Of Gulls and Bees

Recent activity in the school garden involved using our shredder.  Over the winter months we had amassed a large pile of garden waste which we put to one side to be shredded.  The entire heap was shredded fairly quickly and we got 8 wheelbarrow loads of chippings which we spread onto the path behind the pond.

This weekend we have worked on the Willow Classroom, repairing and replacing some of the wood.It was an interesting day as many migrant birds passed through the garden having recently made landfall at the coast.  Many were Chiffchaffs which had returned from West Africa. These birds weigh about 9 grams.  The journey they make is amazing for their size.  It was also a noisy day as many of the nearby Herring Gulls which were reclaiming their nest sites on nearby buildings were active in and about the garden. At one point a bird opened a bag which had bread in it and started to help itself..

However not be outdone another gull managed to pull off some amazing acrobatics as it stood upside down on the bird table trying to take the meal worms which had been put out for the Robin.

The brief spell of sunshine tricked several Buff-tailed bumble bees to take to the air but their flights were short lived as the temperature dropped as quickly as it had climbed.  The bees became unfortunately downed. Some were found and rescued and put into safe warmer places.

By the end of the day the potatoes had been planted in the old tyres and the World War 2 bed, the new Clematis had been planted, and the Honeysuckle tidied and retied to the pergola. A quick look at the pond before we left revealed that some of the frog spawn had 'hatched' and some very small tadpoles were seen swimming about.