Thanks to everyone who has joined in the November 2015 count so far. We’ve crossed the continent since our last count – our first observations from Western Australia were submitted this time!

There are still a couple of days left to do a count (until Sunday November 22), and you are welcome to submit another observation even if you have already submitted one.

With the hot weather much of the country has been experiencing over the last couple of days, there’s more of a chance of seeing pollinators earlier in the morning and later in the evening. This suits us just fine, as it means we don’t have to be out in the hottest part of the day!

We’ve had a busy week here in Albury, with some great public events on thanks to the Slopes2 Summit partnership. We were delighted to meet native bee enthusiast Dr Michael Batley, who gave a public talk at the Albury Botanic Gardens on Wednesday night, sharing the wonderful antics of some of our native bees. On Thursday, he joined us at the Wirraminna Environmental Education Centre at Burrumbuttock, where we hosted some eager school groups. Wirraminna is a beautiful location, and it was the perfect spot to get the kids outside in nature, looking for insects on the diverse array of native flowers that were on show.

The highlight of the week has been the discovery that we have 3 different species of blue-banded bee in the Albury region, not just 1, as previous records show – you can read Karen’s blog about the excitement here. More inspiration to get out there looking for the little things we often miss!

It’s been particularly rewarding to see how fascinated people are to discover that bees aren’t our only native pollinators! The #ozpollinators hashtag has certainly been getting a workout on social media, and we’d love to see your pictures too. You can also share pictures & ID tips with the hashtag in between counts.

And don’t forget our photo competition – you have until November 27 to get your entries in, and we even have a prize for the best ‘near miss’ shot! You can find the entry form and conditions here.