We're very happy to announce that this year's Community Science photo competition is now open for entries.
The theme for entries this year is 'WATER IN THE UPLANDS' - intended in part to draw attention to the wide-ranging positive effects of re-wetting blanket bogs. As ever you are free to interpret this theme as you see fit - using as much creativity and imagination as possible!
This year there are age-based categories for photographers to enter - 'Adults' or '15 and under', and we have kindly been donated some fantastic prizes:
The winner of the adults category will win this amazing HD nest box camera system worth £99 - donated by Gardenature.
The winner of the 15 and under category will win this (appropriately) waterproof camera worth £130 donated by Harrison Cameras.
The deadline for entries is 31st Dec 2016. For full details of how to enter, please see our webpage. Good luck!
The morning after a long day of field work at the Roaches in
the south-west Peak District it dawned on me that upon arriving home in
Holmfirth, West Yorkshire the evening before, I had not unpacked my rucksack.
I
got to work removing my lunch box and the tools I’d been using only to hear a
very strange sound emanating from the bottom of my bag.
At first I thought it
may be air escaping from my half-drunk flask of tea but removing that did not
stop the noise. Deciding something must have made a temporary home in my bag I
took it outside and with trepidation emptied the contents on to the ground. To
my surprise out popped a beautiful, fresh-looking, queen, white-tailed
bumblebee!
Having travelled nearly 40 miles in my bag the previous day
I imagined the poor bee was hungry and as she seemed unable to fly I fed her up
on some sugar water which she seemed to enjoy as you can see in the video
below.
After she’d eaten I placed her on an open flower so that she
could warm up and hopefully get some sweet nectar inside her. Unfortunately the
weather had different ideas and the torrential downpour that followed forced me
to move the lethargic insect to a sheltered spot underneath some winter heather.
Bumblebee on the step - close to death
The following afternoon I thought I should check on my
garden guest. Disappointment followed as I found that she hadn’t moved an inch
and didn’t look any more active than before. I again moved to her into the sun
on the open cosmos flower so she could warm up and eat. She had other ideas and
after a couple of hours I found her on the garden step looking close to death.
One final attempt to rejuvenate her was needed so with
garden gloves on I lifted her up and put her on the flower head of a nearby lavender
plant.
She quickly started lapping up nectar from the tiny flowers and once all
were exhausted her little legs were waving at me to help her to the next one. I
repeated this several times and while her energy looked to be increasing she
still didn’t seem able to fly.
With hope dwindling my partner then had the great idea of
pulling the lavender flowers together and trapping them against one another to
form a network of bridges so that I could have a rest and the bee could make
her own way between the flowers. This was the move that made all the
difference!
Just a few minutes later, to our astonishment, the bee lifted into
the air and buzzed away. Her four day ordeal and epic journey had not, as I had
feared, been the end of her and I like to think she’s now found a safe hole nearby
to hibernate for winter so that she can visit us again next spring.
