We're half way through February and it's been as mild as May in North Devon. The snowdrops are out, but so are the daffodils, crocuses and primroses. Birds are nest-building. The grass is growing. I have even seen a few butterflies.
And now the bumblebees are coming out of hibernation.
On the beach this afternoon, a queen buff-tailed bumblebee, flew onto my arm. She then flew off me and onto the wet sand by my feet where she struggled to get her balance and so rolled in the wet.
Queen buff-tailed bees hibernate in holes in the soil over the winter and usually emerge in March to start the process of finding herself a new nest. The first things they need is flowers so that they can take in nectar for energy.
I picked our queen up from the wet sand and carried over to the dunes where are least she was warm and dry but I couldn't find it any flowers for her. She did seem lively and well but I feared the warm sun had brought her out of hibernation before there are enough flowers on the dunes.
When I left her, she was sunning herself on a concrete stump. Hopefully she could dry off a bit. And when I came back a few minutes later, she was gone. She'd no doubt flown off over the dunes - I suspect that she probably has a much better idea of where to find flowers than I do.
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