The new restaurant has been approved.

[Geoff F]

Replaced a bird feeder in my garden. Sometimes it can take a while before birds become accustomed to something new but in this case, as I walked away after the installation, they were queuing up to start using it.







Not the best of conditions with poor light and my 150-600 lens plus 7D camera were hand held. 1/500 F6.3 Iso 1250 which was pushing the settings a bit too far in all directions.

I really just shot these images to show the construction of my feeder mounting to a wildlife site. Mounted on a pole instead of hanging from a branch where it would be wildly swinging around in any breeze.

[Shadowman]

You should get some good captures, are you planning to shoot tethered, time lapse?

[JBW]

Replaced a bird feeder in my garden. Sometimes it can take a while before birds become accustomed to something new but in this case, as I walked away after the installation, they were queuing up to start using it.







Not the best of conditions with poor light and my 150-600 lens plus 7D camera were hand held. 1/500 F6.3 Iso 1250 which was pushing the settings a bit too far in all directions.

I really just shot these images to show the construction of my feeder mounting to a wildlife site. Mounted on a pole instead of hanging from a branch where it would be wildly swinging around in any breeze.

over here in about 6 months the termites et al would eat the pole. Any plans to put in a steel post or perhaps mount it to a tree?

[Geoff F]

The base of that pole sits in a steel 'spike' which is driven into the ground so it is above soil level and has had a dose of creosote as well. Apart from normal wood rot we don't get any problems here. It is actually a bit of waste from a longer pole which had been part of the supports for a grape vine over the past 10 years. Eventually, I removed the vine because it was suffering seriously from a form of plant rust every autumn.

The whole structure was created from bits of waste wood. The weakest link is the plywood which will probably need replacing with something more durable in a couple of years time.

[JBW]

The base of that pole sits in a steel 'spike' which is driven into the ground so it is above soil level and has had a dose of creosote as well. Apart from normal wood rot we don't get any problems here. It is actually a bit of waste from a longer pole which had been part of the supports for a grape vine over the past 10 years. Eventually, I removed the vine because it was suffering seriously from a form of plant rust every autumn.

The whole structure was created from bits of waste wood. The weakest link is the plywood which will probably need replacing with something more durable in a couple of years time.

A couple of years We have marine grade plywood that has begun separating within a year of purchase that was used indoors. Lack of quality control and high pollution does create problems.

[Geoff F]

A lot of materials aren't what they used to be, Brian.

At one of the wildlife reserves where I regularly record we made some bird boxes from supposed marine grade plywood. At the time, I questioned its quality and said they should have purchased the material from a boatbuilder not a general builders merchant. After 2 years the plywood has started to delaminate.

I have been experimenting with making some replacement bird boxes for that area because the current wooden ones will need replacing soon. I am working with a mixture of plastic soil drainage pipes and HDPE sheet plastic. The first ones are due to be erected over the next few days. The first prototype used an old plastic kitchen chopping board instead of new HDPE.

Several years ago they acquired some boxes constructed from a mix of concrete and sawdust which have proved to be excellent but at a cost of around £25 each they are unaffordable for a nature trust with 40 boxes on just that site.

Last year, as an experiment, I tried a couple of those very cheap small boxes which are available from garden centres and from various internet sites. Neither was used last year and I doubt there will be any interest this year. But you have to test these things just in case they might work.

[JBW]

A lot of materials aren't what they used to be, Brian.

At one of the wildlife reserves where I regularly record we made some bird boxes from supposed marine grade plywood. At the time, I questioned its quality and said they should have purchased the material from a boatbuilder not a general builders merchant. After 2 years the plywood has started to delaminate.

I have been experimenting with making some replacement bird boxes for that area because the current wooden ones will need replacing soon. I am working with a mixture of plastic soil drainage pipes and HDPE sheet plastic. The first ones are due to be erected over the next few days. The first prototype used an old plastic kitchen chopping board instead of new HDPE.

Several years ago they acquired some boxes constructed from a mix of concrete and sawdust which have proved to be excellent but at a cost of around £25 each they are unaffordable for a nature trust with 40 boxes on just that site.

Last year, as an experiment, I tried a couple of those very cheap small boxes which are available from garden centres and from various internet sites. Neither was used last year and I doubt there will be any interest this year. But you have to test these things just in case they might work.

True enough. Have you considered ferro cement? Not pretty but strong and cheep.

[Cogito]

Look forward to the Michelin star announcement!!

[Cantab]

Geoff, we have an almost identical birdfeeder except that it is suspended by a chain from a branch, rather than sitting on a platform.

What types of chickadees are these? At least, it appears that both types of birds are chickadees.

As an aside, do you have problems with squirrels eating the birds feed? One reason we have our feeders suspended on chains, and with plastic rain guards above them, is to make it impossible for our resident gray squirrels to gobble up the bird food. Gray squirrels are not native to this part of the world but are immigrants from elsewhere – from Europe if memory serves me correctly.

[Geoff F]

The first two images are Blue Tits, Bruce, and the last one is a Coal Tit which isn't a common bird in my garden but two appear to be spending the winter here this year.

Also at this feeder I have seen the occasional Great Tit and a Blackbird which threw out all the sunflower seeds which it found in order to just eat the suet pellets; which is where that catching tray proved so useful. A Robin is an occasional visitor.

A Chaffinch had a look but decided against landing while a Greenfinch and Blackcap were initially wary but eventually settled on the tray and stayed for a while. Some other species appear to prefer other types of feeders with more of a flat platform or visit the hanging fat ball feeder. Such as Dunnock, House Sparrow, Crow, Magpie, Collared Doves, Herring Gulls etc. A Wren flits around the garden but rarely uses any of the feeders.

A Grey Squirrel has recently started to appear on occasions but so far it has been more of a novelty than a problem. I think they were originally from parts of America

The previous feeder at this position was hanging from a small tree but got seriously buffeted around in any strong breeze, which is why I decided to try a fixed unit this time.