Saturday 22 February 2014

Birdland Real Estate Inc.

In the UK it has been National Nestbox Week...
which reminded me to get the boxes I started last year...
  • a] finished...
  • b] installed!

As far as I got with a Sparrow Commune last year
Flats 2 & 4! For the reason outlined below...
But we only got the Owl Box and Kestrel Box up!!.

It is really easy to find wood for nestboxes in the Bricos....
they often have chariots of off-cuts for a measly 5€ to 15€...
depending on what wood they've got in them.
Discard any obviously treated timber...
in France this usually means the sickly yellow stuff.
All you then need is a bit of time...
a saw and some screws...
or a hammer and nails....

Another source is more natural...
large, round chunks of firewood [at least 15cm diameter]....
cut a slice off each end and hollow out the middle section...
make a hole of the desired size [see the table below]...
and make sure this angles slightly upward...
birds do this naturally in the wild...
it creates a drip edge along the top and helps keep water out of the nest!

One tip with the natural approach...
use fresh timber!!
I used a nice length of chestnut to create "Sparrow Villas" [above & below]...
from our delivered firewood...
three years drying before delivery...
and it took two more to hollow out!!


Finally finished... and wood straps replaced with zinc on last years section.
If you get too close to the side, whack a bit of mud in!



Des-res for five families... installed, unfurnished, beautiful views...
and right where they've been living under the tiles for the last few years!!



Never again... 
next time it will be a fresh hunk of Willow or Ash from "out there"
You can also use a rotten'ish length of Willow...
protect the upper cut surface from the weather...
using a bit of good timber horizontally or something similar...
and then drill a good sized starter hole of around 2" [50mm] diameter.
Go well in, in many directions, through the hole, but don't try to fully hollow it out.
Suspend this high in a tree [at least 4 metres] and the Woodpecker will do the rest.

Last year we installed an Owl Box...
while aimed at Barn Owls, Tawny Owls are often users of these as well.
For those who drive past, it is the "oil derrick" on the far side of the main meadow...
this had to be at least five metres off the ground... it is!
It is at the absolute limit of stretch of our triple-set ladder free-standing...

These are the stages...

First... decide to prospect for oil and build a derrick!
Check the box fits on the swivel top...
Make sure it all fits together...
while you are near a workbench!!!
Dismantle the three main parts.
Trolley them all the way out to the furthest point from any road...
and erect the "derrick" and tie it down!
Re-assemble the component parts... the ladder is not touching the tower, by the by... it has legs.
The removable sides of the Owl Box are off in the middle picture... it made manoeuvring easier.
Finish assembly, remove ladder and watch the cars slow down... and wait!
So far...
no takers!!

We see Treecreepers here [Short-toed only in France] and they require a different style of nest...
they nest in crevasses in the bark of old trees.
Pauline was splitting some Sweet Chestnut a couple of years ago and the whole of the core of the log came away...
I have created the basis for nestboxes from the outer section...
These will be wired under a junction of branch and trunk...
never nail a nestbox in place on a living tree...
and always allow room for expansion of the tree...
trapping a couple of lengths of timber under the wire away from the box works fine...
The wire will cut into those first!
That applies to all tree mounted boxes!

Now, the two nest "boxes" shown below are very incomplete...
once in place I will nail bark in place on the "nestbox" to fill the gaps...
and use some of the copious amounts of moss and some mud to finally seal it up...
all I need leave is a small rectangular hole in contact with the tree's own bark.

Two rustic Treecreeper nest boxes

There are plenty of patterns for boxes on the web...
or just use your own imagination!!
For hole sizes see below, also...
and don't forget the open-fronted boxes for Robins, Black Redstarts, "Chizzicks" [White/Pied Wagtails]...

2013... An indoor box of chipboard, two different "hole" boxes and an open fronted box.
Boxes two and four went to Susan of Days on the Claise... for her orchard and potager area.
Nestboxes do NOT need perches... in fact they are a hazard and help predators get a grip!!

2014... The same indoor box, the same tall box... a new open fronted box and the LPO Red Cedar box.
Another type of box that you can make at home is a woodcrete / hempcrete box...
here all you need is a suitable mould or chicken-wire former...
some wood straw / chopped hemp stalk...
and some lime mortar....
ands plenty of space to leave them whilst they "go orff"...
the best to start with are swallow "cups" and house martin nests....
then progress to open fronted boxes.
For shapes, look up Schwegler style boxes on the web.

Pretty... but not for birds...
Two more "nevers"... NO to bright colours and NO to perches....
these even have a platform as well... perfect for a predator to stand on! NO!!
NO!!NO!!NO!!
 
[The  picture is from a cake box from the local boulangerie]

NOW, WHERE TO PUT THE BOX...


The most difficult thing is siting the box correctly...
you need to take into account the compass direction of the prevailing Spring and Summer weather...
in your locality...
and the target species preferences for height and location....

There are no hard and fast rules...
but there are three things to avoid!
When I first joined the BTO... too many years ago to count...
the usual "compass" points were NW to ESE....
but this angle has narrowed in all the more up to date advice from them...
to between North and East...
the main NEVER has remained the same...
facing SE to West... too much sun and heat...
and they also face the Spring and Summer rains.
Also...
NEVER put them near feeders if you continue feeding all year....
NEVER  place too many boxes of the same type close together...
50 to 100 yds is a good rule to follow for territorial species...
This advice, though, is for installation in private homes and small gardens...
when erecting boxes in woodland or well-sheltered sites, the main "Never" rule is the one to follow...
along with the number of boxes for the same target species...
Oh, and always tilt the box forward slightly, too.

But if you "watch" the birds themselves, these "rules" just don't apply!!
They will use the most convenient hole, site, etc....
often in the most unlikely places...
Bluetits nest in the WestSouthWest face of the barn wall...
but they'll have gone in quite deep probably.
The Sparrows nest just under the tiles... "Some Like It Hot" ?
The Black Redstarts nest regularly in the pocket of an old stockman's coat that has been slung...
for some unknown reason....
way up high in the "hangar"...
or in an old Swallow nest* in the "shed"...

The old swallow nest has been lined with moss...
on the beam behind, the outline of an old nest centred on a nail
And the nestbox that came with our registration of the Pré as a Refuge LPO [vanity nature-reserving... but worth it]... gave East  to South East as the "compass" points!!
[*I've noticed that the Swallows tend to use an old nail as the starting point for their nests here....
plenty of those around!! See picture above]


Which reminds me that I haven't mentioned "indoor" nestboxes...
except pointing one out in a caption above...
outbuildings are a favourite place for some birds...
all the shelter needed... and well hidden away!
The chipboard from the Brico trolleys is perfect for these...
same patterns... mainly open-fronted... and put them up all over your dependances!
And chipboard boxes can be used out of doors, they last a couple of years...
use a good roofing material [old flat tile, suitable sized piece of slate, etc]...
and a bit of MATT varnish or paint on the outside...
there are numerous sources of water-based...
ecologically sound...
neutrally tinted...
outdoor varnishes and paints available.
But the simplest and "cheepest" protection is linseed oil!
Only applied to the outside of the nest.

The "indoor" chipboard nestbox in place.

Anyway... siting the boxes...
I have worked my way through all the often conflicting advice and have created this little blurb....

The box should face between North and East, to maximise light, and reduce weather ingress.
Unless there are trees or buildings which shade the box during the day, face the box between North and East, thus avoiding strong sunlight and the wettest winds.
Many birds will reject boxes that face due West, for example, because the box may stay too hot.

Open-fronted boxes for robins and wrens need to be low down, below 2m, well hidden in vegetation.
Those for spotted flycatchers need to be 2-4m high, sheltered by vegetation but with a clear outlook.
Woodpecker boxes need to be 3-5m high on a tree trunk with a clear flight path and away from disturbance.
Specialist boxes... owl, hoopoe, kestrel, etc... tend to come with advice if bought...
but even plans usually give siting info.

Kestrels like to be high up!
This is right beside one of "our" female Kestrel's favourite roosts...
the streaks on the corrugated iron are hers!
The box is made mainly from OSB3 offcuts...
OSB is Sterling Board to UK residents...
the No 3 indicates water resistant.


Don't pre-fill a nest box...put perhaps a little woodshaving in the bottom...
[except for woodpeckers who like to create their own residence as commented above]...
but the best way to help the birds is to provide material such as hair from cat & dog grooming, cotton, wool, lawn moss and feathers.
The most tidy way to present it to the birds is in an old wire feeder or in a rolled length of 1/2" Chicken Netting.

Mainly cat hair... time they gave something back...
along with lawn moss and some of the insulation the Sparrows keep pulling out!!


Nest boxes should normally be put up in Early January, through to the end of February. ...
at the latest...hmmmmmmmm! The LPO say by the end of April at the latest... duhhh!?
However....
"Nestboxes are best put up during the autumn.
Many birds will enter nestboxes during the autumn and winter, looking for a suitable place to roost or perhaps to feed.
They often use the same boxes for nesting the following spring.
Tits will not seriously investigate nesting sites until February or March." [RSPB Site]
Birds will often chose a ‘well-weathered’ box, and so, really...
it is best to put them up when you've made them...
and leave them in position for the following years.
Don't expect them to be occupied immediately...
and don't be upset if they aren't used for a few years...
you may have erected them within the territory of an established pair with a good nest site.
You could consider moving it after three or four years...
unless you've seen it being used as a winter roost...
such birds may well be short-distance migrants and will not have the same territories as nesters.
They may also have other residents in winter months... dormice being one!
In fact, you can make mammal specific boxes, too!


Some dimensions, etc....

Enclosed Nest-Boxes... [Diameter of hole]
Blue Tit.....................................25mm (1in)    
Great Tit...................................28mm (1 1/4in)    
Tree Sparrow.............................28mm (1 1/4in)    
Nuthatch....................................32mm (1 1/2in) [who will then "perfect" the hole with mud]    
House Sparrow...........................32mm (1 1/2in)    
Starling......................................45mm (1 3/4in)    
Great Spotted Woodpecker...........50mm (2ins)    
Little Owl...................................70mm (2 3/4in)    
Tawny Owl................................150mm (6in)    
Jackdaw.....................................150mm (6in)    

Open fronted nest-boxes:
Wren
Pied Wagtail
Robin
Blackbird
Pigeon
Spotted Fly Catcher
Kestrel

You will find that birds like Little Owl, Barn Owl, Tawny Owl and Kestrel have specific desires when it comes to boxes...
and are usually slightly weird!!
But if you need some therapy [old style] and are into basketry...
you can weave your own "bread basket" nest platforms...
kestrels like 30cm minimum!!

Maintenance of the boxes....
Do not check them during the summer, for obvious reasons....
unless you know them not to be occupied.

The written advice is that...
"They will need cleaning out from time to time... usually in the Autumn."
but ...
don't forget that sites they choose themselves never get cleaned out by other than by themselves......

The sight of bits of moss drifting past the window allowed me to get this picture on Tuesday...
of a Bluetit having an early Spring-clean!!

Nice to have a home with your own bodyguard...
the  Kestrel roosts on the cemented-in beam!


Additionally, the assorted parasites that share the nest with the birds are a valuable food source in winter....
and the nest is often a roost [as mentioned above]...
or as briefly mentioned also, a winter home for rodents...
especially dormice in field boxes...
and squirrels in larger ones...
as well as lizards, etc.

You can make "nichoirs" for these animals as well...
and for bumble and solitary bees....
not forgetting...
wintering cover for insects!
But more about these in another post!!
Now...
get building!!
There is time yet...

---ooo000OOO{}OOO000ooo---

Books to help you...:-
In English...
BTO Guide 23.... Nestboxes by Chris du Feu [BTO 1993]
This gives very explicit advice for a very wide range of boxes...
there is a 2008 edition [main section extract downloadable from the BTO as a .pdf file]
also available from Abe Books [seven copies at various low prices]

In French... but very clear.
Nichoirs & Cie by Bernard Bertrand and Thierry Laversin [éditions de Terran - 2006]
Doesn't stop at Birds... covers bees and other insects, reptiles and mammals... as well as feeders.

Les Cahiers Techniques crom the CPN...
No 106: FABRIQUONS DES NICHOIRS... [May 2004... but still around... got our copy from the Maison de la Nature at the Cherine Reserve in the Brenne]
Aimed squarely at Middle School age range [8 to 13] it is perfect for French "beginners"... clearly written and easily followed... all the necessary info is there and the cartoons are wonderful!!



Web Links for more advice...:-
RSPB - Nest Box Advice
BTO - Make a Nest Box
Schwegler  - You can download their catalogue in English from this site

Wednesday 19 February 2014

"Butterfly Special" for Susan and Elizabeth...

Just a quick post on a dismal morning...
take a look at the "Spotted on the Web" feature...
near the bottom of the side bar.
You will find it interesting reading.

And yesterday, while moving some logs, I was told off by a Peacock...
it behaved in a way I'd never seen before...
it flashed upper and lower sets of "eyes" individually...
and then began to rotate the sets...
a very strange effect that...
and then flashed odd "eyes" in a random fashion...
before settling back down!

Tuesday 18 February 2014

The owl service

The rain has gone from fire hose to showers and today it turned off completely for a whole day. Everywhere are signs of a ridiculously advanced spring.

In Preuilly-sur-Claise for the Saffron Fair on Saturday, we saw an almond tree just coming into bloom.

Taken with my elderly Nokia mobile, I'm afraid

Yesterday Tim spotted a lizard (European wall lizard) sunning itself, and today a Brimstone butterfly flew past. The frogs are croaking, the great spotted woodpeckers are drumming, the male wren is singing (no change there). The cirl bunting is up on the wych elm by the road belting out "a little bit of bread and no - erm - prompt?!!". Today one of the chiffchaffs started up right in front of us. The blackbirds are a definite couple. A male house sparrow in immaculate breeding plumage does the hippy hippy shake in front of two females who weren't too impressed. Wings half extended, knees bent and bob up and down. Doesn't he look daft, Ada?

But the most remarkable spring song came from the Tawny Owls [strix aluco] la chouette hulotte. The romance unfolds as follows:

2nd February: Loud "kwik-kwik" calls coming from the hangar in the evening, where a female tawny owl is perching on a cross-member. The red 2CV is directly underneath, and is covered in white splodges.

9th February: Loud "whooo....whooo" calls from the barn roof. This time we have a male.

12th February: The female is in the hangar again. The "kwik-kwik" is rapid and chopped off, interspersed with "kia" calls, sounding more urgent and excited.

13th February: Two males, one calling from the riverbank, one more distant.

15th February: The female starts. The "kia" call is accompanied by an extraordinary trilling hoot, very musical and pure, but not loud. [We found out that this warble is sometimes called the "xylophone trill", en ocarina in France. It is often regarded as a sign of distress or agitation.] She doesn't sound at all distressed, and keeps it up for some time. Then we hear a male's "tu whoo" from the Aigronne. Finally we are treated to a duet, both birds in the hangar, she giving a soft yelping call, he responding with gentle hoots. I try recording it with the voice recorder function of my mobile, but only get a faint echo of what is happening.

17th February: the following night, but after midnight, the same thing happens, with the female calling and (in the wee small hours) I am awakened by the duet. Tim has put recording equipment together, using a minidisk recorder with a small parabolic microphone (officially an educational toy, but capable of much more). I didn't like to wake him at such an hour.

According to the outstanding website God's Own Clay, the trill is rarely heard in the wild, and Xeno Canto has one recording of it (made on an I-phone!) out of 175 Tawny Owl examples. We're hoping the owls may get it together again tonight at a more reasonable time so we can record them.  As for pictures, Faune Touraine has lots of Barn Owl images in its photo gallery but no pictures of Tawny Owls, neither has Tim's brother Nick on his Flickr site. I'm sure we could get a picture of one or both of the birds, but we don't want our presence and the flash to drive them away. So here's a lovely portrait of a young tawny by Thomas Helbig [Germany] taken at the Falconry Centre Greifenstein in Bad Blankenburg, Thuringia.


Copyright Thomas Helbig

Tonight:
Between 8pm and 10pm we hear the male calling, then the female, with a tremolo trill as she flies past the front door. They are in the trees by the Aigronne this time.
11pm and Tim comes in saying he can hear four different males calling at the same time, so it looks like quite a party tonight and she'll be able to take her pick.
11:45pm: first the female ("kia"!) then a male ("whoo"!) fly past the house, heading upstream.

Something tells me we haven't heard the last of this!

Sunday 2 February 2014

Launching Noah's Ark...

It is all in the News, our weather...
"The French department of Finistere, in the west of the country, was placed on red alert as forecasters warned of huge waves and extensive flooding.
Ten other French departments were also on alert for rising water levels.
At least two people died and scores had to be airlifted to safety after floods hit south-eastern France earlier this month."
BBC News Channel 1/2/2014....

So what has it been like, this last January...
well....
WET!!


Warmer and wetter...
than 2013...
almost twice as wet as 2012!

January 2014

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   8.1 (Mean Minimum     4.1 / Mean Maximum     12.1)
Minimum          -0.9 day 14
Maximum          16.4 day 08
Highest Minimum  10.1 day 06
Lowest Maximum   6.2 day 20
Air frosts       2

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  71.7 [2013 -
61.2mm]
Wettest day      9.6 day 02
High rain rate   9.0 day 04
Rain days        21... exactly the same as 2013

Wind (km/h):
Highest Gust     36.7 day 02
Average Speed    3.7
Wind Run         2725.2 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1022.0 day 11
Minimum          984.8 day 29

January 2013

Temperature (°C):
Mean (min+max)   3.9 (Mean Minimum     0.4 / Mean Maximum     7.4)
Minimum          -7.5 day 16
Maximum          15.1 day 31
Highest Minimum  4.9 day 09
Lowest Maximum   0.0 day 06
Air frosts       10

Rainfall (mm):
Total for month  61.2 [2012 - 37.8mm]
Wettest day      10.2 day 09
High rain rate   99.0 day 18
Rain days        21

Wind (km/h):
[see our comments in the first post in January!]
Highest Gust     33.1 day 21
Average Speed    0.5
Wind Run         285.3 km

Pressure (mb):
Maximum          1041.0 day 15
Minimum          0.0 day 06 [a bit vacuous this!!]


Other local bloggers have been "covering" the weather...

Colin and Elizabeth on The story of our life in and around Braye-sous-Faye ...
and today [February the Third]... The Paddy Fields of Richelieu.....
Amelia on In a French Garden...
Niall and Antoinette on Chez Charnizay...
it is affecting us all!

The Met Office has done a set of charts for this January's weather in the UK...
So...!
Just for comparison....
I thought I'd look back a century....
courtesy of the Met Office Archives

January 1914
MANY GALES AND HEAVY RAIN IN ENGLAND:
Dull in the East:
Bright in the North and West:
Unusually Large Range of Pressure.
Floods in the Thames region...

January 1913
STORMY AND WET.
Rainfall.
There was a deficiency of precipitation over a large part of northern Scotland, all other districts returning an excess.  
#The percentages for Scotland were low [18% Dunrobin, 32% Strathpeffer]...
but excessive everywhere else: 234% Woolacombe, 238% at Glasnevin, 246% Spurn Head, 252% Dublin...

So, not a lot of change really...
But, what might be to come?

Jan 1915
MANY GALES AND MUCH HEAVY RAIN IN ENGLAND:
Dull in the South and East.
Brighter in the North and West:
Floods in the Thames region...
[Almost a duplication of 1914!!]

Jan 1916
STORMY AND ABNORMALLY MILD
Rainy in North and North-West.
Dry in East South.

Jan 1917
COLD
Wintry, Much Snow in Many Places.

Jan 1918
STRANGE
First Part Wintry with Snow and Severe Frost : Second Part Spring-Like.
Sunshine. daily sunshine was above the normal in England.

#This is the same as reported yesterday for last month on Auntie Beeb!!

<<---------------ooo000OOO{}OOO000ooo--------------->>

Recent post on "Flint Bling" on Touraine Flint