Frog spawn, rescued bee and bird courship

I opened the curtains this morning to discover a quiet and peaceful pond. The frantic diving of frogs that usually greets me when I open the curtain is over and the frogs have vanished as quickly as they appeared. One loan frog bobbed at the surface.

I went out to take a closer look and noticed a large bumblebee on the path (possibly a queen). One of its wings was out of place and the bee was struggling. As I got near to the bee, it lifted its legs on the side nearest to me, either as an attempt to ward me off or a half hearted attempt to defend itself. It is liklely that our cat has been 'playing' with the bee. Unfortuantely, before we took the cat on it had been kept indoors all its life and had honed its hunting skills on invertebrates to perfection (and to my annoyance). I managed to get the bee to climb up onto a twig and I placed it on a plant in a window box. I checked on it later in the day and the bee had gone, so hopefully it was okay. I have seen bees and wasps use their legs to clean their bodies and wings, so hopefully she was able to push the wing back into place.

In Easthill Park the bird courship is hotting up and the territorial calls of black bird and robin are very evident. Solitary goldfinches were at the top of different trees singing and chaffinches chased each other around the shrubs. The calls of great tits could also be heard from the far side of the park. I noticed a blue tit checking out one of the nest boxes in the park.

It had a good look in through one of the holes then hopped around in the branches as if checking out the area for its suitablility. The blue tit checked out the box 5 times while I watched. I will keep a special eye on this box, which I pass most days, as I am hoping the blue tits will move in and nest.