Bumble Bee Story.

[HedgehogRescue]

Actually, no need for a name change. I'll just switch from Hedgehog Bottom to Hogs Bum, covers both.

[HedgehogRescue]

OK Pauline, I really am coming round to bang on your front door. Now I've got two baby blackbirds. What am I supposed to do with those? Huh? Huh? It's all your fault.

[paulinemiller10]

Baby blackbirds will oftenleave the nest unable to fly, they hop around the garden, sometimes people think they have fallen out when they hav'nt.

If it happened in my garden I know the cat will find the baby, I put them in a bird box with a small hole for babe to put his head out, but can't escape, screw some wood on the bottom of the box to make a platform for parents to land, then hang it up high out of cats, crows and magpies way, the parents will feed it, when its got more feathers and can fly I then open the front of the nest box.

If that's not possible you will have to go on a worm hunt lol, I watched parents on live cam one year, and they fed them on live food, one grub they brought back was so big they could'nt push it down the babe, but they were not going to waste it, and in the end one had to eat it, it looked like it was choking lol, but after swallowing for ten minutes it went down.
Good luck with the babes. Pauline.

[HedgehogRescue]

No these weren't hopping around, far too young. They've been passed to me by another carer who is going on holiday. Still in a fake nest and being tweezer fed on a weird mix of pet meat and other stuff recommended by various bird type people for blackbirds. Cute little guys and actually very easy to look after.

They are in a set up in the kitchen and every time somebody goes in the room they gape and get fed.

Not sure I'd want to work with birds full time though. I'm still terrified they'll die on me from shock and I don't have aviaries for pre-release. I'm thinking baby blackbirds are the better ones to start with though as they seem pretty robust.

A wild guy in our garden used to bring his babies to me and leave them lined up on the wall so I could feed them sultanas while he went and did whatever.

Picked up a mum hog and babes yesterday. One already dead but must have been a birth defect as no sign of mum killing it. Around 36 hours old I'd guess. We're now tiptoeing around the place and furiously listening for little peeps so we know they're OK.

[paulinemiller10]

Hope your hoggy with babes is doing ok Gill, how are the baby blackbirds, yes birds can be tricky, but there's nothing worse than looking after baby hedgehogs, they are not easy creatures when they are sick. Pauline.

[paulinemiller10]

I started training the bumbles to feed in the blue milk tops among the flowers, I have had a lot feeding, I also left food on top and inside the feeder, and they soon found the food, and one has been visiting the feeder, but the weather turned cold and I think they may be keeping the nest warm as I hav’nt seen any queens feeding.

So all is quiet here in the bumble garden, I m still leaving food for the bumbles, but I just have honeybees and some queen wasps visiting, I ve been trying to get a pic of the wasp, but she’s very timid, but over the weeks she’s grown to trust me and does’nt fly off anymore and will have a drink while I take her pic.

Its been really hot here in West Wales for the last few days, the plants are starting to grow at last, the clematis which grows along the the wall is in full bloom, the honeybees like it, but bumbles don’t seem very interested, Ive planted some runner beans and peas in a box hoping the flowers will be food replacement for all the shrubs I lost last winter, some are growing from the bottom, but won’t be enough flowers for the summer, I see some queen bumbles about in the evening when it gets cooler.

There are lots of baby bumblebees out and about now, they are so fast, whip in and out among the flowers, but they need help sometimes, one night I found a babe on the carpet, she had got lost, I dropped a bubble of sugar water on my hand, and she was really hungry, so took her down to the feeder where I showed her how to drink out of the milk top, closed the feeder shutters and left her there for the night.

I have three bumble nests in the garden with babes coming and going, I have a cam in one and can see the worker bumbles coming home with heavy shopping bags, they give a little buzz when they arrive as if to say ‘mum I m home with the shopping’ lol, they are such hard workers, I opened the front of the nest, as usual the bumbles are afraid and hide in the centre of the nest, they seem to like the new bedding I bought from Wilkinsons, I bought two packs, one for next year, it would have been a bit new smelling this year, but some bumbles are happy to use it.

Other news, the white dove that had a nasty injury is well and happy now, comes for food everyday, but goes home for the night, and guess what he’s brought a few friends and I now have four visiting, they seem very tame and like to sit with me while I have my cuppa, my dove Mr Spice likes a warm bath, but two of the other doves got in, and he was left on the side asking if there is room for another one, but they would’nt share and Mr Spice had to go without his bath, he is the one on the left with the green ring.

The hot weather has gone now, and the rain has set in, the honeybees are quiet, but the worker bumbles are busy on the flowers, but getting most of their food in other gardens as I don’t have a lot of flowers they like yet. Pauline.

Pictures.
Bumble getting used to the feeder.
Tame queen wasp.
Clematis in full bloom.
Baby bumble having a drink on my hand.
Baby bumble learning to drink out of the bottle top.
Baby bumble coming home with shopping bags.
Having a look in the bumble nest with the new bedding.
Mr Spice asking for his bath.

[Cowgirl]

Hi Pauline, I'm not sure if I am getting visitors to my bottle tops as they are out of view, but that hasn't stopped me from topping them up, I hope they are being used.

I got in from work tonight & discovered one of the dogs had thrown up all over the kitchen floor, when cleaning it up noticed that there were two bumblebees in it . I can't win, I try & encourage wildlife into my garden & my loutish mutts do their best to unravel everything! I give up, they're either trying to kill themselves with sultanas or bumblebees, scoffing all the fish food or digging up my newly planted bee friendly plants ! Honestly! I'm going to concrete the lot, paint it green & put out plastic plants, birds & insects, much less stressful !

[Cowgirl]

Just nipped upstairs and now they've eaten me wine gums ! Graaagh!

[paulinemiller10]

Ooooooo you poor thing, pets and wildlife don't always mix lol, my doves decide to have a good flap around just as my bumbles have landed for a drink, but they are getting used to them now and not frightened off.

Getting busy now, got lots coming to feed, but honeybees are coming in big numbers, still training the bumbles to use the shutters, they are learning slowly.

Hope you are now getting better days. Pauline.

[SJ21]

Hello, my neighbour has a bumble nest in his bird box on his shed. They're amazing to watch - we've got a orange blossom bush in our garden and they are just going backwards and forwards all day. I go down to watch them regularly, and they've got used to me now which is great.

I'm slightly worried though that my neighbour will get impatient and want to move or destroy the nest. There's a lot more of them now, I guess they are the babies or something. Do they normally fly off and go somewhere else? How long does the intense activity last for - would it be all summer? Maybe if he knew it's only for a limited time, he'd leave it alone.

SJ

PS. Just read all your posts. Amazing what you've done for the bumbles, and what you're learning about them!