Another day, another bee

So - as promised we went up to Laratinga Wetlands this morning so the Rower could play with practise with his new lens. He had a great time.

Me? I was as frustrated as a (use your imagination here). I could hear Reed Warblers but do you think I could spot one of the little blighters. Well, I could but they were flitting around so quickly, I couldn't get a decent line of sight. And in any case for these little birds to look anything like interesting, they need to pose on a reed thrilling us all with their song. Sods.

So we came back home, and I almost immediately went out again to the State Government Native Plant Nursery at the Belair National Park. If you are visiting the nursery it's free entry, and it's such a perfect day, I thought I would get some plants to make my own back yard look a bit better.

Absolute winner. More little native bees - and this is a new species for me. I've never seen one like this before. Tiny little things, but I love to watch them. They dive head first into the flower, and slowly back out again, all the time picking up pollen and depositing it on their hairy little back legs. They collect pollen it in the same way as honey bees, and by the time they are finished, their little legs are spread out wide with bands of pollen attached to all the hairs. One day I'll get a decent shot of them.

Definitely better bigger.