Thursday 13 June 2013

Early Summer Garden Flowers for Bees; Swarms and The Difficult Case of a Duck

 



Well - as I'm typing this we seem to have left June and settled somewhere in October, because outside it's cold, grey, windy and wet. This is not the weather for bees or butterflies; so it's unlikely that many of them will be flying at the moment - and I think that's a real shame, because one of the beautiful sights of summer has to be watching bees and butterflies foraging amongst the flowers on a warm, sunny day.

I wrote about the 'June Gap' last time and this set me thinking about which flowers the bees would  seek out in early summer.  I wanted to review my own planting and see if it was truly up to scratch for them. I planted lots of bee-friendly plants years ago, but I've lost some since. So - in a follow-up post to my last one - I've produced a very short list of some of the flowers the bees are foraging on at the moment.

One of the main bee/butterfly flowers I've planted is Scabious. Planted in a drift, this attracts plenty of bees and butterflies...
















Large White Butterfly
My Alliums are also a real favourite...





Bumblebees love the Foxgloves and Comfrey on the smallholding. The honeybees love the Poached Egg Plant I took a pic of before - and Common Bistort is popular with honeybees, too...









The bees are also to be found on Poppies, Salvia and Californian lilac.  On my last post, I had some kind comments about the plants the bees and butterflies are currently loving including Cotoneaster and Catmint. If you have any more flowers that the bees are going crazy on in your garden at the moment and you can recommend them, please let me know!  I'd love to hear what the bees and butterflies are foraging on right now. 

Butterflies

Over the past few days I've seen two more species of butterflies for the first time this year.  First of all this Small Heath...




And then this Common Blue...








And I'm still hoping to see my first rare butterfly of the year...

Swarms

I wrote in an earlier post about the swarming season for bees, which is usually any time from late April to early August and which peaks around now.  Two of my own colonies are thinking about swarming; they're making queen cells - which is the first sign that some of the bees are preparing to leave the hive.  As well as producing a new queen (which will get left behind with the rest of the bees while the existing queen leaves with the swarm), the colony sends out bees to scout around for a new home for the swarm. Many beekeepers who have lost bees recently and are looking for a new colony will leave out bait hives i.e. empty hives, to lure in a swarm. Swarming bees particularly seem to like old comb and already-used hives (rather than new ones), possibly because they're reassured then that the hive has already been tried and tested!

Just before the bees leave in a swarm, they fill up with honey (if they have some in the hive) and this is another problem for their beekeeper because this reduces the honey crop. And then the bees are off - and watching bees leave the hive en masse is an incredible sight (unless it's your own bees, of course, when it isn't fascinating, it's horrifying).

I admit I have a favourite colony, because it has a lovely, calm temper and these bees are also filling up the hive with honey. If they swarm, I'll be really sad to lose them - and anxious, too, in case the new queen isn't as good (she may not lay as well or she may have mated with some bad tempered drones and produce bad tempered off-spring).  I'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Other Flowers

Elsewhere on the smallholding - by the pond - the Yellow Flag Irises are flowering;

I love Irises - and I'd like to introduce several of these Siberian Irises my garden...






The Roses, among my favourite flowers, are starting to bloom; this is 'Arthur Bell' climbing up the side of the new barn and looking gorgeous...









The Difficult Case of a Duck

One evening last week, while I was feeding my resident Mallards, I came across an injured female Mallard. She had hurt (or broken) her leg and couldn't walk at all; she was laying down with it sticking out at an angle. Then, as I approached her to attempt some sort of rescue, I saw six tiny ducklings behind her on the pond. I'm certain they'd not long hatched out.

Well, I tried to catch her, but I couldn't, because her wings were working well enough and as soon as I got anywhere near her she quickly flew away on to the pond.  After a while of trying (and failing) to creep up on her I eventually contacted the local animal hospital and then the RSPCA (where someone came out that evening).  Both of these organisations told me that they couldn't help because she was too impossible to catch. And of course it wasn't only mum - the ducklings had to be caught as well...


The Female Mallard and Ducklings on the first evening I discovered them






Anyway, in the week since then, the ducklings have all been fine and have been happily feeding themselves on the pond. I've seen the mother a couple of times since, and thrown her some food (not easy when the geese spot what I'm doing and dive in to steal it first, but I have managed to make sure she eats something).  I haven't seen her the past few days - so I assume she's tucked up in the bushes/reeds/long grass somewhere by the pond.  I don't know how she'll get on, but at least, with strong wings, she can stay relatively safe from any predators. Perhaps Snowbird from 'Gardens and Wildlife', with her experience of wildlife rescue, has some advice for me on this. Meanwhile, the ducklings are growing stronger and look like real survivors...

The six Ducklings a week later.



No doubt they'll grow very quickly over the next few weeks and then perhaps they'll stay like the resident Mallards and make their home here (either in or on top of the Duck House!)



I hope so.

44 comments:

  1. Oh do keep us updated on your Difficult Duck - what a lovely story! When we were wandering round while waiting for our ferry on Saturday we discovered the most gorgeous little garden absolutely FULL of bees - mainly around the herb area, and particularly on the chive flowers, but I've not noticed my chive flowers getting the same attention here at home, so perhaps our Essex bees don't have the same tastes?!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Robyn. The Ducklings were all fine this morning but there's still no sign of the mother, so she's hidden up again somewhere. I'd love to see the garden you found, it sounds wonderful. And you could well be right about bees having different tastes as different areas of the country do have different strains of bees!

      Delete
  2. Great photos Wendy, and I'm loving finding out so much about bees - what wonderful little creatures :o)
    Here's hoping your sweet natured ones stay with you.
    The bees love the catmint in my garden too, but there's loads buzzing around on the cranesbill geranium Johnson's Blue at the moment. My lovely scabious hasn't fared so well this year, I will have to seek out replacements.
    You are doing a wonderful job trying to help the duck - what a shame she just doesn't understand...The ducklings are too sweet.
    Have a wonderful weekend.
    Rose H
    x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rose. My lovely bees are the perfect colony in every way. Sometimes bees give up on the idea of swarming, so I hope these do. I'm quite fond of Johnson's Blue because it was one of the first flowers I planted in my garden. Sorry to hear about your own scabious. And unfortunately, the Duck is much more wary of me because she's injured than the other Ducks are here.

      Delete
    2. Thank you for your sweet comments. It's also reminded me (and I haven't read other comments here,) that Corydalis is a good 'doer' and is always covered in bees. It self-sets and is in flower in my garden from May until October/November time. I just love it's delicate looking foliage.
      Rose H
      x

      Delete
    3. Thanks again, Rose. I will certainly make a note of that.

      Delete
  3. Beautiful photos again. So interesting to read of your bee friendly flowers again you have given me some ideas :) In my garden a patch of thyme and flowers of Cranesbill Geranium are attracting bees at the moment.

    Lovely to see your garden butterflies too - I haven't seen a Small Heath here for years and we only get Holly Blue out of the"blues".

    I do hope your favourite bee colony doesn't swarm and how sad about the female mallard. Good to hear the ducklings are surviving though and I hope the mother continues to be ok.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Caroline. Yes, the bees love Thyme and Cranesbill Geranium, don't they? I saw a few Small Heaths at the end of last week (when the weather was good), so I think that's a good sign, at least. I've not seen any other 'blues' here apart from the Holly Blue and the Common Blue. The Ducklings are thriving; they're finding plenty of insects on the pond and I imagine they've been going back to the mother at night for warmth.

      Delete
  4. How lovely to see your butterflies - we have had SO few here so far. Very depressing. I've tried scabious here and they just won't work so thanks for sharing yours. They're one of my favourite flowers. I left our leeks last year to flower and I've never seen so much insect life on one flower - amazing. I find that often, the smaller the flower, the more attractive they are to the bees.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Em. I was starting to see more butterflies, but this change in the weather won't be good for them of course. It's a shame about your Scabious, they are lovely flowers. And leaving veg to go to flower is often fantastic for bees, isn't it? (Even though it may look untidy).

      Delete
  5. Dear Wendy - your flowers with their bees are lovely - I have lots on my Heather patch and they seem to be there for the whole day.
    So sad about the duck - I do hope that you can keep her safe from Mr. Fox. I wonder if she will just repair herself rather like the birds do that fly into our windows sometimes.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rosemary. The bees will love your Heather and of course they produce a very special kind of honey from it. I'm really hoping the Duck's leg will repair on its own; the woman from the RSPCA who came out to see her told me that it can often happen.

      Delete
    2. Just wanted to mention Wendy, that my two Rowan Trees which are in full blossom were covered in bees today - far too many to count. Their little hind leg pollen sacs were almost bursting with yellow pollen.

      Delete
    3. Thanks again, Rosemary. I shall certainly add Rowan to my list.

      Delete
  6. Fantastic photos Wendy.. our bees are enjoying the mayflower on our hawthorn hedge and also the cotoneaster flowers at the moment. Although hubby did notice this morning they are on our oriental poppies, that is the flattened oriental poppies..lol. Hopefully over the coming months/years our garden will be a haven for all things that love pollen, well that's the aim anyway.
    Hope mummy duck's leg repair and the ducklings do ok. Have a great weekend.
    Julie :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Julie. That's interesting about where your bees are. It's a shame about your Oriental Poppies; fortunately the bumblebees are still foraging on my Comfrey plants, even though these collapsed in the strong winds. I can't imagine having a garden without pollinators now; I always think about them when choosing new plants.

      Delete
  7. I've enjoyed reading about your bees as well as the duck and ducklings and I hope they will all survive - I'm sure with your help they will. How lovely to have so many different butterflies enjoying your flowers as well as the bees. We have flag iris growing near our pond but it isn't in flower yet:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rosie. I'm really pleased to see the butterflies and am planning more planting for them, although they often like to forage on weeds! It's interesting that your Flag Iris isn't flowering yet, mine took a battering in yesterday's winds so they don't look quite like the photo this morning.

      Delete
  8. Always interested in reading about what your hives are up to. We have a one legged dunnock here who has made it through the winter and is looking well, so finger's crossed for Mrs Duck. Lovely to see pics of the ducklings. In terms of plants doing well for bees here the early honeysuckle variety was top, then came the catmint and now they seem to be enjoying the scabious, wall flower and lupins in equal measure. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks CT. It's interesting to learn about the favourite plants for your bees. Sometimes injured birds do cope quite well, don't they? I hope this will be the case here, and the Duck will learn to get about with her injured leg.

      Delete
  9. Oh those ducklings are wonderful! Sometimes the RSPCA bat problems away, we often get calls from the public where the RSPCA have refused to help and have to deal with the issue ourselves.

    Ducks are difficult to catch, especially if they can fly. The problem is made worse now the ducklings are getting bigger.....they may panic and scatter or even fly away....If you still want to try and catch them always go with another person, one to catch mum and the other to catch the ducklings....A large net or blanket usually does the trick and a LOT of patience lol, sit somewhere close and don't make a move until mum is settled....Maybe it's best to wait until the duckling are mature now, you're feeding mum so she should be ok providing no infection is kicking in, and if it has she'll get slower and easier to catch. If you do catch mum, vets have an ethical code and don't charge to treat injured wildlife, but sometimes you have to fight their case as many just go for the easy option and put them to sleep. Please email me if you have any probs....and how lovely that you are feeding her....they love lettuce and bird seed too...

    It's cold wet and windy here too and I still haven't seen the usual butterflies that should be around at this time of the year. We have lots of bumble bees this year but few honey bees.
    I too have lots of foxgloves, poppies and comfrey and have grown poached egg plants from seed, I can't wait for them to flower.

    Oh that common blue is gorgeous and I LOVE the pond.

    I am fascinated here learning about bees....fantastic stuff!xxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much for the advice, Snowbird. I'm grateful for this. I'd been uncertain what to do about her. The RSPCA were clear they couldn't help and that it was better for nature to take its course. I was concerned that the easy option would be taken, too. I can't see her at the moment; the cover is very dense and the pond too deep to wade into, but I'll keep searching. The Ducklings certainly speed away when they see me, I think they'd be impossible to catch. I'm hoping they'll learn from the other Ducks and start to come up for food.
      I'll keep trying to feed her and see how she looks.
      I was pleased to see the Common Blue; its colour is beautiful. Hope the weather improves everywhere so the butterflies can come out.
      Thanks again

      Delete
  10. Well it is definitely October here today, blowing a gale and it felt quite unsafe working under the trees! Top of the bee hit parade here seems to be the blue Centauria, and a bright orange Azalea.
    I do hope the duck is OK.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jessica. The winds have eased here today, Thank Goodness - and fortunately not too many plants are looking battered. Hope there isn't more to come. Great to hear about your bee favourite plants - I'll add blue Centauria and Azalea to the list!

      Delete
  11. Super lovely images again Wendy and your garden/small-holding is certainly full of colour and life :-) I do enjoy reading about your bees and I hope you don't lose your thriving colony. I also hope your injured Mallard quickly recovers :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks David. I'll be checking on my bees in the next couple of days (weather permitting) so I'll know then if my good colony has gone or not. I can't get close enough to the Duck to see how injured the leg is. I wonder how she injured it in the first place.

      Delete
  12. Wonderfull images. I loved the information on the bees-something I never knew about before. I hope your favourites stay. I have had experience with one legged seagull chicks. The Hoppy Family got their name after their only chick seriously injured its leg. I thought it would never survive, crash landing on the roof and sliding about. It was terrible to watch. However the parents were great, experienced, and the chick grew and fledged (the leg eventually healed). Foxgloves and scabious doing well for bees in my garden at the moment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Suzie. That's fascinating about the Seagull chick; it is wonderful to hear that the parents still cared for it and didn't reject it. Stories like this give me some hope for the Duck. And the bumblebees love the Foxgloves, don't they? I'm fortunate they self-seed well here.

      Delete
  13. Lovely post Wendy - nice that you have so many butterflies and bees about - I have planted Phacelia and Vipers Bugloss which they love but still haven't seen any - it is blowing a gale here too and still chilly maybe they are all in hiding. I hope the ducklings survive and that the Mallards leg mends ok - I hate to see injured wild life - you feel so helpless don't you. Still at least you tried to help - sometimes they just don't know what's good for them. I suppose it's just a natural reaction against predators.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Elaine. That's interesting about your pollinator-friendly plants, I'm sure you're right that the weather is preventing bees and butterflies from flying right now. And I do feel helpless with this Duck; I still can't find her this morning. She's hiding well from predators, but she's hiding from help, too.

      Delete
  14. I was sorry to hear your tale about the Mallard I hope she and those ducklings survive. It must be dreadful if your bees decide to swarm it was interesting reading about it. Our garden is full of all types of geraniums which the bees are always heading for, also our comfrey. Our scabious isn't in flower yet it feels like autumn here today again too!
    Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Sarah. My lovely colony of bees hasn't swarmed yet, fortunately. Geraniums seem to be a real favourite with the bees at the moment and comfrey is like a magnet to them, isn't it? I'm hoping this coming week will bring summer back and encourage the bees/butterflies out foraging again.

      Delete
  15. Hi Wendy, Sorry for the late comment, I'm not doing too well with blogging at the moment :-( Lovely photos throughout your post, so nice to see the Common Blue, I haven't seen one at all this year yet. Your yellow rose is beautiful!

    So sorry about the Mallard, I do hope she is still with you and not fallen victim to a Fox although if she had I should think it would have taken the ducklings too, as you say she is probably keeping out of sight. I hate it when there are problems with wildlife in the garden, one feels so responsible. Those little ducklings are very sweet :-)

    I read just a few days ago that a third of all honey bee colonies were lost over the winter which was double the losses of the previous winter. Also it said that the poor weather since the survey closed at the end of March may mean the figures are even worse :-( On a lighter note it amuses me that there are bad and sweet tempered bees just as there are humans. I am sure yours will be very sweet tempered when they find how many lovely bee friendly flowers you are growing :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jan. Well I don't mind when comments come in, I'm grateful for all of them. I'm really pleased you've got in touch.
      I've read that the Ducklings can't survive when young without the mother, so I'm guessing they know where she is, even if I can't find her.
      Lots of local beekeepers lost colonies over the winter, so this does tie in with the information you've read. A third of colonies lost is a shocking figure and as you say it is bound to be worse after the cold spring. Many beekeepers here who have lost bees are hoping to pick up swarms, but I'm sure others will just give up keeping bees altogether.
      The difference between sweet tempered bees and unpleasant bees is huge for the beekeeper. It's believed the nature of the colony comes from the queen and if she's mated with bad tempered drones. The offspring then take after their fathers! Available forage plays a part, too. Hungry bees can be bad tempered bees.

      Delete
  16. I just found your blog. :o) The injured duck would tug at my heart, too. I'm glad the ducklings are fending for themselves at such an early age. We have small blue butterflies here, too, but they look a bit different are difficult to photograph they're so tiny and fast. Love your yellow roses!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello - and thank you for visiting. Yes - the Ducklings are fending for themselves very well so that's good news, at least. I'm fascinated by different butterflies and so hope to see many more types over the summer. And we've been very lucky with these roses, they've been healthy and grown well every year.

      Delete
  17. Apparently, it has been reported that the population of bees are dwindling. I should say you have done a great job preserving their species. And what happened to the duck, by the way? It's a lovely sorry, and I'm glad you've had the concern to get the female Mallard treated immediately. Well-written post and well-taken photos, indeed!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Jade - and thanks. Many bee colonies have been lost recently and so like other beekeepers I hope to help them counter bad weather, pesticides, lack of forage etc. Collecting honey is a bonus, but not the reason I keep them. I still haven't seen the Duck, unfortunately, she's hidden up in deep cover, but the Ducklings are growing rapidly.

      Delete
  18. Hi Wendy, I just found your lovely blog! So toughing to read how much you care about the wildlife in your garden. My own little green patch is in San Diego, California and I am a rose lover. I garden completely organically and don't spray. In my garden the bees really love the catmint and my dark blue salvia. They also go into the roses but not that often. It is so calming and cheerful to have the humming sound of bees in the garden!
    Christina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Christina and thank you for visiting and your kind comments. Your own garden sounds wonderful. I'm completely with you on organic gardening; I could only garden with nature, not against it. It's interesting to hear what the bees are on in your garden; catmint and salvia are certainly real bee favourites.

      Delete
  19. This dreadful weather we've had has an awful lot to answer for! I do hope the ducklings continue to flourish, they look good as do your beautiful flowers. x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Suzy. Yes - the weather is wet and windy here once more. The garden flowers are taking a battering again. Not sure how they will look after this weekend!

      Delete
  20. Only just read your post and what a treat, lots of flowers that bee's love, something I've just written about in my blog as well. I love Scabious but mine isn't flowering yet, thats a great photo with the butterfly.
    I think we must have escaped the worst of the weather as though its been windy and wet today not had too much of it so far, maybe I shouldn't say anything.
    Hope all the ducklings are continuing to manage without mum or that you get to see her soon. Keep us posted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Annie. I love seeing the bees find flowers in my garden - I feel as though I've got the planting right! Scabious has to be near the top of the list for bee and butterfly favourite plants, doesn't it? And I'm looking forward to some sunshine and warm weather this week (if the forecast is to be believed)

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to leave any comments. I do love to read them.