I shot these two pictures this afternoon, at the new wetlands area of Seneca College's King Campus. It's now mid-April and Tree Swallows are to be found everywhere in southern Ontario. What good-lookers they are. And their beauty is exceeded only by their flying prowess. My birder-friend, Gerry Binsfeld, advised a group of us one day, that he had taught his kids to use binoculars by telling them to: "...follow the swallow...". It's good advice. If you can follow a swallow with your binoculars, then you can follow just about any bird.
As for honey bees, their populations are dying off at alarming rates in many places around the world. Great efforts are be made to comprehend this calamity and so far, as I understand it, it is referred to as a syndrome, as opposed to an identified disease. But the healthy-looking bee pictured above was very busy trying to put a huge dent into a crop of emerging Coltsfoot along the Oak Ridges Trail. Its success can be measured by the sacks of pollen attached to its hind legs. Please comment if you wish.
BtheB