HEARD the one about the birds and the bees? Workers in Queen Street, Ipswich, certainly have.Nature went on an unannounced walkabout as a swarm of bees was spotted in the street just yards from where a rare bird is nesting.

By NICK RICHARDS

HEARD the one about the birds and the bees? Workers in Queen Street, Ipswich, certainly have.

Nature went on an unannounced walkabout as a swarm of bees was spotted in the street just yards from where a rare bird is nesting.

Eyewitnesses reported people running into shops to escape the swarm of bees which was spotted above the Garden Bistro and Rex Records.

Chris Barrett, owner of Rex, said: "The first I heard was when someone said I should shut the door and keep the bees out.

"There was a big carpet of bees up near the roof so I rang the council who suggested calling a beekeeper."

An eyewitness at the scene said that he thought the reason the bees had suddenly appeared in such a large swarm was because they were probably protecting the queen bee that had been disturbed.

Meanwhile, just over the road behind Frasers Estate Agent, a yellow wagtail has been nesting at the rear of the building for the last few weeks.

Peter Hudson of Frasers said: "It has been there for a couple of weeks in the courtyard at the back of the building.

"There is an extractor fan in one of the loos on the first floor and when it was removed we discovered the nest there.

I didn't know what it was at first but when I looked it up in a book, I realised it was a yellow wagtail."

Yellow wagtails return from migration in April or May and often head for the wetlands of Norfolk.

They are often spotted in the marshes at Cley and have a fondness for reedy areas – though it appears that this particular bird is clearly looking for a des res somewhere in the Ipswich area.