Unexpected residents

My suspicions are confirmed.

For a few days, even weeks, I’d been struck by the fact there always seemed to be at least one fat bumble bee flying around our nest box visible from the kitchen window.

On Monday I put out the washing to dry. One end of the line I tie to a bracket on the wall below the nest box. As I tied the line on, & subsequently went to peg up the washing or take it down, I couldn’t help but beware of a buzzing.

By now there was nearer half a dozen fat white-bottomed bumble bees buzzing around the box. They were popping in with legs laden with full golden sacks of nectar & leaving with slim bare legs.

I’m now sure there is a bees’ nest in the nest box. Heaven help any bird that wants to use that box for nesting! Admittedly by now they will have made their choice & clearly it wasn’t this box this year.

Later that day we went to a garden centre & bought some annual bedding plants to add some cheer to that bit of the garden. As I planted them I couldn’t help thinking that would please the bees. They won’t have so far to travel to harvest their nectar.

I’m relieved to say the nest box is high up on the wall, just below the eaves of that part of the house so we should be safe enough. I don’t think we will be disturbing them so they shouldn’t feel the need to defend themselves by stinging us. It is lovely to watch all that activity even if we have attracted something rather smaller than our usual tit or sparrow.