Thursday 30th November 2023
Last Session of 2023
A very cold dawn, with a few flurries of snow, resulted in an indoor activity, namely, repairs to the damaged nest boxes.
The damage to the boxes was all on the fronts. First these were removed carefully, leaving the remainder of the box intact. A sheet of plywood being the replacement material this was cut into the required sizes.
The next task was drilling out the 35 mm entrance hole in each plywood piece. Then the piece was screwed into place on the front of the box.
A lick of dark oak paint and the nesting box looked good as new. We even had time to paint the white numbers on the front.
As regards the problem of woodpecker damage we tried out a little prototype on box number 22. A piece of perspex was cut to size and holed and then screwed in place over the entrance. This seems to be a viable solution. We shall see.
As we are approaching Christmas break this was to be the last volunteering session for 2023. As always it was highly productive and a pleasant finish to the year. I am so grateful for the support I have had from the volunteers over the last 12 months. We have achieved so much, and I look forward to 2024 with enthusiasm and a degree of excitement. What will we accomplish next year?