Bumble bees invade Pycroft’s boxes

On our September workday some of the team visited the Pycroft’s petrel site to prepare for the coming season. All 101 nestboxes were checked. The entrances were cleaned out and soil was removed from around the box lids. We were pleased to find one early bird already occupying box 42. We were not so happy to find some of the boxes containing bumble bee nests. A few years ago a newly arriving petrel was killed when it entered its box which contained a large active bumble bee nest. It’s a pity to have to remove the bees, but we can’t afford to lose any of our petrels at this stage.

A very active bumble bee colony

D225167 - the first returner of the season