The Andrena clarkella mining bees at Court Hey Park are indeed now active! At the moment there appear to only be a few burrows open and i only saw males so i suspect they have only recently started to emerge, perhaps stalled by the drop in temperature again.
A conversation with my friend and ex-colleague Ian Grimshaw turned to our boyhood activities in 50’s and 60’s, long before games consoles and 24 hours-per-day television had taken over. Ian surprised me with a tale of his adventures, exploring neighbourhood with another friend, Derek Evans, looking for interesting creatures/finds in places like the rough ground...