Feeding Station Setup
Each year I mean to install a feeding station for the local bird populations. This year I have finally gotten around to setting one up. With a myriad of birdlife getting ready for the winter it’s a brilliant time of year to set up feeders and also water sources for wildlife. Having gotten a great deal on some bird feeders me and my partner got to work. Note to self I should have built the reflection pool on site, not prebuilt as it was a bit of a workout carrying it to the final location. Using the materials already available on site we both got to work setting the feeders and reflection pool up. With many sightings of Great Spotted woodpeckers I installed an upright perch for them to land on when they come in to feed on the peanut feeders. I will be heading back this week to drill
Building homes for raptors !
Having been a huge fan of shows such as Springwatch and seeing the nests be monitored by cameras, I have always wanted to monitor my own. This time though I wanted to build nest boxes for something slightly bigger than the bluets in the garden. My job at the time meant that there was plenty of scrap wood to be had and also meant a lot of lugging timber on the bus ride home after work. My colleges did have some strange looks on their faces as they saw me take home all manner of scraps. But to me I knew what they could be so it made the late bus journeys home with armfuls of wood all the worth while ! The main aim was to build nesting boxes for some local farmland. From my bedroom window as well as some sightings out in the field I had heard
Garden Pond Coming Together
With plenty of time during lockdown I gave the ‘nature pond’ a bit of a tidy up. The pond was originally built by my dad about fourteen years ago and it has stood the test of time. With the liner leaking and becoming cracked after years of use it was time for a revamp. Originally it had a pump fed stream but I have guessed that that is where the water had been escaping from. This wasn’t ideal at the best of times and with the water being constantly pumped out the pond kept on emptying. As you can see the pond looked very good for wildlife back when it was first built. My plan was to use some of the ferns that were around the garden to plant up the edges and breaking up the border. With the garden having had quite the change over the past two years
AFON- Getting young people outdoors
Hi all, been very busy with mock exams(one week to go) but just before the exam I headed down to Poole Harbour to be part of a project organised by AFON(a focus on nature) which got primary school kids out on a bird watching boat trip for the day. We arrived on the Sunday,earlier than expected, and dropped our bags off at the very nice antelope hotel, and headed to Arne nature reserve(mainly in search of the spoon bills). I had checked the day before to see if they were still about but there was not any news of them but when we arrived at the hide we were greeted by 16 adult spoonbills, first ever for me. Although they were too far away for good pictures I enjoyed watching their behavior,mainly sleeping, through my binoculars.Heading back to the car park me and Danielle stopped off at the visitor centre