Paul and I took a trip to see the hives at West Rise's Bee Sanctuary on Langney Marsh as we had heard that there had been activity seen at one of them. We weren't sure what to expect, and presumed it was wasps, as the hives have been empty since the winter of 2020-21. We …
School Beekeeping Podcast
I recently featured on the Living Being podcast, talking about my involvement with schools and honey bees. You can listen to it here, or it's over on my Patreon as a public post. If you'd like me to talk to your school, or be on your podcast, please email me.
Spring Check of the West Rise Bees
We last went to visit the bees at the School Apiary on Langney Marsh in August, and we braved the breezy conditions today to go and see how they were getting on. The water was high in the lakes, and there were lots of birds on and around on the water. Swans, geese, ducks, and …
Autumn Check on the Marsh
Today, Paul and I took a trip to check on the West Rise Junior School Apiary on Langney Marsh. Breezy but warm, we took the scenic (but buffalo-free) route to the bees, taking in the swans flying overhead, a female kestrel hunting, and some young moorhens preening on a raft of pondweed. We passed what …
High Summer at the School Apiary
Lockdown restrictions and social distancing have made it a bit challenging to visit the bees at West Rise Junior School's Bee Sanctuary. Normally at this time of year we would be in the throes of BeeFest, the annual celebration of not just bees, but simply being outdoors and appreciating nature - a mandate which the …
Hive check at Langney Marsh
I wanted to go and see that the Warré hive was getting on ok and hadn't been knocked over again! A glorious day at the Marsh, with the usual compliment of geese, a heron, corvids and starlings. Naturally I forgot my binoculars, but the birdlife was abundant. Lots of hawthorn out too - great for …
School Apiary Check
I have been waiting for a suitable opportunity to go and check the bees on the Marsh, and the need for this was hastened by my getting a message to say that one of the hives was leaning at rather an angle as the livestock had managed to get in to the apiary... On arrival …
Marsh bees, and Bee Lining
Today's weather was finally good enough for us to visit the bees on Langney Marsh. We also wanted to see if our tarp experiment had vanished in the floods, so Paul and I headed down under blue skies and a brisk and chilly breeze to see what was going on in the apiary. We saw …
Floods
We have had a huge amount of rain here in Sussex - and across the UK - recently, and my house is thankfully situated on higher ground so I am not in immediate danger of inundation, although my garden does get standing water in the sunken section, much to the ducks' delight: https://videopress.com/v/LCtFumti?preloadContent=metadata Further down …
Autumn Check at the School Apiary
We took a trip to Langney Marsh this afternoon to give the West Rise school bees a final check for the autumn. There was a lot of standing water, perfect for the snipe which zig-zagged up sharply as we passed, and we both heard and saw a number of reed buntings as well as the …
Wayward Bee 