Nature Blog by Jenny Bourne

A February day of unseasonally warm sun (17o!) brought out the first butterfly; large queen bumbles and honey bees were out searching for early forage and the bees in the apiary were all in full buzz around their hives.

It can be easy these days to feel despondent about the plight of wildlife and the natural environment, with news of sharp declines in bird, insect, mammal, amphibean and other species UK and internationally. The message in last year’s fourth ‘State of the Nation’ report is stark:

At last there’s been an extremely cold snap, with minus temps bringing widespread early morning ground frost. Not yet as prolonged and severe as the end of last year, when many of us lost plants and varieties that had previously weathered such cold snaps as the past week or so;

The old fruit trees in the wildlife area that have been managed and harvested by the Conservation Fruit Tree volunteer team will be receiving an annual winter prune at the end of the month. Yet again my suggestions for a quick wassail ceremony to encourage growth and good fruiting have not been met with too much enthusiasm…

Christmas Day was mild, dull and damp, prompting a quick visit to a very quiet allotments site to deliver new gift plants. A bumble bee was foraging on the newly flowering mahonia;