Dog poo and making nest boxes

One of the mysteries I have yet to solve is, what happens to dog poo? This morning we continued with tree work along the trail. One of the team stepped in some dog poo which had not been cleared up. Apparently it is a hazard of the job, "you are never more than 10 feet from some dog poo".  Dog owners are exhorted to clear up after their animals, and most do, but there are always some who don't. But even worse are those who put the poo in a plastic bag and leave it at the side of the trail.  Apparently there is a dispute between the Countryside Service and the Borough Council about whose responsibility it is to clear it up.  There was an agreement that the Countryside Service would make and maintain the bins, on the understanding that the Borough Council would empty them.  But the Borough Council reneged on their part of the deal. So the Countryside Service took away the bins. The public now leave the plastic bags in a heap in the spot where the bin used to be. So whilst neither of the parties claim to remove these hazards, the plastic bags do in fact disappear. I can only conclude that the responsible dog walkers take them away and dispose of them. Dog poo is an emotive issue, there was even a lunch-time slot on Radio 2 recently which gave an airing to some very irate people.

There were less pairs of hands doing tree work today, so as well as acting as lookout for approaching people, I had an opportunity to be more hands on with the tree clearing and the construction of a brush pile. I had the company of another volunteer who was with us for the first time, so I was pleased to be able to pass on a little of the knowledge that I have gained in the last couple of months. The rain descended in the latter part of the morning, a constant, heavy drizzle that made us all a bit wet.

Our supervisor decided we should spend the afternoon constructing nest boxes, whilst he finished off some paperwork in the office. We drove to the riverside site where the Service has a large shed for storing equipment, tools, timber etc.  The rest of the team had been there in the morning, so we joined them.  A number of finished next boxes lay in a pile on the floor. There were four of us employed on this work. First, pieces of timber are cut to the right shape to make the back, the walls floor and roof of the box. Boxes are of two types. They have either a hole drilled in the front, or they have an open front for larger birds. The holes are drilled to precise sizes with a gimlet, different size holes are suitable for different species:

• 25mm or larger for Blue, Coal and Marsh Tit;
• 28mm or larger for Great Tit and Tree Sparrow;
• 32mm for House Sparrow.

The pieces are nailed together, then the roof piece, which is covered with roofing felt to keep out the water, is attached to the back timber with a piece of rubber strip. This acts as a hinge so that you can lift the lid and peer in.  The British Trust for Ornithology tells you how to construct a nest box on http://www.bto.org/nnbw/make.htm.

It seems easy to do, but again I was trying to employ skills which have never been developed. Why is it so hard to hit a nail so that it goes in straight? My first attempt at box assembly fell to bits after I had attached the second wall. But many bent nails and repeated attempts later, I had finished. My very first next box! A proud moment indeed.

All together, I was told that there were 48 nest boxes deployed along the riverside site. This seemed a lot, but I gather that not all of them are in use all of the time. They last a few years before they have to be renovated or replaced.  One of the lads apparently disturbed a hibernating woodmouse whilst taking down one box. He hurriedly put the box back with some branches carefully positioned  to assist an easy re-entry for the poor woodmouse, who had scampered off into the bushes in fright.