January 7, 2022
A few days ago, Anne and I watched as a hundred or more Canada Geese flew over us in a completely disheveled and disorganized formation. They passed over the cornfields in the Meadows, so they clearly weren’t in search of food. They passed over the river, which still hadn’t iced over - so they weren’t looking for open water. They were heading north, following the Metacomet Ridge and as they flew over our farm, they just kept going (so they clearly weren’t looking for the fine companionship of pigs and sheep). There was no “V” formation, no obvious leaders, just a chaotic chorus of honking as if they were in the middle of a frantic retreat. We briefly discussed whether they might know something that we didn’t, and whether we should pack our bags and flee as well.
In stark contrast, the bluebirds appear to be in no hurry to go anywhere this winter. Perhaps it’s the mild weather we’ve been having. Or maybe it’s the abundance of Black Alder, Cedar Trees and Winterberries which offer them an assortment of food. Or it could be that the standing snags and fresh water in our lightly forested pastures are all they need to winter in place. Regardless of their reasoning, they are most welcome, and we put up several more bluebird boxes just in case they decide to stay.
In that same spirit of welcoming our winged friends, we also built a “swarm trap” this week, which is used to entice honeybees in search of a new home. “Swarm Trap” is a bit of a misnomer as the bees aren’t really trapped, they are free to come and go whenever they please. It’s more like speed dating - honeybee style.
As long as a honeybee colony is healthy enough, it will divide and swarm each Spring. The hive’s existing queen will lay new queen eggs and then leave, taking half of the workers with her. Scouts are sent in search of the perfect place and hopefully our swarm trap will meet with their approval. We have an abundance of flowering native plants, fresh water and we never use chemicals of any kind, so I think we have created the perfect home for them. I don’t even care if we ever get honey - I just want them to move in.
We’ll put the trap up in March and see how it goes, but like any kind of dating, there are no guarantees. I’m hoping we get well behaved, docile honeybees and not some renegade swarm of killer bees - or a fugitive goose on the run.