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Making Use Of Myself

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Comments

  • #52
    OpenYourEyes
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,069 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    Just for clarification, nobody in BWI would be surprised at a flock of 250/300 Starlings in Leitrim (or any other county).

    Nobody in BWI would be surprised to hear that someone has seen Red-legged Partridge in Leitrim (or any other county). If they said anything to the contrary they would have meant that we don't have a native/naturalised population - everyone knows they're captive-bred and released all over the place every year.

    Nobody in BWI would be surprised to hear there's the odd Goshawk here and there in Ireland either, including a small number of breeding pairs. In a general sense Ireland doesn't have Goshawks, in so far as they don't breed every year, breeding is very on/off and localised, no real information on breeding success, and a lot of Goshawk records are likely down to mistaken ID for Sparrowhawks, plus there's no real way of knowing if the Goshawk you see today had only escaped from its falconer that morning!

    Oh and BWI have current staff, and former staff, in Leitrim and a couple of staff from down the road in Roscommon too so less of the "actually set foot in Leitrim" thanks very much! :p:p




    Getting back on topic - I just got my hands on a few metres of welded mesh so looking forward to getting creative in the coming weeks! :D


  • #53
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭Stigura


    I'm not here to cast aspersions anywhere. But, I will stand my ground when bluntly typed to that I'm wrong. Eg. I wasn't typed to; " Ah, sure. The RLP ye saw would have been a released bird :) " (Of course it bloody would!) I was told: " There are NO RLP in Leitrim. "

    And, yeah, the young Gos I saw, photographed, and Listened to, calling to the evasive parent bird? I probably missed the jesses on both of them. Or, maybe it was just a spar, taking the piss by perfectly imitating the call of a begging baby Gos?

    I should check how many licensed 'Falconers' lost a parent and fledgling Gos, in Leitrim that year.

    What ever. This is exactly why so many people just switch off. Keep their mouths shut. And stop bothering to report what they see on their own patches. I certainly am.

    Funny; I seem to recall this whole bloody thread about started on this note? All I'm trying to do is encourage people to get off their arses and DO something, by example. I can switch off here too, if I'm causing waves ....?


    Welded mesh? I have developing news, in that dept. Would ye prefer PM or email?


  • #54
    OpenYourEyes
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,069 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    Stigura wrote: »

    Welded mesh? I have developing news, in that dept. Would ye prefer PM or email?

    Email! :D


  • #55
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭Stigura


    When's the next election? I need an election. (No, OYE; Not the one our boy down in Cork will win for us! :D) I want more discarded posters :)

    Talking to my boss, today. Probably for about Half the day, as it happens. We do that. I ran some stuff past him and he convinced me: I'm going 'commercial'. Gonna start selling my nest boxes on the open market.

    I've been chatting to a lad, on here, see? Seems he has himself a bit of land and wants to show his kiddies a bit of nature, and so forth. He asked for a nest box maker, in Eire. I told him I make them. I make them properly. I can cater for any species that'll use a box. And I can advise on siting, etc. He asked how much. Without even thinking, I told him 'Much cheaper than the outfits selling them commercially!'. And suggested he check google and see the prices. Eg. Starling boxes average out at about thirty yo a pop! (Today, I found them at forty plus!:eek:)

    Well, today, I thought I'd better get my schit together. I got a bit of paper out and opened the calculator ..... I can do ye all singing, all dancing, birds virtually guaranteed, expected to last a decade, as used by me, 'professional standard' starling nest box for .......... Twelve yo!!! :cool: Starlings being especially gregarious and sociable nesters? I'd Strongly advise any farmer to put up at least ten. Want ten? Special, bulk discount rate: Ten for a ton!

    Off ye go. Scour the internet. Search the bay. Knock yeselves out! You Will Not get anywhere Near my prices for my Quality. FACT!

    Know why? Because, if ye ring me with an enquirie, ye won't get a dulcet toned receptionist. Ye'll get ~ at best ~ a very gruff and guarded, " Hullo? " Or, just as likely, a torrent of abuse! I Hate being rung by strangers! :D I hire no staff. I rent no premises. VAT? That's my business! ;)

    No, bottom line is? I love birds. I have a lifetimes experience of providing nest boxes for them. I'm retired. Bored out of my f'ing skull. I have an old mans tool collection. And I've made So Many, I can now turn out a nest box quicker than you can say; " Jesus wept! Look at that mo fo go! "

    So, yeah. At twelve a pop (Starling boxes)? I'll get out of bed. That'll cover my timber costs. Buy me a pint. And I'll have some shrapnel left over, to put in the jar towards things like a new saw blade, or box of screws.

    I've been called some absolutely choice things in my days. But, Never " Greedy ". This is for the birds. To stop You getting ripped off. And to give Me a bloody reason to get out of bed! I Love making nest boxes!

    The only fly in the honey is 'postage' :confused: Starling box weighs seven pounds! Ye'd end up paying a courier stupid money to bring ye ten, compared to what I'd charge ye for making them! Blood suckers!

    Oh well. I imagine something can be figured out. My man, on here, says he'll make the road trip to pick his stuff up. This makes sense, as he has his heart set on a Barn Owl box! :eek: (Think; Small shed!)

    But, yeah. Todays news: Actually fit for purpose, Irish made, proper nest boxes now available from Leitrim. Birds, Bats, Pine Martens. Enquiries for others welcome.


    I thank you :)


  • #56
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭Stigura


    OpenYourEyes wrote: »
    Email! :D


    Stand by to receive! :D Just off to write it.


  • #57
    Graces7
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    I lived years in leafy Leitrim. Shared my old cottage with a pine marten, met many birds I had never seen before.

    As for your rats; had a plague of them here but my cats fixed that for me. One of the rats was bigger than a small cat … :eek:

    Things are different out here; no real trees etc and wild winds. Always a cuckoo or three etc. Crows and seabirds


  • #58
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭Stigura


    You're a dark horse, Graces. Familiar with Mohill, at all? That's my local town. Though, I live miles away from it. Dead centre of nowhere.

    Little anecdote for ye ~ it's my thread and I can take a breather, now and then, surely? ;)


    I got called out to a place by Rowan Lough. British bloke, living with his Dogs in a splendidly isolated cottage. Only, it had gotten so that he was laying in bed at night, watching the rats dance the Fandango at the foot of his bed!

    So, there I am, doing my work, when I happen to spot a certain object on his wall. One which resonated with my own past. I said; " Oh! Nice little so and so ye have there! I used to be into that. "

    And, this guy says; " Yes. I was, back in the day. Ye know; I used to read a magazine. There was a bloke in it ~ regular contributor ~ he ..... "

    And I'm like;


    Gasp.jpg
    I Was That Soldier!!!

    Funny old world!

    Anyway: Rowan Lough. I Had To grab this shot of it, on the way out to get amongst his rats. It's my desktop picture now :)

    Rowan-Loughtn.jpg
    And, now, I'd better go and make use of myself .....


  • #59
    Eddie B
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,979 ✭✭✭Eddie B


    What were the chances of that eh! Dying to know what was hanging on his wall. I'd guess, some sort of a collectors item?


  • #60
    Graces7
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 32,634 ✭✭✭✭Graces7


    Stigura wrote: »
    You're a dark horse, Graces. Familiar with Mohill, at all? That's my local town. Though, I live miles away from it. Dead centre of nowhere.

    Ah no; I was in the mountains above Drumkeeran; in a very old cottage that had been empty years. The front door had a pine marten sized hole in it. One night I was woken around 2 am by strange noise.. crept through into the sitting room and snapped the light on to see a large critter helping itself from the fruit bowl .
    #
    My best pear had already gone and the critter fled up the chimney dropping an apple in the process.

    I had to look it up on the internet.. Fed her all that time as she was in a delayed pregnancy and then she would come in with the little ones.

    Have lived in many counties here with the voluntary work I did and with low cost rentals being so hard to get, but that was a wonderful time.

    Here we have hares! Racing around in the early light..


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  • #61
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭Stigura


    I look at that mountain from my back door! :D 'Mind you; Most probably half of bloody Leitrim dose!

    I'm pretty sure I've already shown this clip? But, what the hell ~ They're cute enough to stand a second run!

    https://vimeo.com/360000820

    Back on stricter topic, before I get old fashioned stares from a mod! :p I'm off up my neighbours place, any time now. All sorts of shenanigans are afoot, around here. Deadly relevant to this thread. I'm hoping to get a better handle on it :)


  • #62
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭Stigura


    Well; I'm just stunned! Absolutely wiped out! My neighbour, Noel, has had what was an 1800's Granary completely refurbished to original condition!

    It's absolutely the most heart breakingly beautiful thing I've ever seen. That's what the bat box is for. Wow! I'd be So proud, to be able to make a humble contribution to this breath taking project! I mean; This place should be a tourist attraction! It's like stepping back in time, in there! Absolutely fantastic! :)

    And, of course; Dinny bullocks here forgot to take his bloody camera!!! :mad: I'm So pissed at myself! The wooden louvre's alone are enough to make ye weep! And they're there totally intended to let birds and bats get in! :D Isn't that brilliant?!


    Anyway; In 'any other news'? I paid my man for the two, newly made, traps today. He's posting them on Monday. These are bird traps which he makes in the delightfully traditional way, using bike spokes for the bars, instead of wire mesh.

    One's a bog standard " Trap Cage ". The other's a special slant. I'm afraid I'm not even willing to discuss that one. There are still plenty of people willing to take wild birds illegally. With this thing, properly deployed, they'd clean up! As it is; I'll be legally ringing a lot more chaffinches ;)

    And, with that in mind? I've been preparing my fence posts. Got three of them. Soaked their feet in oil. Now, I'm lashing on the green Fence Guard. Not really got my head around building the gate, yet. But, once I get it all done? That patch outside the back door will be my Dog proofed little catching garden :)

    Had a nice little session, with my latest, home made trap, yesterday. Took ~ I think it was ~ eight birds? So, today, I gave us all a rest. Put the bait down, but not the trap. Really lovely to stand, in plain sight, in my doorway. Watching the two Collared Doves, hacking away at the seed, not in the least bit bothered by my presence.

    I brought them here too! Whole purpose of that bait point was to lure Collared Doves to where I'd never seen one before. Bloody worked! :D


  • #63
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭Stigura


    This is " Evil Little Dog ". That's her real name:

    Evil-Little-Dog.jpg


    Evil Little Dog can't be contained, obviously. But, to her credit, she has absolutely zero interest in even a bird, fluttering in one of my traps. No, Evil Little Dog sees only rats, pine martens and the dead.

    And, for the last four days now, Evil Little Dog has been returning from her adventures letting off such a vile and overpowering stench ~ so all pervading that it took me two or three of those days to even pin it to her!

    Because it was filling the cottage, see? I was walking around feeling nauseous from it! I was seriously starting to have thoughts of moving out till it went away! That bad.

    Well, anyway; Yesterday, I think it was, Evil Little Dog came in wringing wet. She'd obviously been hunting for rats in the long grass around the stables. What ever. She was wet and her fur was gleaming white, where it's white anyway.

    And, I realised, the bang was gone :) Obviously then, Evil Little Dog had been communing with the dead, shoulder first, as Dogs are want to do. But, now, her transient friend must have passed on to a state less fascinating. And the wet grass had cleansed Evil Little Dog. All was good.

    Then, last night, I let all the Dogs out for a last muster. They all came back in, in quick time, except for Ellie. She's abjectly fascinated with rats too. She'll spend hours by the ditch fence, presumably listening to them in the hedge beyond.

    But, tonight she was stood staring toward the back gate. No matter. I gently spoke her name. Nothing. I called her. She never even looked back!

    I Snapped at her. Making my annoyance plain. Then, losing it completely, I Roared at her, before marching swiftly out there and pushing her bum, screaming at her to Get In!!!

    I've never before seen such bad behaviour from her before! Rats or no rats, she wasn't standing out there all night with them.

    Cut to this morning. Door open and Ellie Belly's back on point, at the back gate. I don't care about that as my mind's on my Signal Box out there. I want to tweak it.

    So, I'm just kneeling down, beside Ellie. About to look at the trap, when Balzac, one of my big Dogs, comes bounding up and shoves his big, flat muzzle right in my ear, for a sniff of my brain.

    I turn my face toward his and say; " Balzac! Get out of it! Christ! Ye breath smells!!! "

    And then, as if to the sound of many great doors, slamming shut along a long and empty passageway, it all fell into place!

    I hot footed it straight out of Dodge. Left Ellie to stare fixedly at the back fence as me, and Balzac of the Breath bolted.

    Nothing wrong with his breath, of course. Just a gentle twist in the breeze. And, there's no way I'm looking over that fence. I don't need to see what ever's left now, of Evil Little Dogs one time friend :eek:


  • #64
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭Stigura


    Eddie B wrote: »
    What were the chances of that eh! Dying to know what was hanging on his wall. I'd guess, some sort of a collectors item?


    Sorry! I'd somehow missed that completely :o Dinky little ferret box, mate :)


  • #65
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭Stigura


    Stigura wrote: »
    Game On!!! :cool:


    P9220420tn.jpg



    And, on the tenth day ..... :cool:


    Mod Note: <snip>


  • #66
    Stigura
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭Stigura


    Mod:<<Snip>>


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  • #67
    New Home
    Moderators, Arts Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 77,025 Mod ✭✭✭✭New Home


    Mod: Stigura, just a reminder that no disputing Mod's decisions on thread is allowed. Link or no link, that sort of image is not fit for a nature and wildlife forum - what next, a roadkill thread? Also, Mods can read threads, too, with or without the posts being reported.


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