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  • Author Author: ralphjy
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Premature Spring in Oregon 2026

ralphjy

We've had a pretty mild winter so far in the greater Portland area.  We haven't had any snow yet in the Willamette Valley and our local snowpack in the Mt. Hood area is about 30% of normal.  This week we've had a couple of days of record high daytime temperatures in the low 60's (F).

I was walking with my grandson and 2 granddogs and we noticed lots of bee activity in a patch of Heather (at least that's what my wife calls it).  Mostly Honeybees and Bumblebees, also a few others that I couldn't identify.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any bee pictures because I had a bag of dog poop in one hand and was trying to control the dogs with the other.

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It got me thinking about  and site preparation for BeeBox.  I'm looking forward to learning about how his BeeBox does this season.

When we got home I took a look at the only two plants (Hellebores and Camelias) that are currently blooming in our yard and found that we also are having bee activity.  The bees weren't very cooperative so I didn't get any good closeup pics like Dave gets.

Older granddog

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Good eye test to see if you can spot the honeybee in the next two pics.  The third pic is of a bee that I can't identify.  And I wasn't able to get a pic of the one bumblebee that I saw.

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It looks like we will be back to colder and wetter weather next week.  I am hopeful for a good bee season this spring and summer.

  • in reply to ralphjy

    I've still got Hellebores in flower at the back of the house (near to the BeeBox). The Snowdrops have been and gone, so too early for the bees but if the Winters continue to get milder, then they might become a lifeline. Earlier in the month I had some giant Crocus flowering in the front garden, this is the first year they have made it to full flower before being battered to death by the weather. Apparently Bumblebee queens sometimes take shelter overnight in the flowering cups. Currently have some Muscari in flower out front, and the new young Heathers are still in flower (have just fed them with some more sulphur chips).

    The red Salvia (front and back) never dropped their leaves over winter, so they may be on for an early start. (I have two already in flower indoors). I've also noticed that this year the Fuchsia have produced new growth from last year's old wood (last year they died back to ground level and started over) so they too might be on for an earlier start.

    It's quite hard to tell if you are observing the same Bumblebee or not. I think the exact nesting site process for Bumblebees is still a bit of a mystery even to researchers. Not sure if the one I saw on the Hellebores was just feeding up after emerging from hibernation or if it is already in the process of nest building. I assume the later, as after spending a lot of time feeding, it went up high, turned, and flew off in a straight line as opposed to working its way into the next garden. About 10 minutes later it flew back from the same direction and was back on the Hellebores again. I saw this behaviour being repeated a number of times. In contrast, the one I saw scouting around yesterday, was ignoring all the flowers and investigating any holes and gaps.

  • in reply to beacon_dave

    I think that I might have seen a queen in the backyard earlier this week.  Or more correctly, I was buzzed by a VERY large bumblebee that appeared to be searching the area.  The weather here has been problematic too, but luckily we are not in an area that is prone to flooding.  My backyard has nothing flowering currently, all the activity has been in the front yard which is on the east side.  I'm hopeful that things will improve in the next few weeks.  We finally had a couple of days in a row of full sun, but the overnight temps were in the 30s (F).  Sunrise to sunset is about 12 1/2 hours and daytime temps are in the 60s.

    My wife mentioned to me that she saw a large bumblebee this afternoon when she was cleaning out the area around the rose bushes in the backyard.  Not sure if that could be the same one.  I've read that the process of finding a suitable nesting site could take a few weeks?

  • in reply to ralphjy

    Spotted a queen scouting the garden today - under the shed, around the composting bins, in the wood pile, around the wheelie bins, around the garden walls, in the long grass, under the car... Unfortunately BeeBox wasn't on her flightpath so couldn't see if there was any interest.

    Weather is all over the place at the moment, four seasons in one day. Overnight frosts, storms, heavy rain, hail, sunny intervals... At least BeeBox didn't blow away, first real test of the wind resistance.

  • in reply to ralphjy

    Ready and waiting...

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    Having some doubts whether or not the queen I saw can actually fit through the hole. Bee