My heather path, in full bloom. It will be full of bees once they wake up.
There were definitely signs of spring this morning. The NUIG fox and I crossed paths again as I walked through the campus early this morning. It was a sunny if cold morning but it warmed up a little in the afternoon. It was enough to encourage a few visitors, including a groggy honeybee, a more lively white-tailed bumblebee (Bombus lucorum) and a small tortoiseshell butterfly. I spotted all three within a 5 minute interval looking out my upstairs office window. It wasn’t just the warmth of the sun that brought them to the garden. I planted a patch of spring heather a few years ago to provide early pollen and it has matured nicely. The plants are in full bloom now, and are ready to attract any newly-awakened hungry insects.
Screengrab of a video clip of my first bumblebee visitor of the year.