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Super! Nature Notes
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  • Vote Up0Vote Down KatRobinKatRobin
    Posts: 2,769
    Said I'd bee back! Yay- we have a nest of bees that has accommodated itself inside a bird box in the garden. No wonder I've seen no tits in the garden this year ( oh pleeeeaaase...)
  • Vote Up0Vote Down whisperedwhispered
    Posts: 736
    ^I used to look after a colony of about 2 dozen nestboxes at a local nature reserve. Part of the job was going round every week and peeking inside to see what success we were having. Lifting the lid could be(e) highly anxiety-provoking.

    Bees, wasps, and dormice were OK. The worst were the ones with a dozen or so ready-to-fledge Blue Tits. They'd all be crouching in the bottom of the box and when you lifted the lid, if you weren't verrry careful, they'd all suddenly take wing and try to fly out. It was like a bomb made of feathers and beaks exploding in your face. I must have toppled off my little stepladder a hundred times. 

    N.B. I hope you appreciate the serious tone here. I could have gone for the lowest common denominator and talked about a face full of Tit, but no, I take the high road. 
    Post edited by whispered at 2017-05-09 03:58:12
  • Vote Up0Vote Down KatRobinKatRobin
    Posts: 2,769
    Absolutely, good for you. Leave the smut to UT.
    Apparently I've got to go out at midnight, stuff a washing up sponge in the bird box hole and take the box to a different location ( ie big oak tree in the front garden as its current location is at eye level in the back garden. I'd be quite happy to let the little critters drone about but She Who Must Be Obeyed is terrified of insects) so I could risk my neck ( again), fall off a ladder and / or get stung. None of which is as scary as disobeying Mrs. :bz
  • Vote Up0Vote Down whisperedwhispered
    Posts: 736
    Oh dear, the bees will not be happy. I imagine that temperature control will be the key thing for them, so if you can find a spot that is oriented the same way and gets roughly the same sun on it as in the original location, the nest is more likely to survive.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down KatRobinKatRobin
    Posts: 2,769
    I know, I desperately don't want to move it. I lost out on the moles- the small scary one went ahead and bought mole traps. Pointless having Buddhist inclinations in our house. I shall move the bees this weekend before their nest gets any bigger and they invite all the extended family. Any more tips would be welcome!
  • Vote Up0Vote Down KatRobinKatRobin
    Posts: 2,769
    I remember a couple of years back, maybe more, Alison mentioning that she had bees in her garden ( wall I think?). Wonder what she did about them?...
  • Vote Up0Vote Down PonygurlPonygurl
    Posts: 2,501

    @Kat I've actually saved bees that have accidently flown indoors. Hmm, I've heard blowing smoke on them seems to calm them so the nest can be safely moved. Wether or not it was marijuana smoke is a whole different story.

    I heard what sounded like a distant drill buzzing outside my bedroom window this morn. Turned out to be a mud-dauber's nest. I'm not gonna mess with any member of the Wasp family though, maybe with a hose if the nest gets out of hand.
    U R I E L
    What is done in the dark will always come to light
  • Vote Up0Vote Down iuventusiuventus
    Posts: 5,377
    The mud dauber is one of the black widow's few natural predators.
    If I were dead, could I do this?
  • Vote Up0Vote Down KatRobinKatRobin
    Posts: 2,769
    Just saved a bee from the water butt- took it to dry out in the greenhouse and when it did it then perked up and started buzzing round the jasmine. I think a little karma is in order here ( if they're listening). Does having a fag underneath the nest box count as smudging?
  • Vote Up0Vote Down KatRobinKatRobin
    Posts: 2,769
    Bird box with bees successfully relocated! In my pyjamas, in the rain! Not a pretty sight! :bz
  • Vote Up0Vote Down WhickwithyWhickwithy
    Posts: 5,163
    Good idea about the rain. The bees were hiding from the rain?
    The Sentient Struggle For Transformation

    https://www.amazon.com/Sentient-Struggle-Transformation-Whickwithy/dp/1734822147/
  • Vote Up0Vote Down KatRobinKatRobin
    Posts: 2,769
    More likely hiding from the sight of me in my Jim jams. They seem to have settled and are buzzing about again in great numbers round the garden. More nature niceness last night- a duck waddled across the front lawn with seven ducklings and lead them into our greenhouse. I went to give them some seed and after trying to hide from me ( I was in my PJs again lol) they emerged and munched it all up before waddling off again. If anyone knows how to transfer videos from iPad onto here I can share an ahhh moment!
  • Vote Up0Vote Down TinSoldierTinSoldier
    Posts: 115
    I drop everything for momma duck videos. Never hand me a child and a phone at the same time.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down KatRobinKatRobin
    Posts: 2,769
    The duck has taken residence chez Tundralls, but on the second evening there were only four ducklings and yesterday only three :( Having said that, the four that are missing were yellow, whereas the retainers are brown, suggesting different broods. Apparently mummy ducks do nanny other Ducks' children and vice versa. I hope this is the case.
  • Vote Up0Vote Down PonygurlPonygurl
    Posts: 2,501
    Have you ever wondered if male ducks have corkscrew shaped dicks with spikes on the end? ..neither have I.

    http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/duck-sex-and-the-patriarchy
    U R I E L
    What is done in the dark will always come to light
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