Catching up with Carymoor

Over recent years, former landfill ground at Dimmer near Castle Cary has been transformed into a thriving nature reserve by Carymoor Environmental Trust. This month, the team report on their new bee shed, share some of their wildlife encounters and explain how you can get involved.

Bee amazed

Last summer we were lucky enough to have a hive of honeybees installed in our orchard, looked after by beekeepers Stewart Holden and Chrisi Kennedy. We are always looking for new ways to inspire visiting groups of schoolchildren, but how could we show a class of children what goes on inside a hive without having to dress them all in protective suits? Chrisi suggested setting up an observation hive – a specially constructed hive which has glass panels on either side, allowing you to watch the busy life of the colony without disturbing the bees and without the risk of being stung.

The observation hive is being set up within a timber building. The hive is a sealed unit apart from a plastic tube connecting it with the outside through which the bees can come and go as they please. Normally the hive will be covered with protective shutters that can be removed to allow the inner workings of the hive to be seen.

In order to populate the observation hive, Stewart and Chrisi transferred some of the bees and brood frames from the hive in the orchard to a brood box, making sure to include a single queen cell. This cell contains a pupa which will emerge as a queen to lead the new colony, which will spend the summer months in the observation hive. If all goes well we should have Carymoor's bee shed buzzing along nicely in a few weeks.

Spring sightings

It has already been a remarkable year on the nature reserve at Carymoor. The prolonged fine spell concentrated our normally protracted spring so that events like the flowering of blackthorn and hawthorn, usually early and late spring events, have overlapped this year. Dog roses were coming into flower before the end of April – an event more commonly associated with June! Our avian summer visitors are melodiously broadcasting their presence from all corners of the site. Reed and sedge warblers in the wetlands, whitethroats, chiffchaffs and willow warblers in the copses and hedgerows. Cuckoos (first heard on 21st April) seem to be calling from all over the site.

Two more unusual visitors were a purple heron at Carymarsh over the Easter weekend and a grasshopper warbler calling from the hedgerow between the footpath and the landfill.

The resident swans at Carymarsh have produced at least three eggs, but on a sadder note we have only heard one skylark on the capped landfill, whereas in previous years we have had up to 12 nesting pairs. Local birder Bruce Taylor believes that the harsh start to the winter has taken a heavy toll on this species.

A vixen with four cubs has been observed in a copse near the centre. Next to the den were some clues as to the family's diet: carcasses of a mallard duck and grass snake. Also spotted, by site ecologist Angus Davies, was a voles' nest with babies in a pile of cut grass. Present in the same pile was a grass snake. Was it hunting the baby voles or was it using the same grass pile to lay its own eggs?

Sixteen species of butterfly have already been seen on the butterfly transect walk. The purpose of the transect is to record fluctuations in the number and behaviour of these insects. What is abundantly clear from this year's records is that all species have emerged earlier than usual, in the case of the Common Blue, as much as three weeks earlier than normal.

Carymoor events

Looking for something different for your children's birthday parties? Then try one of Carymoor's new fun-packed activity parties, designed especially for youngsters aged four to 11 who are wild about nature.

There is still a chance to take part in the last of the Cut Waste, Cut Costs workshops on Tuesday 10th May, 9.30am -2.15pm. Entitled Go Global, the workshop will show how our actions impact on other people around the world.

There are still a few places left on the willow-weaving courses on Saturday 21st May and 11th June. The first course will show you how to make useful items like pea frames, obelisks and hurdles for your garden, while the second is a repeat of our popular beginner's basket-making course.

If you'd like to find out how to attract more wildlife to your garden, we're running two wildlife gardening courses. The first, on Saturday 28th May. Butterflies and You, led by butterfly expert Andrew George, tells you how to turn your garden into a mini nature reserve for butterflies by creating butterfly-friendly habitats and selecting suitable plants. For the second course, Creating a Wildlife-friendly Garden, on 2nd July, landscape gardener Sarah Darlington will give practical advice on planting to encourage birds and bees, making a wildlife pond and creating a wildflower meadow.

Booking is essential - for more information on events and volunteering, call 01963 350143 or visit www.carymoor.org.uk