Gipsy Cuckoo Bumblebee.

As I had made my way to Dick and Pat’s, I had seen a silage field with a fair amount of Red Clover.  I meant to enquire but on the way back the field was busily being cut.  An example of a beneficial management that is part of the farm system, outwith an agri-environment schemes.  However, despite the crop being cut now - just as we reach peak demand - there has still been an initial benefit to the bees, for at least some of the time.  The agricultural Red Clover varieties flower later than the native form, which is now all but finished flowering.  Given this continuity of flowering or native and agricultural Red Clover, it would be helpful for the bees to cut such crops later, but the farmer has to make a decision based on the likely quality of the silage (or haylage, or hay) and, importantly, the weather, as well as all the other jobs that need doing.

Another good day, made better by the spectacle of a Merlin mobbing a Hen Harrier along the road back to Stromness, though this was tempered by the worrying sight of a family car going into a ditch.  Thankfully, no-one was hurt and a tractor was on hand to tow the car out (which had sustained surprisingly little damage).

 

9th August 2009

Off to Stromness today, but rain was forecast for Monday so some bee searching was undertaken.  Up at the Sands of Evie, it is possible this year to walk alongside a ‘Birds & Bees’ crop, and seven Great Yellow Bumblebees were here (with one male using Perennial Sow-thistle by the beach).  I chatted with the local dog-walkers who were curious as to what the crop was for, and I was able to point out a Great Yellow Bumblebee at the Fodder Radish within the crop, though most were using the Phacelia.  A male Gypsy Cuckoo Bumblebee was here, the fist of this species I had seen in Orkney.  A roadside patch of the hybrid Woundwort didn’t have Great Yellows (it provides nectar, but doesn’t set seed – no pollen?), but it was time to meet up with Historic Scotland Ranger, Sandra Miller, for the 1 p.m. free tour of the amazing Ring of Brodgar (cunningly timed with the tour bus companies to be moderately quiet and 80,000 visitors a year go away very satisfied).  The RSPB manage the area and have another ‘Birds & Bees’ crop here, and I was able to catch both Moss Carder Bee and Great Yellow Bumblebee to show the group today, and say a little about bumblebees and their conservation.

Just nearby was a farmer who I had met at the Show, so we met up and had a look at one of his two ‘Birds & Bees’ crops.  I reached a total of 29 Great Yellow Bumblebees (at least 16 were males), but given that I have maybe covered a quarter of the crop, perhaps 100 or more Great Yellows were using this crop!  I had suspicions of two nests nearby.  After some waiting at one site, where males were regularly exploring vole runs and holes in the ground (and interacting with each other), a queen emerged from underground.  But this was a very worn old queen, so maybe she was just sheltering there?  Clearly, the males don’t know the difference between an old and a new queen, which is interesting.  Also here was a carder bee impaled on barbed wire.  Orkney regularly receives off-course migrant birds, and shrikes occasionally feature.  These ‘butcher birds’ frequently cache food by impaling them on thorns or on barbed wire fences, so I suspect one had visited the farm recently.

A final stop along the road, where there was a ‘Birds & Bees’ crop and also a lot of Lesser Knapweed along the roadside verge.  There were similar numbers of Great Yellows along an approximate 200m section of each, 19 in the crop and 15 along the verge. However, workers predominated in the crop (mainly on the Fodder Radish, though one large worker was collecting pollen from Phacelia), but most of those on the Knapweed were males.  It had cooled down a little by now, though hay-making continued apace on the farms, but in the morning the smaller workers had also been using the Fodder Radish.  Possibly the small workers can nectar more efficiently at Fodder Radish (one even had a little yellow pollen, possibly from this flower) and the larger ones more efficiently at Phacelia.  Having a range of wildflowers and crop flowers may reduce competition, as well as provide forage that smaller and larger workers can use more effectively.

 

8th August 2009

An early start to help set up the stand at the Scottish Natural Heritage tent, with SNH staff and Historic Scotland Ranger Service providing bumblebee entertainment throughout the say, with badge- and mask-making, a bumblebee quiz (prize: a bumblebee nestbox), and a host of information to take away – including a cracking poster featuring a photo of the great Yellow Bumblebee by renowned wildlife photographer, Laurie Campbell.  BBCT had a selection of material on offer, including a Great Yellow Bumblebee postcard, to stimulate people to record their sightings.  Also launched was a flyer for the Species Action Framework (of which BBCT is a partner), as an accompaniment to our previous Farms, Crofts & Bumblebees leaflet, prepared with RSPB.  The flyer draws attention to useful options under the new agri-environment scheme in Scotland, Rural Priorities (now in its second year).  We did some more recording with Orkney Radio and for a Radio 4 programme, due for broadcast in the autumn.  Star of the show had to be Erica from SEPA, who donned the giant bee suit twice during the day.  Some Orkney ice cream helped with recuperation, as it was by now a very warm and busy day.  Well done Erica!  The Show also provided an opportunity to meet with Richard Shearer, a local seed merchant who is much involved in the ‘Birds & Bees’ crops, and in the trial clover mixes that BBCT have supported this year.  Orkney is a wonderful example of how different organisations and individuals are working together to support the Great Yellow Bumblebee – a model system.  Walking back from the site a few male White-tailed Bumblebees were in evidence along the roadsides, busy nectaring – sounded like a very good idea!

 

7th August 2009

A busy morning, with various phone calls and meetings.  I popped my head round the door at the Scottish Natural Heritage office, and found that the giant bee suit and other materials had arrived safely from the BBCT office, in readiness for the County Show tomorrow.  Then a stop to meet Graham Scott of Scottish Agricultural College, and discuss some agri-environment measures and how the Trust can support Graham and his clients with their applications.  Graham also has a ‘Birds & Bees’ mix on his land, so I hope to visit and confirm Great Yellow there.

 

I met up with Louise Bachelor for lunch, who had arrived to interview local farmer and bumblebee expert, John Crossley.  I was representing the Trust, and there would be more recording with the bustle of the Show tomorrow.  Still remarkably good weather and John said that last year had been good too, unlike most of mainland Scotland.  It was a lovely day anyway, but having two good years in a row has hopefully helped nests rear daughter queens, and boost Great Yellow Bumblebee numbers.  There were certainly plenty of Great Yellow Bumblebees, even visiting the Lesser Knapweed in John’s car park!  We saw plenty of workers, another weary old queen, and at some Woundwort (a hybrid form predominates in Orkney) also saw a male, with its longer antennae.  We also saw a few Moss Carder Bees among the more abundant Common Carder Bees, and several Heath Bumblebees, including one male.  We also had time to look at a legume mix provided by BBCT, which had done well, but there was as yet no sign of the sainfoin or sweet clover coming through.  However, the Common Vetch was flowering, and a pioneering Red Clover flower was visited by a Garden Bumblebee.

 

 

 

6th August 2009

My day was good, but much more significant was a phone call in the evening from excited Highland Council Ranger, Paul Castle.  He had found a Great Yellow Bumblebee worker at Melvich, on the Sutherland coast  This is a brand new site for the bee, and in the 40km gap in the records between Scrabster and Bettyhill.  Really superb news!

 

I was off to Orkney at lunchtime, so a couple of hours to check Sibster Farm, a recent Forestry Commission purchase.  Graeme Findlay had kindly provided me with maps, so I was able to have a thorough look round in, yet again, glorious weather.  As well as Common Carder, Early, White-tailed, Garden and White-tailed Bumblebees, there were two Great Yellows here too (on Spear and Marsh Thistle)!  A large, slightly worn, carder bee on Spear Thistle was possibly Moss Carder, but fell into the category of unidentifiable.  A Green Sandpiper flew up from a small pool, with its distinctive, melodic call – always a favourite of mine as they used to spend the winters on rivers where I grew up.  Just enough time to check the wetter, marshy area, and as expected there was a change in the bumblebee community.  I very quickly caught workers of both Heath and Broken-belted Bumblebees.

 

Off to Gills Bay for the ferry, stopping off to drop off a set of new BBCT ‘Great Yellow Bumblebee’ postcards at Seadrift, and a quick chat with Mary Legg, who had reported a series of spring queens this year.  I had a few minutes to wait, so went off to check a patch of Marsh Woundwort (and intermingled Stinging Nettle!).  And yes, you’ve guessed it, another Great Yellow Bumblebee, this time a worn, balding, old queen, poor thing.

 

The boat trip (on the new Pentalina catamaran) took about an hour, with a few Puffins and Great and Arctic Skuas.  Young Kittiwakes and Arctic Terns were an encouraging sign, and a single Harbour Porpoise barely broke the water’s surface.  The most surprising sight was a Marsh Harrier, outpacing the ferry, heading north to Orkney.  In Kirkwall, I picked up a road-killed White-tailed Bumblebee before enjoying the delights of the Happy Haddock, accompanied by a couple of Eiders resting at the water’s edge.

 

 

5th August 2009

Another day of exploration today, with a first stop at Broubster Leans, to look at the ‘Birds & Bees’ crop again.  It was still fairly breezy, but not as strong as yesterday, with a lot more sunshine and warmth.  I worked my way around the edge of the crop and after a few minutes was rewarded with a worker Great Yellow on Phacelia – success!  I took some photos and immediately called Dave with the good news.  I circumnavigated the crop and came across two more workers, the first a rather tired one, and the next busily collecting the deep blue Phacelia pollen.  There were also Broken-belted Bumblebee workers collecting pollen at both Mustard and Phacelia, but unfortunately, on this visit at least, no Moss Carder Bee.

 

A great start to the day, and I carried on taking a lop on a B road that would eventually see me at yesterday’s red clover crop.  I stopped at a few places near Scotscalder rail station, where there were good amounts of Great Yellow-friendly flowers, particularly the Marsh Woundwort again.  I had a chat with a family who were intrigued by me and my net, so I told them about the Great Yellow Bumblebee and the importance of this part of Caithness.  Shortly afterwards, I caught a Great Yellow (another worker) so nipped back up the road to show them.  Good timing, as the farmer turned up in his tractor after a morning’s busy cutting.

 

I had just made it past Westerdale, near the old mill, when I pulled in and checked my phone.  Dave Jones called, really chuffed at the Great Yellows at Broubster.  As we were chatting, I saw a bumblebee land on a spear thistle at the side of the road.  I nipped out of the car, explaining to Dave, and sure enough, it was a Great Yellow Bumblebee!  Perhaps the southernmost record in Caithness for many years?!  A quick stop to check an area rich in Lesser Knapweed and Marsh Thistle produced a small group of Broken-belted workers, but no Great Yellows, and then off to Milton to check the red clover.  Seven minutes later, I was at the farmhouse door with my prize, another Great Yellow Bumblebee worker.  This is a south-eastern extension to the known range, though admittedly small.  However, the benefit of lots of flowers and good weather means that these past few days searching have confirmed the distribution of Great Yellows across a wide area of this part of Caithness, a suspicion suggested from the scatter of previous reports, and voiced recently by Scottish bumblebee expert Murdo Macdonald.

 

A final couple of stops this evening, as I met with three of the Ranger Service staff at Achscrabster Quarry, where the Great Yellow Bumblebees performed well.  Then, on to a farm where I had recorded several Great Yellows last week, for a chat with Ian, the farmer.  Late evening now (8:30), but stopped in the field out of interest, and saw two Great Yellow workers

.

 

4th August 2009

A very windy, but mainly bright day.  I met up with Dave Jones of RSPB in the morning, and we looked at Achscrabster quarry.  The site didn’t let us down, and it was nice to have an independent witness to one of my Great Yellow sightings.  We had a quick look at Broubster Leans, where RSPB have a ‘Birds & Bees’ crop, Phacelia providing the main pollen and nectar interest.  A White-tailed Bumblebee worker had ‘blue balloons’ on its legs – presumably Phacelia pollen collected to the pollen baskets.  Harebell pollen is also rather light blue and two of the Broken-belteds elsewhere had collected this.  We saw a few bees (including Northern White-tailed and Heath Bumblebee queens) before the rain came on, and Dave had to meet up with colleagues at Dunnet Head – a new information post there has just opened up, and made page 4 of the Press and Journal!

 

I decided to test the quarry hypothesis again, and headed to Stonegun south of Castletown.  Unbelievably, the first bumblebee I saw was a Great Yellow, this time on Lesser Knapweed.  A sheltered patch of Marsh Woundwort had abundant Garden Bumblebees and another Great Yellow worker, this one carrying pollen.  Are they in the quarries because they are sheltered, flower-rich, provide nest-sites, or a combination of all three.  Dave had mentioned that Kidney Vetch, an important spring forage plant for queens, would probably do well in a quarry and it didn’t take long to find a clump, albeit now gone to seed.

 

Further south, I ran out of quarries, but a good roadside patch of Marsh Woundwort did provide another Great Yellow worker another 4km SE of the quarry.  At the border with the next 10km square, a field of flowering red clover caught my eye.  This could draw in a Great Yellow, and it could be the most southerly recent record.  I met the farmer, a young chap who was very interested and helpful, and I walked the edge of the field slowly.  The wind was a real problem, but I’m fairly sure there was a Great Yellow flying away from me.  I needed 100% confirmation, so can’t claim it.  The wind is due to drop, and move round to the south, so I may have another chance – but the crop will be cut for hay this week!

 

 

 

3rd August 2009

Another mobile day, but starting bright and calm.  I visited Gavin and Kay Lockhart at Skerray, where they have a flower-rich meadow.  A good range of bumblebees, including the Broken-belted again, with tea, oatcakes and homemade blackcurrant jam!

 

Next to Armadale again, but the wind had really picked up.  There were very few bumblebees, but hundreds of honey bees, nearly all on the Lesser Knapweed.  Honey bees have short tongues, and would generally overlap little with Great Yellow Bumblebees in their use of flowers (white clover is an example of a flower they both use).  However, the Lesser Knapweed seems important for both at this time of year.  Whether there would be competition for resources is unknown, but is possible, given 50,000 workers in a honey bee hive compared with maybe 40 in a Great Yellow Bumblebee nest.  Both are present at Oldshoremore - though there are fewer honey bees there. There is some research showing that other bumblebee species perform more poorly the closer they are to honey bee hives, but the species studied were short-tongued species.  A tricky question, this, whether honey bee hives should be regulated where rare bumblebees are present.

 

Back into Caithness, and a patch of Marsh Woundwort at the roadside near Janetstown (the one near Thurso!) promted a stop.  It was windy, and in similar conditions in Orkney last year (Sanday) a similar patch held 27 Garden Bumblebees, 3 Moss Carders (no Common Carders on Sanday!) and a Great Yellow.  Since the Marsh Woundwort is often in ditches, it follows that it is a bit more sheltered, and the plant is rather robust, and stands up reasonably well in the wind.  Bees were certainly present, mostly Garden Bumblebees.  However, after a few miuntes of slow ‘verge crawling’, I spotted Great Yellow Bumblebee worker – fantastic!  Trying to get closer I inevitably slid gracelessly into the ditch and by the time I had extricated myself the bee was away.  I fetched the GPS from the car and walked back, and found either the same (or another?) worker Great Yellow about 25m further along.  We were in the 10km square ND06 – a new ‘hectad’ for Great Yellow Bumblebee??  If so, this would represent a westward extension of the range in Caithness, though admittedly by only 2km.  I was close to the B&B, so dropped my bags off and chatted with Barbara, whose family farm in the area.  Looking at the map, I noticed a disused quarry site near ‘my’ ditch.  Could this provide a refuge for Great Yellow Bumblebees, and could their use of quarries (for famous Caithness stone) partly explain the scatter of records inland.  I looked for the next nearest quarry, at Achscrabster.  Sure enough, a large patch of Marsh Woundwort held not just one, but two Great Yellow workers.  These were another 4km south, and another 2m (!) further west by the GPS.  I carried on, looking for more Marsh Woundwort.  Near Skiall, there were large patches on both sides of the road, but no Great Yellows.  Driving away, I slowly went by another patch more at eye level and had to stop sharply – another Great Yellow worker!  This one was more than 5km further west, almost into grid square NC.  So, Teresa is perhaps fully justified in being sure that the Great Yellow Bumblebee discovered in her car had not come from her garden in Thurso!

 

A celebratory fish supper at Scrabster Harbour, where Twite buzzed conversationally and another Broken-belted Bumblebee worker nearly allowed an ‘in focus’ photo opportunity.

 

 

 

2nd August 2009

I woke early, following a truly excellent meal at the Strathy Inn, which boasts an impressive selection of bottled ales, including Scottish specialities such as Lia Fail.  I had a quick look at Strathy Bay, which had looked very promising for Great Yellow Bumblebee in spring.  However, sheep had been in and nipped most of the flowerheads off the knapweed, which had provided a colourful carpet last August.  Such a shame on the bee front, but the real environmental vandals were the bright sparks who had decided to burn their tent among the dunes, rather than take it away.  A patch of Marsh Thistle at Baligill produced a couple of Broken-belted Bumblebees, but then the rain began and it was back for breakfast.  A friendly couple from Austria were also staying; their first trip to Scotland.  They were off to hopefully see Puffins at Dunnet Head, but I gambled and headed into the oncoming rain, with a chance that by the time I reached the Sandwood Estate by Kinlochbervie, it would be clear.  The gamble paid off, but the marram was still wet and it was only after about 3 p.m. that the temperature rose and bee activity slowly improved.  By now, I had spent three hours at Oldshoremore without success (though a Moss Carder and several Colletes succinctus were here), which was worrying – this was where I saw a queen Great Yellow at the end of June.  I tried Polin Bay, for a beak, and within 15 minutes I had caught a Great Yellow flying by.  Like Halkirk, this looked like a new queen.  I let her go and with a deep buzz she was away at speed.  Some time later, I was in a sheltered area where bees were active, and noticed a worker Great Yellow on Greater Knapweed.  Relief!  We had seen none here at the end of June.  Buoyed by this, and by the sight of some gorgeous Ringed Plover chicks, I went back to Oldshoremore.  A bee flew by that looked good, I caught it, and yes, a Great Yellow worker.  I heard voices and saw a family heading back to the car park, so showed them the bee (in a tube) and they took some pictures.  The bee was let go in afterwards, of course!

 

So, a long day, but three Great Yellows in nearly six hours – I was happy with that!

 

 

 

1st August 2009

In Bettyhill, there were a few dark clouds but largely bright, thankfully.  I had a quick look along the River Naver at Aird, where there was abundant Lesser Knapweed flowering.  The breeze had picked up, but in a sheltered area there was a worker Great Yellow Bumblebee, so all very encouraging for this year’s nesting season.  However, then I received a message from Paul, as it was chucking it down in Caithness and should we go ahead.  I reassured him and shortly after, five of us were searching the Glebe and saw three Great Yellow Bumblebee workers.  We also got to grips with the difficult Broken-belted Bumblebee, but a carder bee defied identification, though was possibly a Moss Carder.  Gordon, who had come over from Caithness, kindly sent through some pictures of the first Great Yellow.  So, a very successful walk indeed!

 

The Gala was a busy, colourful affair, and our stall was popular with children making their Plaster-of-Paris model fossils and seashells.  We had some seed packets to help ‘save the wee bees’ and handed these out, along with bumblebee information and leaflets about Farr Glebe.  Excellent barbecue and strawberries and cream, very well priced!

 

Slightly exhausted, we packed up, and en route to the Strathy Inn I nipped in at Armadale to look at the habitat there, which had looked promising in the spring.  Of most interest, however, were some solitary bees, relatives of the rare Northern Colletes on Tiree and the Western Isles, going by the name of Colletes succinctus.

 

 

31st July 2009

This was intended to be a computer day, but with warm sunshine and virtually no wind, I felt obliged to check a couple of places I had passed by yesterday evening.  I met Kenny, a local farmer, fixing a fence that the cattle had been rubbing themselves up against – a thing they do.

 

I was a couple of miles inland from Dunnet Bay, where there have been occasional great Yellow Bumblebee sightings.  I was also near Barrock, where Mary Legg had seen not just one, but two queens in the garden this spring.  Along the roadside, there were plenty of useful flowers, and several bees, but temptation got the better of me, and I looked into a field with a fair bit of Marsh Thistle – a more acceptable species that the frequently problematic Spear and Creeping Thistles.  Within half-an-hour I had recorded seven bumblebee species, a terrific number for one Caithness field.  The three Buff-tailed Bumblebees (including one new queen) reinforced the view that this species is rapidly establishing itself in the far north-east corner of Scotland.  However, Great Yellow Bumblebees were the stars, with five (!) workers, all visiting either Marsh Thistle or Spear Thistle.  Also present was a worker Moss Carder Bee (another UK BAP species) and a Broken-belted Bumblebee – the subject of a Species Recovery programme in England, but with a stronghold in the Scottish Highlands.  I reported my success to Kenny, still hard at work fencing.  He was glad to take a break and pointed out another bumblebee on a Spear Thistle.  I couldn’t believe it, another Great Yellow Bumblebee, and this one was clearly a male, with long antennae and a long abdomen.  Clear signs of a successful nest – so let’s hope it will also produce many daughter queens.

 

After some lunch at the Park Hotel in Thurso, where I was kindly allowed to hook up to their WiFi connection and complete my computer duties, it was off to Sutherland and the Bettyhill Gala.  I was leading a walk with Paul Castle at Farr Glebe in the morning, before the main festivities kicked off, and Paul had now reported up to four Great Yellow Bumblebee workers there.  Sounded very promising – if the weather would hold!  An evening stroll with a bite to eat quickly yielded a worker Great Yellow Bumblebee on Greater Knapweed.  Now it was all down to the weather!

 

 

30th July 2009

This morning, a quick check around the farm at West Murkle, in readiness for a visiting group of professional folk from the local Scottish Government agriculture department, the Scottish Agricultural College, and Scottish Natural Heritage.  An independent ecologist also was coming along, as well as the Caithness LBAP officer, Phyllida Sayles.  Would we see a Great Yellow Bumblebee..?  I had a chat with Andrew Campbell, the farmer here, and a good look round revealed all the right kinds of flowers, including the very attractive Devil’s-bit Scabious, and a number of bumblebee species.  Sadly, no Great Yellow Bumblebees deigned to appear today, which invites the question, why do we not have a reliable site for the species in Caithness, despite the broad scatter of records?  Finally, I popped into Seadrift at Dunnet Bay to see Highland Council Ranger, Mary Legg, and was pleasantly surprised to meet one of our Stirling University Environmental Science students, doing some summer work and busy preparing craft dragonflies for an event tomorrow!

 

 

 

 

 

27th July 2009

Now 4 Great Yellow Bumblebee workers at Farr Glebe, Bettyhill, seen by Paul Castle.  Really good news.

 

24th July 2009

An exciting opportunity to further strengthen our working relationship with the RSPB, joint lead partners under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan for the Great Yellow Bumblebee.  The Great Yellow benefits from the management o a number of reserves, and through the management agreements the Society holds with farmers and crofters.  The RSPB does a tremendous amount of work with land managers, and has also carried out revealing research with Great Yellow Bumblebee.  Rob Sheldon, reserves manager for Scotland arrived for a chat, to draft an agreement for further partnership working.

 

23rd July 2009

A change of scene for me, with a trip to visit a Borders contact.  A few worn Early Bumblebees still present, and many other males,including two cuckoo bumblebees – could they be Scotland’s first Southern Cuckoo Bumblebees?  A bite to eat at St Abbs where Himalayan Balsam was thick in places.  An attractive plant, which is a great lure for bumblebees – but an invasive non-native.  Payments available to land managers for its eradication!

 

21st July 2009

One of the more bizarre sightings of the year!  Teresa, a volunteer in Caithness who has been involved with the Species Action Framework project, was driving to work and found that the car contained not just her and the dog, but a bumblebee.  Stopping the car, she was amazed to find it was a Great Yellow Bumblebee!  It had managed to find its way into the car somewhere between Thurso and Reay, which had a good chance of being the westernmost Great Yellow Bumblebee recorded in Caithness.  No photo, but Teresa had been with a group planting flowers at Murkle under an ActionEarth project a few weeks earlier, when a queen Great Yellow Bumblebee was seen at Rosa rugosa.

 

20th July 2009

Great news from Highland Council Ranger, Paul Castle, up on the north coast.  There was a worker Great Yellow Bumblebee at Farr Glebe (behind the Strathnaver Museum at Bettyhill).  We had heard of just one unconfirmed report of a queen there last year, at this usually reliable site.  Both Paul and I visited Farr Glebe in 2008 with no success.  Also this year, Paul has seen Great Yellow Bumblebee at Scarfskerry in Caithness, where again they were absent last year.

 

18th July 2009

Well, the weather has finally turned.  More than one person has suggested that I am on commission with the Tourist Board with all the photos taken on sunny days, and wonderful landscapes.  It’s not my faulty the Great Yellow Bumblebee is where it is, and I would love to have it return to other areas.  This evening I presented a talk at the wonderful Morven Gallery, just to the north of Barvas – well worth a visit.  Julie kindly dropped off a screen, and we had a good turn-out.  Janis and Rob kindly laid on refreshments afterwards, as we continued talk of bumblebees, and the work of local artist Alice Starmore.  Some of her work will be in Helmsdale from 5^th August, so on my way back from Orkney I hope to pop is to see the ‘MAMBA’ exhibition.

 

17th July 2009

In the morning I drove out to Bragar, where we would hold the Bumblebee Safari that evening.  Along the road I met Martin Scott, Conservation Office with RSPB who has been hear several years and has a wealth of knowledge, as well as holding the record high count for the island of 14 Great Yellow Bumblebees…at Bragar.

 

He was out checking a few sites but had followed up a Corncrake report at Bragar and found there to be a Quail calling there. I didn’t here it when I went up to the meeting point, but thought there was a good chance in the evening.  Bragar is again a very interesting and flower rich site, with an intricate mosaic of cropped and fallow land, and uncultivated areas that held much Common Knapweed.  No two patches in the mosaic were alike, with one fallow all Corn Marigold and another complete with the daisy-like Mayweed.  There was plenty of Red Clover too, and plenty of bumblebees, so all looking good.

 

Then on to Carloway to meet Margaret Mackay, who has been our expert in translating materials from English to Gaelic.  I was greeted, as at Benbecula with Agnes, by a beastie.  Not a timorous wee one either.  It was a splendid Greater Horntail Wasp Urocerus gigas, harmless to us (despite a fearsome protrusion from the rear).  Martin has told me that they are in Stornoway Woods, along with the Gypsy Cuckoo Bumblebee.  Perhaps this one came from the logs that had been brought in last night – a lucky escape!  She warmed up in the sun and powered away to the west.

 

A quick visit to the Morven Gallery at Barvas to say ‘Hi’ to Janis and Rob – this is where the evening talk would be tomorrow night, and a wonderful location –check out the Gallery website!  Next I was to meet Martin and also Julie Sievewright, ranger for the Galson Trust – the Ness area (north of Barvas) was subject to a community buyout a couple of years back.  We visited a croft where RSPB have helped transform a rushy field with little biodiversity interest into a grassland field, that was cropped successfully for silage last year.  Wildflowers were re-establishing well here, so the transformation is remarkable.  There was a range of bumblebees, including a first male bumblebee since Tiree. We then moved to the Eoropie area, which had seen some landscaping of dunes around a play park, and it was clear that there was a lot of Red Clover and other widlflowers available.  While the Great Yellow Bumblebee may be easiest to see at Bragar, it is probable that the Eoropie to Ness area supports the largest number of nests.  It was a concern, therefore, to see where planning permission had been granted for a house on a ‘decrofted’ part of the machair.  The ‘decrofting’ or apportionment from common grazings is not in itself unusual, but it could be the starting point for further development in what may be a significant area for Great Yellow Bumblebee.  One may have flown by, but we couldn’t catch up!  We did, however, catch a fresh queen Northern White-tailed Bumblebee (unworn fur and undamaged wings), but one that had collected pollen.  Presumably she was a daughter queen taking the pollen back to her natal nest - as does happen with some species – rather than initiating a nest this late in the season.

 

I grabbed a cheese roll at Bragar before the Bumblebee Safari, and chatted with a young man who brought a pristine-looking Massey Ferguson tractor down to the machair.  The model dated from 1974, and had been completely refurbished.  It was off to a new home, in Bragar, so a last chance to get some photos in the evening sunlight before saying goodbye.  The Quail was calling, and even a Corncrake fluttered along and ditched into part of the barley and oat crop, legs dangling.

 

Martin joined me for the Safari and we found a Great Yellow Bumblebee worker, as usual at Red Clover and with pollen, so another nest nearby!  We also caught a queen Cryptic White-tailed Bumblebee.  These days, Bragar is almost unique on Lewis in terms of its cropping pattern, and is well worth a visit – but don’t go into the cropped areas.

 

A final stop was at South Galson, where I was staying in the small but very well kitted out bunkhouse.  David, the crofter, had been in contact previously and was keen to show me round in the evening.  Bucking the trend, he had introduced cattle – Belted Galloways – as part of a five year plan funded under an earlier, Rural Stewardship Scheme.  The management seemed closely linked with the current availability of flowers in the wetland and machair areas.  A month ago, the fields had been a carpet of White Clover and Yellow Rattle, and full of bees, perhaps, as at Scarasta, drawing bees from a huge area where grazing had considerably reduced the number of flowers.  David’s reported count of three Great Yellow Bumblebees fits well with the timing of emergence and the flowering of these species.  A key next step, with appropriate support, would be for the management to be continued and allow other species to establish, such as Red Clover and Common Knapweed, providing crucial summer pollen and nectar.

 

 

29th July 2009

Back up north, to Caithness this time.  Picked up an excellent wee van from Jacks of Inverness, and headed up towards Thurso.  I decided, for no good reason, to detour around Halkirk before dropping my bags at the B&B.  There was a bit of red clover flowering along the verge, so, inspired by the association of Great Yellow Bumblebee with this flower on the Western Isles, I stopped and walked along the roadside.  The surrounding fields were not where I would expect to see Great Yellows, but there were half-a-dozen scattered patches of clover.  At the last patch, having seen a couple of Garden Bumblebees, I knelt down to tie a bootlace that had come undone.  Suddenly, there was movement to my right – a Great Yellow Bumblebee!  Not only that, but this looked like a new queen: large, and fresh, undamaged wings.  There is a recent record from even further inland, again within reach of the River Thurso, but I was amazed, and delighted!  I met Phyllida and Tom Sayles for supper in Castletown, and afterwards looked at a flower-rich area just outside the town.  Plenty of bees included two Buff-tailed Bumblebee workers, hot on the heels of at least two spring queens earlier this year.

 

 

16th July 2009

This was my only day on Harris to look at known sites for Great Yellow Bumblebee, and hopefully confirm its presence in a 10km from which it was last recorded in 1984.  First it was off to Northton, where RSPB found two Great Yellow Bumblebees last September.  I met David Jones, the new chairman of the grazings committee, who explained the crofting arrangements around the village and on the machair.  There was a lot of wildflower evident, and on the strips on the machair itself, it wasn’t long before we found a couple of Great Yellow Bumblebee workers, again collecting pollen from the Red Clover.  This was great news as it showed that there was an active nest, most likely within a kilometre of where the workers were foraging.  Interestingly, there is little Kidney Vetch at the site, which is an important flower for spring queens in some areas, such as Tiree.  However, it is likely that here the queens will initially forage on Bird’s-foot Trefoil and Yellow Rattle initially, and on White Clover, before the Red Clover and Tufted Vetch come into flower.  The Northton machair will also hopefully receive funding for appropriate management under the Rural Priorities scheme.

 

A heavy shower presaged an afternoon of rain in Stornoway, with flooded streets, but that didn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the visitors for the Hebridean Celtic Festival.  Rain would certainly hamper bumblebee searching, but on the west side I was more fortunate.  I had noticed a couple of fields full of Red Clover near Scarasta, and thought that would be the best area to try and confirm the presence of Great Yellow Bumblebee.  After some enquiries, I chatted with the crofter and found that the field was in the agri-environment scheme, so sheep were excluded during the summer.  There were sheep in the adjacent field and the impact of exclusion is clear, in terms of the flowers.  This field will then be grazed back in the autumn and winter, which will maintain and encourage a diversity of flowering plants.  After an hour and a quarter, bumblebee #107 was a Great Yellow Bumblebee worker – success!  There was an active nest nearby, and after a 25 year gap, the Great Yellow Bumblebee is confirmed as present.  After a celebratory tea and biscuits with the crofter’s family, it was on to Lewis.  Sadly, there was no time to check potential habitat at Scarasta Golf Course and at nearby Seilebost, where numerous tents like a crop of multicoloured mushrooms had appeared overnight.  By the time I arrived in Stornoway, the floods had subsided and we were set for a beautiful evening.