Mud - in January we were drowning in it, but now it's in short supply and that's bad for wildlife. More...

We have just had a one of the driest March months on record and everything has dried out. Some years ago we converted a large garden pond which was no longer holding water into a bog garden, but in this weather, it's not a bog garden unless I water it, and apart from keeping the plants alive, that makes mud. A few days ago I spotted a very bright coloured bee collecting mud and flying off, then returning for more. Looking closely, I identified her as a European Orchard Bee, Osmia cornuta. 

This is the first record of this species for Leicestershire & Rutland, but without the mud to line her nests tubes, it won't be here for long. Lots of birds, not just Swallows and House Martins, are also looking for mud for nest building, so while providing water in your garden is good for wildlife, please make some mud too! An old washing up bowl or a hole in the ground will do, but keep it watered.