Saturday 28 April 2012

Insert Witty Ring Pun.....................

Being a bird observatory one major tasks is to keep track of the birds that pass through or are resident on the island. When days are calm and dry enough the nets are unfurled to catch birds in. There are nets in various location all around the island, in the observatory's garden, through a number of withy's and at  a plantation. When unfurled these mist nets are barley visible and when birds try to pass through they become entangled.


When the nets are open regular rounds are done by the ringers every fifteen minutes or so to check for birds that have been trapped. If birds are found then they are carefully untangled (expertly done here by Mike and Ben), placed into small cotton bags and taken to the ringing hut to be rung.


To the ringing hut


Birds are hung up in the order they were caught and await their turn to be rung.



The right sized ring for the particular bird is then chosen and fastened around the leg with a pair of ringing pliers.


Measurements of the bird are then taken, this includes aging done by the condition of the feathers, wing measurements, weight and sometimes fat and muscle measurements (these measurements are particularly useful for migrant birds). 


All these measurements and ring numbers are then written down in the right books and filed. If a bird is caught that already has a ring attached the ring number is noted down and all the same measurements are made as with un-rung birds.



The birds are then released, maybe slightly confused as to what was going on but unharmed and free to go about their daily business, HURAY.

Sunday 15 April 2012

The Big 1 0


Im going to plaster this post with lots of pictures of Connor just to embarrass him, sorry Connor (im not really sorry or I wouldn't be doing it)

Happy Birthday Connor. It was a really nice day for Connors big one, great weather, lots of people including Connor's grandparents who were here for the week, and not to forget pass the parcel.

But first, here's some late night cake construction from Mrs Stansfield.


Can you guess what it is yet?.............no? You'l have to read on to find out then



Thats alot of presants


And here it is, the amazing cake, mmmmmmmm cake


Butchering the cake, saint george would be proud



Aghhhhh pass the parcel, this brings back memories


And here's Connor in a box...........its best not to ask why






Saturday 14 April 2012

Chaffinch Stops Play Part II

Over the past few weeks the Obs garden chaffinches have been going about their business oblivious to the manic cleaning going on around them.

Getting a bit cramped now


Emma and Giselle swoop in to ring the chicks before they fledge


Check out the old man eyebrows on this one




Job done, awwwwww


Monday 9 April 2012

Changing Rooms And Next Level O.C.D

With the weeks flying by and the first guests imminent, small touches here and there were needed to finish off the observatory's accommodation.

Window scrapping


Snazzy new curtains, getting all Laurence Llewelyn Bowen up in this place.



Cushion arranging

Red or white.....???


White it is


Phew this is hard work time for a glass of wine.......


Ikea style pot arrangement.


And tea spoon arranging.................wow wow hang on a minute, tea spoon arrangement? Seriously Steve...? Anality taken to new heights.


Hours later, the final product, TA-DAR.



And some changing room style before and afters.......

Before


After


Before


After








Friday 6 April 2012

More Work, Curry And The Wobbly Tooth

With the weather being so nice we decided to bin the marigolds and turn our attention to some outdoor jobs. A bit of path maintenance with Patrick, Ben and I.


Pay no attention to the "broke back mountain" style footwear (THESE ARE NOT MY BOOTS I SWEAR)


Im sure i'v seen this in a horror movie...............


After another hard days work we were treated to an amazing curry courtesy of Dianne and Steve (beats SPAM any day)


With work out the way and bellies full of curry we turned our sights to Connor's wobbly tooth for our evenings entertainment. Too lazy to wait for it to just fall out we opted for the "tooth tied to a small remote control helicopter via dental floss method" to extract the pesky thing..............it didn't work but it was worth a try.







Thursday 5 April 2012

Back To The Shop!!

Walls done, now for the ceiling.


But how on earth are we going to reach the top ones hummmmmmmmm....................'Icky' Steve to the rescue. With a bit of ingenuity from bardsey's own "spiderman" Patrick and I were harnessed up and ready to tackle the everest of cleaning jobs.....the shop ceiling.


Work done.............now Connor's turn.




Busy as we are though we still managed to fit in the occasional water fight, emma lost in style.






Wednesday 4 April 2012

When I'm Cleaning Windows #2

At the start of each season, before the visitors arrive, everything needs to be spruced up. This is spring cleaning on an industrial scale. We clean the carpets, the walls and even the loo buckets get a bit of TLC. Painted Silver each spring with metallic plastic spry paint, it makes them look clean and fresh.


Between applying thin coats of silver spray to the buckets, it was time to clean and paint the window in the south double room, but wait, is that a little bit of rotten timber at the bottom?

 Mmmmm....what is that paint hiding  I wonder?

 Mostly powdered timber, not much good as a window any more.


 Clean out the rotten stuff

 .......more 2" x 1" and plastic wood filler

 ......painters mate and primer

 ......Undercoat

....and finally the gloss. 
You would never know we were there!
Another great success from Bodgeit and Scarper Joiners Ltd