26th June 2009

A morning's searching at Polin Bay, also on the Sandwood Estate.  Despite being literally around the corner from Oldshoremore, the vegetation is distinctly different, with very little Kidney Vetch, but Greater Knapweed and Red Bartsia present.  Also, the useful flowers are much more concentrated in and near the Marram, with Tufted Vetch and Bush Vetch flowering well.  It was here that six queen Great Yellow Bumblebees had been observed in early July 2006, perhaps because the forage resources are so much more concentrated that at Oldshoremore.  There are also many more rabbits here, which potentially could provide plenty of nest sites, as Great Yellow Bumblebees do nest underground, and have been recorded using rabbit burrows.  Perhaps they also make use of the nests of Wheatears, that nest here and at Oldshoremore – we get several reports each year of the nests of Blue Tits being usurped, usually by Early Bumblebees.  Perhaps we should try Wheatear nestboxes for Great Yellows?

 

The wind had freshened, but it was still hot and sunny.  The Bush Vetch was popular with Garden Bumblebees and Common Carder Bees, but sadly no sign of Great Yellows.  Thankfully, Don O'Driscoll of the John Muir Trust will be keeping an eye out for them both here and at Oldshoremore over the summer.  Of note, however, was a female Gypsy Cuckoo Bumblebee, not previously recorded from the area – so in fact a rarer bee here than the Great Yellow Bumblebee (but I know which I would have preferred to see!).

 

It was time to head for home, but with half an hour to spare I stopped at a familiar Scottish Crossbill haunt near Bonar Bridge.  There were Common Crossbills overhead, but one of the sheep fields here was a sea of white clover.  Among a throng of bumblebees there was a fresh queen Blaeberry Bumblebee, and at least two queen Broken-belted Bumblebees, a species I had previously seen very few of.  A good way to round off a successful trip.

 

25th June 2009

It was back to Oldshoremore today, before meeting a crofter over in Scourie late afternoon.  The dunes were alive with butterflies today, with many Meadow Brown (larger and darker than our ones around Stirling), Common Blue, dashing Dark Green Fritillaries as well as a couple of Large Heaths.  A Golden-ringed Dragonfly also put in a couple of appearances.

 

There was an abundance of Bush Vetch in the dunes, but what was also encouraging was that the area supporting suitable flowers for Great Yellow Bumblebee extended well back from the dunes, almost to the road, where the vegetation suddenly switched to that more typical of acid grasslands.  Another queen Moss Carder Bee was caught some distance from the dunes - the net in the photo marks the spot - and there were phenomenal numbers of the elegant Globeflower.  I was clear that the long-tongued Garden Bumblebees were concentrating on the Kidney Vetch, with the White-tailed Bumblebees largely on White Clover and Bird's-foot Trefoil, the latter (as well as Bush Vetch) being used by Common Carder Bees.  I was surprised to see a Heath Bumblebee queen nectaring at Milkwort, though others were at White Clover and Bird's-foot Trefoil.  It would seem that Bird's-foot Trefoil is not used in relation to its abundance; perhaps as more worker bumblebees emerge, this situation may chance.  Workers were very scarce at Oldshoremore, though one tiny worker Garden Bumblebee was at Kidney Vetch, dwarfed by the larger queens, and a worker Common Carder Bee was at Bush Vetch.  As it happened, the Honey Bee was the commonest bee in the area, and a crofter I met mentioned that he may have seen a Great Yellow Bumblebee.

 

After five hours, I was back in the dunes and as walked slowly along, heard a deep buzzing a few metres off to my right.  It was intermittent, suggesting a feeding bumblebee, and I carefully made my ways around tall clumps of Marram.  I reached the clump, behind which the bee was clearly active, and waited.  Before too long, a large golden bee hove into view, but it was moving away, quickly out of net range. I could see the black band across the thorax - it was a Great Yellow Bumblebee!  She moved off, returned and cruised by a short distance away, and then she was away.  Caithness 4: Sutherland 1!  She had presumably been feeding at the Bush Vetch there.  I was somewhat relieved, as I had been concerned that, even with this seeming to be an early spring, it was still early for the queens of this late-emerging species.  Also, we did not know how numbers of Great Yellow Bumblebee had fared since observations in 2006, when two queens were seen in early July.

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?!

23rd June 2009

A complete contrast to yesterday! Sunny and very warm indeed. The itinerary today called for checks of potential Great Yellow Bumblebee sites along the north Sutherland coast between Bettyhill and Melvich. Although still early for peak numbers of queens, it was going to be useful to see what flowers were available. A quick look at Farr Glebe, a well-known site for Great Yellow Bumblebee showed that the Greater Knapweed was already flowering – a valuable food plant. A queen Moss Carder Bee was feeding at Bird's-foot Trefoil here – this UK BAP Priority Species is very similar to Common Carder Bee but on the UK mainland probably has its stronghold in Highland. A few Small Heath butterflies and Chimney Sweeper moths flying in the bright sunshine. Next stop were the dunes and clifftop fields at Strathy East, which were alive with Common Blue butterflies and a number of day-flying moths, such as Wood Tiger, Silver Y and the stunning Six-spot Burnet. Little Terns were chattering overhead, and another queen Moss Carder Bee was carefully examined. Some good spring flowers here, including plenty of Bush Vetch and a field with much Yellow Rattle. A couple farm visits and short stops at Portskerra and Melvich produced a few more bees, and also a lively cliff nest of Kestrels. There had been some great numbers of orchids at Strathy, and at Portskerra I added Small White Orchid and a Lesser Butterfly Orchid just flowering. The latter, like Great Yellow Bumblebee, is listed for further action on the Species Action Framework in Scotland. N.B. On closer inspection this is clearly a Greater Butterfly Orchid, as the two pollinia are not held parallel. I should know this one as we were catching moths last year to see which ones were pollinating the Greater Butterfly Orchids around Stirling - a tremendous night-secented flower though!

On the way back, a stop at Armadale again indicated plenty of forage for bumblebees, which gives encouragement that there may be opportunities for the Great Yellow Bumblebee. Curiously, there are no records east of Bettyhill before Scrabster in Caithness, some 40km along the coast.

22nd June 2009

Arrival in Sutherland for a week, starting off at Sandwood Bay.  I came prepared with a folding bike to save a bit of time from the 9 mile round trip from Blairmore, though I think this one was more suited to City folks than to the rocky path.  Just one slow motion tumble into the heather later, I was at the Bay.  There were a few bumblebees active, though the sky was overcast and it soon began to drizzle with variable intensity.  Going through the Marram it was clear that there was an enormous amount of Bird's-foot Trefoil flowering, with some White Clover, Tufted Vetch and I came across a single Bush Vetch.  No sign of any Great Yellow Bumblebees.  By the time I made it to Durness, the drizzle had eased, and there was enough time to check the cliffs, where there was an abundance of Kidney Vetch and Bird's-foot Trefoil, with a good mixture of other bumblebee–friendly flowers, including some Red Clover.  The day was rounded off by chatting with a couple of local crofters, and a wee dram.

 

20th June 2009

More good news from Caithness, as another Great Yellow Bumblebee reported. This one, the fourth reported from Caithness this spring, found itself in a Dunnet glasshouse, and promptly captured, photographed and released.  A good garden list building up there Phyllida!

 

 

 

 

Bumblebee walk at Polin Bay

A terrific day (22nd May), starting at Durness and the Loch Borralie area, where Donald Mitchell of the Highland Council Ranger Service had seen several Great Yellow BUmblebees in 2006.  Still early for our target species but some fascinating flora including Mountain Avens and the gorgeous Scottish Primrose, while a Skylark briefly left her nest, snug in a clump of marram grass.  In the afternoon, the bumblebee walk at Droman and Polin at the Sandwood Estate attracted some interest despite the week's Cape Wrath Challenges.  We saw a number of white-tailed and common carder bees, the latter favouring the Bush Vetch that was coming into flower.  A brood of four young Lapwing chicks were delightful, and Twite also buzzed by.  The view across to Foinavon (an infamous not-quite-Munro), Arkle and Ben Stack was fabulous - a complete contrast to March's winter gales and venemous precipitation.  Many thanks to Don O'Driscoll and Cathel Morrison of the John Muir Trust for their help, and of course to Charlie and Millie for endless Labrador entertainment.

 

 

Exploring Sandwood Bay

A slightly surreal evening in Bettyhill, where I gave a talk about bumblebees - with a particular focus on the Great Yellow Bumblebee, and the role of the Trust and its work.  A very leisurely affair, sitting in comfy chairs, while a jazz band practised next door. Many thanks to Paul Castle of the Highland Council Rangers for organising the room and a 'lightweight' projector screen.  It was unfortunate that the weather conspired to thwart our bumblebee walk the next day, but we repeated the talk to a new audience.  It is still early for the Great Yellow Bumblebee to be out, and the difference in timing of emergence of common species, such as the White-tailed Bumblebee, between the far north and the central belt of Scotland was plain.

 

It was then on to the second site where the Great Yellow Bumblebee has been regularly recorded in Sutherland, the John Muir Trust Sandwood Estate by Kinlochbervie.  My aim was to visit Sandwood Bay itself.  There are no records of Great Yellow Bumblebee from the Bay itself, but I was interested to see which flowers were there, and gauge the impact of grazing by sheep (and the ever present rabbits).  The short summary is that in 10 miles I saw the grand total of two bumblebees (both White-tailed) close to Gorse and Creeping Willow.  Few bumblebees were to be expected, as much of the area is heather moor, and that would be some weeks off flowering.  A very handsome Green Tiger Beetle was patrolling one section of track and near the bay itself, a Small Tortoiseshell was dutifully recorded for the Butterfly Conservation survey this year.  The marram grass of the Bay concealed many violets and a surprising amount of Bird's-foot Trefoil. West facing, the dunes must see regular and considerable disturbance, which may help this plant thrive.  It was interesting to see where a sudden change in vegetation presumably reflected a change in the soil, and Devil's-bit Scabious was also noted, a lovely summer flower popular with bees. With the amount of Bird's-foot Trefoil, there would be plenty of forage for the queen Great Yellow Bumblebees emerging from hibernation, but the impression was that there may not be many suitable flowers available in summer - time will tell.  A beautiful day, with Twite and Wheatears for company, if not many bees, and an American couple who had camped out kindly invited me to share their coffee.  A long walk back and I met up with Don O'Driscoll, Wild Land Ranger for the John Muir Trust, where a female Twite gathering stray sheep's wool had it stolen off her by a male House Sparrow!  Another talk in the evening, thanks to Don's organisation, with a merry few enduring the showers to come out, and a challenge sounded to find Great Yellow Bumblebees at Sandwood this year, Don even boldly offering a reward for a photo!