28 Hydref/ October 2019
A few images of Dominic showing off his finished tit nest boxes. Painted with that beautiful green gloss. I love this green gloss it really will blend in with the environment whilst keeping the nest boxes totally waterproof.
20 Hydref/ October 2019
A short time ago I was asked to construct 30 nest boxes by Gwent Ornithology Society. The nest boxes were constructed for a local woodland owned by the society. I was also asked if I could maintain and monitor them each breeding season and write a report for the society website. I did have a good think about this because I monitor so many nest box sites I did question myself. I came to the conclusion that I should be ok to monitor especially with volunteers and the fact this woodland is on my route to some of my nest box sites.
This particular woodland has attracted species like Pied Flycatcher and Spotted Flycatcher in the past with Pieds actually using the society nest boxes. Obviously if this site only attracted blue tit, great tit and nuthatches I probably would not be interested if I am totally honest. There is no point in constructing nest boxes for sites that only attract species that are plentiful. However that is only my decision and the Society are aware that my target species are Pied Flycatchers so this was worth my while. Thank you to the chaps that helped me erect the nest boxes.
16 Hydref/ October 2019
Huge thank you to Tony and the community organisation Costar who very kindly donated paint to my project. The paint is a mixture of masonry paint and a perfect dark green water based gloss. If I am honest it is not the type of green you would use in a house so i can understand why it was donated. I must say it is a perfect colour for nest boxes and if I was given the choice to pick a colour to use on nest boxes this would certainly be my first choice.
Costar is a community project offering residents of Torfaen paint at discounted prices. They receive paint from companies like Dulux and crown which is quality grade paint. I cannot thank costar enough and I have already used some of the donated paint on small tit nest boxes. Great finish and will keep the nest boxes water tight which is obviously needed especially at some of my upland nest box sites. These sites are battered by adverse weather conditions on a daily basis especially during winter where heavy snow is a regular occurence.
10 Hydref/ October 2019
Just a few images of another Barn Owl nest box being built by Dominic. These are put to gather firstly with OS board then covered in under felt before being finished off with pallet strips
3 Hydref/October 2019
My arm is still in plaster and still on light duties. Dominic asking to help out couldn't have happened at a better time, perfect timing. All I can do at the moment is give out instructions to a very hard working young lad who genuinely wants to learn. He is so willing and a very hard worker which should help him seek employment in the future.
Thankfully I have plenty of materials in front of me to work with. We have been concentrating on Barn Owl nest boxes with the aim of erecting 15 over a 12 month period achievable only with a team of volunteers.
1 Hydref/ October 2019
I was fortunate to have a young lad contact me asking if he was ok to help out with building a few Barn Owl nest boxes. The reason for this was he is a qualified carpenter albeit recently qualified but was out of work and has been unable to secure a permanent position with a company. Dominic contacted me and asked if he could volunteer for my project in order for him to gain woodworking experience whilst looking for work. So as you can see in the images below Dominic got to work and was a great help. Hopefully he will be available to help out again and he will be made most welcome.
