The Bird&Bee Box Diary |
May 2003 |
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As she went out through the opening she ran into a spider's web constructed during the night and took several attempts to get past it. (Ignore the April in the webcam images - I didn't change the text to May until after I received an e-mailed reminder later in the morning!)
At 8pm, as I write this, I don't know whether or not she is in the box. I had a thought this morning that it would be quite ironic if the bumble bee that (probably) evicted the Blue Tits were to be evicted by a spider that could well end up being eaten by a Blue Tit!
This morning the box entrance is again blocked by a web which you may just make out on this webcam image.
I shall continue to record the box on video throughout the day, just in case the bumble bee should return. At 7.27pm I have decided to suspend use of the webcam. The web is still intact and there has been neither sight nor sound of the bumble bee all day. While it is possible the bee has remained hidden in the nest, I suspect that it has abandoned the box. I will wait a day or two before I check the bottom of the nest to see whether she was just roosting in there or had started to build her own nest. 9 May - I have now checked the box and found no sign of either the bee or any nest construction by her. I can only assume that, despite all her activity she was only using the box as a roost. The entrance is still guarded by a web and so I have, sadly accepted that the box is now likely to remain empty this year, unless it is used for roosting at some stage. I have now removed the colour camera so that I can use it elsewhere, although it can be returned easily should the need arise, and this part of my diary will remain dormant until then....perhaps next year! |
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1
May - The bumble bee
made a late start this morning and her departure nearly turned
into a nightmare.
I
did not see her again all morning. It was the afternoon before
she returned and then she left again within a minute.
2
May - A less than optimistic
start to the day.