One For The Birds And Bees. ....

I am very fortunate to have plenty of wildlife here in my garden in heavenly Devon, and I try to capture photos whenever I can. The woodpecker is the most difficult one to capture with the camera, because he is off at the slightest movement or noise. I shall have to sit myself on a chair and learn to be patient - and very quiet! I did manage to take this one shot, although the quality isn't really very good

I was rather pleased with that last one, I must admit. 

Talking about the garden and the wildlife, research shows that bees are dying in large numbers.  However, this is not a new phenomenon.  In the 1950’s, there were over 50 species of bee here in the U.K.,  yet now there are only  25.  The rest have become extinct, and yet the number of non-native bees have increased.  This has been put forward as one reason for the demise of our own native bee.

A bit like our native bluebells, which are now being over-run by the Spanish variety!  Many people are simply not aware of the consequences if the bee population dies out.  They are responsible for pollinating our crops, and I have discovered that a third of our regular diet could be affected if this decline continues, and animals, both wild and domesticated, would be left without the foodstuffs they rely on. The following poster is courtesy of Pinterest.com

Strangely enough, with the hot, dry Summer we have experienced this year, I have never seen so many bees in the garden, which is planted up with all the shrubs and flowers that bees love so much. I also have several Bee and Insect Hotels dotted around!

Well, we are now in August, and the year is pressing on. I hope you are keeping well wherever you are in this small world of ours 😊.