12 BBC Wildlife May 2020
DuetoCOVID-19,thisis thefirst
yearsince 2012 thatvolunteers
won’tgatheronclifftopsinCaithness,
OrkneyandShetland.Usuallyin
Maytheyscantheseaforcetaceans
- especiallyorcas,smallnumbersof
whichvisitthesewatersfromIceland
andNorwayduringthesummer
months.Thehugepredatorscome
tohuntgreyandharbourseals(the
latterhavepupsinmidsummer,
soareparticularlyvulnerable)and
sometimesventureamazinglyclose
toshore.Eachindividualorcacan
berecognisedbythepalepatch,or
‘saddle’,behinditsdorsalfin,which
mayitselfbeartelltalenicks or scars.
FINDOUTMORE Cetaceansaround
Britain:seawatchfoundation.org.uk
3 |ORCA
Seal hunters
Bee: Laurie Campbell; orca: Genevieve Leaper; holly blue: Colin Varndell
Twohundredyearsagothismonth,
HMSBeaglewaslaunched.Later,the
shipwouldfamouslytakeCharles
Darwintoseeexoticfloraand
faunainSouthAmerica,thoughit’s
oftenforgottenhespentfarlonger
watchingeverydaywildlifecloser
tohome.InKent,thenaturalist
observed“humblebees”inforensic
detail, becoming one of the first
tonoticethattheypatrolthesame
linearforagingroutesoverand
over.Probablyourmostdistinctive
widespreadspeciesis thered-tailed,
whichlovesclover,dandelion, daisy
andthistleflowers.
GETINVOLVED
Howtowatchandhelpbumblebees:
bumblebeeconservation.org
2 |RED-TAILEDBUMBLEBEE
Humble bees
PEOPLEIN
SCIENCE
DavidAttenboroughtalks
about Darwin and bees.
ONLINE