This weekend we cleared out our nest box. It's getting to the time when the birds are scouting for nesting sites and really we should have done it in January, but better late than never.
We knew it would need clearing out because last year it was inhabited, not by birds but by bees - Tree Bees to be precise.
We were delighted, our box has had blue tits in it but hadn't been used for a couple of years when we noticed the bees buzzing around it. After some initial concern - we have quite a serious a wasp allergy in the house, a session on the internet identified them as the relatively harmless Tree Bumble Bee. They are great pollinators, hardy bees that have spread across the country over recent years. They are a gingery colour with lovely white furry bottoms, and the only thing that we were warned about was a bit of swarming outside the box. This isn't dangerous it's just the male bees hanging around waiting for a date apparently!
They arrived late spring and by late summer they were gone.
Once we opened our box we found it stuffed with bee nest...
...with papery cells...
...and a few bee remains (I didn't focus on those)
But there was also evidence of birds too - grasses, feathers and even...
...a little spotted egg shell!
It's probably a blue tit egg, so they must have snuck in and out earlier in the year without us noticing!
If you want more information or think you might have a nest visit this site to report it and help track the spread of these bees. The nests are best left alone but can be moved if really necessary, but only be specialists.
Our nest box is all clean now and ready for the next occupant.
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