A cut above the rest.

A couple of Christmases ago, my Mother-in-Law bought me a bee box - a small "house" made up of a lower wooden block with holes drilled in it, an upper storey of hollow bamboo canes, topped by a nicely pitched roof. It's been up for some time and I don't know whether anyone hibernated in it over the winter, but the other day someone noticed that some bees had moved in. It appears that these are Leafcutter Bees, who industriously travel back and forth, bringing sections of leaf and disappearing down the holes, or canes, before reappearing some time later, minus their leaf. They will be constructing individual egg cells within the tunnels, each of which will be furnished with both pollen and nectar, before having a solitary egg deposited. The cell is then sealed up and, once the egg hatches, the grub will remain in there, emerging as a young bee the following season.


Some youngsters that have already emerged, in the form of long tailed tits, briefly visited the garden earlier today. I could hear their calls, and saw one or two flitting about in a tree at the end of the garden. This one had a somewhat raggedy tail, but he didn't stay around for long, as he joined the rest of his family as the flew over the garden from next door. I lost count as first one or two, then more flew over, but I reckon there must have been around ten or more. They're always such a charming bird, often appearing quite indifferent to humans. I can remember one winter several years ago getting with a couple of feet of one as it hopped about in a hedge, although it never let me get any closer.


I've made a couple more visits to the forest this week, and have been very fortunate to see the nightjar and woodcock on both occasions. A little owl and a young fox added some appeal to these late night forays. I also managed to get a better picture of one of the larger bats I see sometimes by the edge of the forest:

One other late night visitor tonight, quite unusually really considering we don't live close to any waterways, was a beautiful Drinker Moth. The caterpillars of these handsome moths are quite large, fairly hairy, and feed on grasses, particularly reeds. They will also drink great beads of dew or rain, hence the name. This female moth was attracted to the light from the kitchen window and was darker than some I have seen in the past. They can vary in colour from a creamy yellow to a light chestnut brown, like this one. I don't see many large moths in our garden, so this one was a most welcome visitor.