Nature Blog by Jenny Bourne

The beekeeper needs to keep up regular hive inspections from late March until mid-November to check on the health of the colony as it builds up for the summer ensuring they have enough food and space to accommodate the growing number of bees that make up the expanding colony.

On a warm afternoon last Sunday Jem presented a talk on beekeeping to an audience of plotholders with Rose and Neta; all three of them are members of Kingston Beekeepers Association,

Several years ago three owl boxes were situated in park trees alongside the west perimeter wall adjoining the lane to the Cricket Club. No owls so far, but a pair of kestrels took up residence in one of them and now four chicks have fledged!

What impact might the changing seasonal weather patterns be having on our wildlife, now that spring seems to arrive at least two weeks earlier than in past decades? An interesting article by Mike Toms in this month’s BTO magazine * discusses this issue:

It’s always a thrill to see the first butterflies emerging: orange-tips and brimstones have been flittering around our plot over the past couple of weeks or so, along with the early peacocks and the ubiquitous, non-too popular large whites. Brimstones are usually a sign that spring is well and truly here,