Monthly Archives: February 2013

As befits the 61st anniversary of Elizabeth II being proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom, today was a beautiful day.

Six of us met at 10(ish) to complete our survey of the FOAW nest boxes from the Slabbering Baby down to the Seven Arches.  Excitingly, Phil reported at the outset seeing a nuthatch going into the nest box just by the Slabbering Baby (one we surveyed in part 2).

We got off to a slow start – due in part to Yorkshire Water having changed the padlock on the gate down to the Slabbering Baby, so we had to take everything down by wheelbarrow.  Accordingly, by 10.45 we had managed no more than to lean a ladder against a tree! It did not look likely that we would, as hoped, survey twelve boxes by 1 pm!

We refurbished about four boxes on site with new backing and roofs, and replaced seven with four new woodstone boxes and three refurbished boxes.  We completed our survey by 2 pm.

Our starling/treecreeper box had been badly damaged, probably, by woodpeckers, but had a tit nest at the bottom.  Amazing to think that newly fledged blue tits or great tits had to climb a foot to get out!

All the nest boxes surveyed today were used for nesting.

It is going to be interesting to see how the birds take to our new woodstone boxes – demonstrated below by Tom.

Steve, Brian and your correspondent completed the day by replacing box number 5, which had been badly damaged by squirrels, with a refurbished box.

Below, Andrew inspects box number 5.

Four of us got together for a couple of hours to refurbish the dilapidated nest boxes we took down last weekend.  We even had one visitor from a well-known prison camp run by the USA.

Many of the nest boxes we have surveyed this winter have been damp or even wet inside – perhaps not surprising when 2012 was the wettest year on record.  We therefore put a backing and roof of damp proof course on the nest boxes.   The newly refurbished nest boxes will be used to replace any damaged ones when we complete our survey this Friday.