June 2020
A smallish bee visited a number of cracks and crevices
in the crumbling mortar of the backyard wall, seemingly having forgotten where
it lived. Every so often, though, it popped into a hole, disappeared for a
while, popped back out and started the performance all over again. It was
probably a mining bee or a mason bee collecting nesting material. For those of
us for whom the insect world is largely a mystery, the guide books are of
little or no help – often pointing out that there are another thirty species
remarkably like this one. For a more definitive identification, count the hairs
on its legs.
A recent things-to-do-in-lockdown email from the
Natural History Society of Northumbria suggested taking a closer look at white
tailed bumble bees. It turns out that it is not a single species but at least
three. And, to further the confusion, buff tailed bumble bee workers have white
tails. Best use DNA testing. Best,
perhaps, just to take pleasure in watching that little bee search around the
crumbling backyard brickwork midst the ivy-leaved toadflax and something that
might be creeping bellflower but probably isn’t.
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| Ivy-leaved toadflax |
Covid-19 and the lockdown have kept visitors,
volunteers and most staff out of Gibside (and other places) for eleven or
twelve weeks. Last Wednesday, though, began a phased reopening. After as many
weeks of wall-to-wall sunshine, it rained. But that didn’t matter. The place
looked wonderful. Walking up Leap Mill Burn, the woodland canopy appeared as if
underlit by the vibrant green ferns of the understorey. On Octagon Pond, a coot
sat on a prominent nest, its elevation exaggerated by its reflection in the
water. A little grebe came and went on the pond surface. Everywhere looked
lush. The walled garden felt like a deserted village, but still had order and
colour, and apples were forming on the trees. Areas of usually mown grass by the old hall
and the orangery, unvisited and neglected, were glowing with meadow flowers.
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| Woodland canopy |
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| Coot on nest |
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| Little grebe |
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| Orangery |
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| The wilder Walled Garden |
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| The Avenue - that grass needs a "haircut" |
On an ordinary working day, it has been our way to
take out a note book and record the plants and other wildlife. Clearly, there
were lots of yellow rattle and buttercups, but we made no attempt to look
closer – content to be still amongst the beauty of it all. You can pursue the
detail or just feel free to enjoy the moment.
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| Yellow rattle |
Steve Wootten & Phil Coyne
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