NatureBoy

As Scully Says! Spot on advise! It should be pinned. It would save folk a lot of grief. Dulux Weathershield Preservative Primer a great product. . . . . Would only add you can use a heat gun to help dry out persistently damp areas. End grain,joints etc. Don't over do it! Apply heat, let it work and keep coming back to it. If repairing rot use wood hardener to treat area before using a good flexible 2 pack filler. Filtite a good product. Hardener can be used on end grain and joints and on new timber repairs if no preservative primer. Stick to oil based products! Unfortunately if bottoms of sills and frames edges were not treated, primed or sealed before assembly they will still suck up damp behind any coating however well applied. Timber framed conservatories are notorious for seasonal expansion and contraction. Check frequently and touch in if necessary, and as Scully says 3 years max for redec. Make sure any sealing/joint compound disturbed/removed during prep is reapplied. Another good product we used to use a lot on conservatories is Architectural Solignum. I don't miss having to use pink primer or cream undercoat to show how many coats you had applied on contract work. Or bitumening out cast iron and asbestos guttering come to that. Gone of the days of a clark of the works using a mirror on a stick to check you had done the back of pipes, or a hydromoeter to check the thickness of your paint. Always seemed to turn up on lunch times to NB

Think they still involved. DEFRA NE and believe it or not RSPB to. Them WJ and co never mention it or where/how it is working though. Just samo neg anti bull to keep the money stream coming in. Same with the turtle dove project and english partridge Some award winning farmers/shoots/conservationists here in Suffolk Been trialling various schemes, crops, (Insect, pollinator, and bird mixes), plus ways of cultivating and planting for a good while now for RBAPS, ELM etc. Results, techniques and advise get'n fed back to shape the new schemes and payments going forward. It's been interesting to watch see and hear how it develops. I have learnt a lot. Certainly makes for some interesting diverse and colourful cropping that's full of insects and food as well as giving shelter and cover. It's working for turtle doves partridges and many other birds. Gov are doing a series of webinars to invite people to get involved in the design and direction of ELMS starting next month if your interested. Trials going on and being developed alongside and on farms with shoots and getting good results. Done by hard working folk with passion that really care about conservation that are way out of the not so fun threes (WJ) league. They are proving that farming, shooting and good conservation done correctly works. The results are there to see. These farms are teaming with birds and other wildlife, Maybe a few to many hares now though.😉 But if they want birds (save turtle doves etc) we need pest control and it is necessary to do it! If WJ and co are as savvy as they make out they must know about all this and the new schemes. Yet you never hear them talk of it. It really shows them as the blinkered agenda driven anti shooting, anti farming egotistical hypocrite activists that they are. I try/have tried tackling them to. It's like hands over there ears La La La Were not listening. We know best your wrong! They bring nothing and have no answers or anything to show.They should have no say in or be allowed to challenge anything! NB

Nice to! When i was a kid i had a kestrel that couldn't fly properly. The local vicar was looking after it for me one time and force fed it cooked pork which killed it.I was gutted and really hated him after that. . . . I hope all go well with it. You'l be naming it next. 😉 NB

The Minsmere incident was 10yr ago. Caught red handed by DEFRA field workers (remember those). Nowt come of it. The other story was in the papers and poss on TV and social media last year. NB

With chips and onion rings? You will spoil it.😉 Well done! NB

Very True IG. That's it.They have no answers, do nothing but repeat a stream of negative bile about those that don't agree with them. From Keepers to the RSPB. They manage to find alleged cases of persecution whenever it suits them or there latest campain. They are activists! They have shown they want shooting gone! Not interested in anyone else, real conservation or a way forward. If we can see that surely DEFRA can. Lets hope the judges can! DEFRA NE need more good staff with a lot better knowledge of conservation, farming, the countryside and proper funding. Forward thinking farmers, keepers and shooters are giving them plenty of info a willing to work with them. Trailing new environmental and conservation schemes and ideas (ELMS etc) to help them. They need to work with them, listen to them and how shooting and pest control plays a big part in that. Need to pay them for there results. One size fits all, when is a hedge not a hedge schemes don't work. If they want wildlife, we needed pest control! That includes all corvids on the existing GL. Game shooting helps conservation. Over all wildlife benefits from shooting. Interesting trial on at the moment in a scheme on one local farm on hare damage. Where they are fenced out there is a 6=7in difference in crop height and noticeable differance in thickness. Does that mean more hares will be shot? NO! Will the farmer get paid for conserving them so well? Probably not! Hares can thrithe on game shoots. Result! NB

Same here JDog. Great to hear them. Yep it is the mistle thrush. Ta. Often get that name mixed up because it seems to be song thrushes i hear and see doing it most of the time as well. Two pair of mistle back and nested in village. First time for a few years. They used to always be about and bullying other birds. NB

Interesting! Very early JDog. They must of been back and started laying early/mid April. Did you see them then? Some only hatched last week in box's my way. NB

Stunning bird! So is it hunting at yours and returning OF? Is it getting mobbed? Bet there's not many other birds about and any magpies loving it. RSPB shot one that was an escapee that turned up at Minsmere as they thought it might have the bitterns. Think they wanted to shoot some others to as reconned non native. NB

Yeah! Feel'n that Jazzy vibe. I think? Names is familar. Think i went to school with him. Do they tour as the WJ trio on the Jazz circuit? Sure that's Ruth Tingay on vocal? Sax solo was great. Angry Jazz. It's the future. Smooth! 😎 . . . . . Sound a bit like In Flames. A band that used to back Motorhead. NB

"American journalist"? Yeah right! Sounds just like a rehash, but directed at game shooting of the "met a shooter on the train" (remember him) GL comments, spiel he used before and wanted folks to believe. Samo! Unless he was a shooting jurno, anyone with no knowledge of countryside or shooting would be baffled /bored by him ranting on about a subject he has limited knowledge of! When farm/shoot near me hosts/ put on day for yank friends/farmers/ preachers it's the opposite to his spiel.. wouldn't say they are the safest days 😉 but they are in ore of driven shooting, the drives, beating team and especially the dog work we enjoy. Envious of our shooting/game diversity on the day and the amount work/banter that goes in to make it happen, seeing the habitat that's been created and how other wildlife benefits from it . . . . Some are so used to carrying a gun/guns/hand gun (men and women) every day and are amazed at the hoops we have to jump through to have/carry/keep guns. I wonder if Avery has even thought how it would be if it was so easy to get and carry a gun over here? . . . . Why should BASC be fearful of a name check by them!? Publicity! Unless they are directing there flock to target BASC as he/they seem to think DEFRA and NE are in line with them. They will be looking to exploit anything neg about our orgs and us till this case is heard. As i say when trying to educate folk. We can show n tell by example the benefit to all wildlife and the economy from shooting, pest control and the conservation we do. We have nothing to hide!!!! Want nothing from them and have NO agenda. They/WJ (hen harrier obsessed) have nothing to show or any answers (say it's not there job to). Have limited knowledge, true facts or information. They have an agenda that is driven by anti shooting, land ownership and class ( like trying to drag us back a 150yrs). They need a largely urban bunch of folk with even less limited knowledge and facts to hate us! Who we are, what we do Where we live, what we own. Our Way of life. They will tell them, say and do whatever to try and achieve that! WHY? Because they need and want there MONEY! They think and want them to believe shooting folk, country people and farmers can't be trusted to look after the countryside. We are practitioners/doer's with a lot of knowledge,fieldcraft and skills making a real difference for wildlife. They are a bunch of single species obsessed, blinkered, agenda driven, angry shouty people. With a pair of binoculars they should use more, a tick sheet, dodgy graph and HUGE ego's! The big fella is bitter because his previous attempts to ban DGS etc have failed and his book is out of print. The special one is quiet because of neg publicity and some virus. The angry gal. Well she's just. Angry! It's a shame! The only winners will be Leigh Day! I hope the right people can see who is doing more for wildlife and conservation! NB

It's just WRONG! Just WRONG i tell ya! Ya need some Motorhead in ya life! Gota love a bit o Lemmy! There cover of Bowies We Could Be Heroes will be my funeral tune. NB

Did they fledge from yours JDog? That's really early if they were young'ns? Did they arrive early? Usually 10wks from first egg to fledging. Average 3 eggs laid every other day. 20 days incubation. 6wks to fledging. Any link to that east coast birds report? Interesting. Main lot arrived two weeks late my way. Mate built a nest terrace of 10 into his gable after roof they were nesting in near by was redone. All occupied. Has nest cams and rings/record them. Amazing to watch. Can be very violent. He got footage of fight to the death. Surviving birds ejecting dead bird and broken eggs and starting again with success. It's unlikely they were swifts you saw on the ground Yates. They struggle taking off if grounded.Have very short legs and spend most of there life on the wing. Probably swallows after mud. In dry weather make a mud puddle to help them they will soon find/use it. Don't knock old nest house martins nests down it gives them a head start the next year. They can be attracted to nest on your property if you put up fake woodcrete nests. Pairs better than singles. Can get swift box's to. AVB swifts are the largest, look black against sky and generally fly higher/faster, screaming. House martins black and white and look dumpy compared to the others. Swallow look black/blue shimmer with pointed wings and pointed fork tail. Fast and agile often over water. NB

Seems every where you go there's a song thrush (storm cock) singing this year. Had two young'ns bouncing around my garden a while back. Don't know of them or that shoot. I only shoot game on local beaters days, invites and a bit of rough/walked up or if i fancy one or two. Get given so many. Do what i can to keep wild grey partridges going.They doing well this year and nested early. Were a lot of pheasants left from last season as it so wet. They done ok to with more broods about. Could be an interesting season as some are not putting birds down . . .. Love the coast that way and Westleton/Dunwich heaths and forest. Several folk were fishing at Dunwich. Plenty of sole about. Surprised i didn't know about Kennedy and the flying bomb. Had to look it up. Interesting! Dodgy solenoid and it exploded at 2000 feet. Homes were damaged 16 miles away and 147 properties were destroyed yet no one killed. Presume there was more settlements near the forest back then? Hundreds of trees were destroyed and the fire was 3ml square. Hard to imagine how it looks today. Apparently JFK visited the site. Knew about the zeppelin being shot down at Theberton near by in 1917. 30,000 people came to see it. An ol boi i knew had a piece of air frame from it as a door stop. NB

I did flag it up about NE and it not looking good for wildfowling last week on another thread! Not being a fowler i haven't followed it closely. Not sure they are all so chummy now and he is aligned with them?? Avery (the brains behind WJ) has slated and tried to bully him big time after there last go at shooting and trying really to undermine him and NE more recently. Even mentioned angling, of which Tony is one. Nice friend huh! I did once think that with his appointment last year they thought they had "one of there's" on the inside they could influence and minipulate? May of been one reason to form WJ and challenge the GL's when they did? I think they were hoping to get some advisory position, influence and Funding! Maybe still are? But! They have shown themselves to be rabid left wing activists ( been said Packham has been known to don a balaclava? Avery's been associated with known criminal Anti Luke Steele) using wildlife/nature to push an anti shooting, political, land owning, class agenda. If they succeed it will be a slippery slope for shooting! At the cost of real wildlife conservation! They know NE and DEFRA have had there funding and manpower slashed!( Ask any farmer who's in a conservation scheme). Yet in a national crisis they still want to push there agendas under the guise of protecting wildlife. Unfortunatly they have a very good legal team with no morals that like challenging our government, winning and taking money from them/us. Note! There has been nothing from any of them WJ in support of the keepers/land owners/managers that have used there knowledge, staff and skills to fight the wildfires! Or use of BBQ's and sky lanterns. Or all the additional random walkers, dogs and birders/twitchers disturbing wildlife. No! Because they hate keepers/moor owners and the ignorant are part of there money stream. Now is not the time for dis'n our orgs, name calling and any infighting! We have had threads and many pages of that in past, And it gets bloody boring! I think our orgs have got the message we ant happy! We have supported them gave them and gov a lot of real good information as practitioners when asked! There's been a lot of good people with great knowledge and skill trying to help them.They need to listen and support us! Get on and get it sorted! For shooting, conservation and farming! Another rant and just my views. NB P.S Harkom excuse my ignorance what/who are IIRC?

Seems like the gloves are off with WJ again now. Really doing there best to undermine discredit NE. And it seems everyone else who's not on there side or disagrees with them. Why should NE engage with them!? They have tried and shown there hand as a minority bunch of ( hen harrier obsessed) activists that are trying to make/have made wildlife/conservation political to push there agendas! So wrong! They have no answers, real knowledge or really care about conservation! Keep regurgitating the same old bile and still saying it's not about class, land ownership and they don't want to ban shooting! Lies!!!! It gets boring after so many times. It will be wildlife that suffers!. The big fellas full of spin, half truths and twisted words again riding on the coat tails of the hare shooting ban. Just how political was that! No doubt if there's a sniff of success or publicity CP will be jumping on it and be more vocal to. He even managed to upset botanists the other week. Surely all can see them for what they are! We! As practitioners with no agenda but real knowledge and skills, with true passion for shooting, conservation and the countryside have given DEFRA NE and our orgs plenty of good information knowledge and support when asked. It's time for all to step up for shooting and conservation! Bit of another rant! NB

Complete chance happening of seeing both Mice. I was on the way home from a summer solstice sunset gathering of like minded folk on the beach. Pulled over at heath to top up empty screen washer bottle as so many insects on screen. Saw dartford warbler as i pulled in and soon as i turned truck off i could hear one nightjar churrrring real loud right beside me. It flew round small parking area and me displaying and wing clapping like pigeons do. As it still wasn't really dark could i see it against the sky. Plus they flash white wing a tail markings in a strange way making them look more unusual to. Look like a cross between a cuckoo, swallow and a huge moth. It settled on a post nearby and kept churrring/clicking and two others joined in taking no notice of me. All close and real loud as it was so still and quiet. It was like the parking area was the edge of each birds territory. Such a very weird sound and amazing experience! I would of been chuffed just seeing the dartford warbler. . . . Old name for nightjars round my way is "goatsucker". They were thought to be witches. Anyone seen any rosey starlings? Said to be a lot all over UK at mo. They another striking looking bird. NB

Job Jobed. Well done! What were you shooting them on? Look like drillings in pic? Hide look good to. NB

Reason i asked is, after handling/moving and playing with many grass snakes as a kid i was aware they smelt, but i didn't think it that bad. Until! the other year i picked up a very large one to pass to a farmer to hold for a pic as he had never seen or held one before. As i did so it writhed and sprayed loads of this milky bile from it's vent. It stunk so bad i quickly put it down and it was like instinct for us both and his dogs to back off sharpish as it really smelt so vile. Luckily none of it on us. Farmer still reminds me of it. It was just after all the the years of handling them i had never had any do that or realised they did. I did wonder if it was because his dogs had been tormenting it beforehand. Carefully rescued one out of some footings yesterday. It was completely calm/torpid like others in past. NB

Unusual your robins used post box/same nest for second attempt Ditchy. Three broods not unusual if conditions are good. My third lot have hatched. Nest in a flowerpot wedged in fence this time. The rain has helped all critters. Still got goldfinches, chaffinches, dunnocks and wood pigeon nesting at mine. Mistle thrushes on third attempt near by. House martins only started nest building on neighbours gable last week. Wrens done well and young have only just dispersed. Lack of cats about at mo make a big difference to nesting and survival. Whitethroat and blackcap visiting garden daily. Often wake to the sound of turtle doves. Noticed lot more song thrushes about this year and nightingales. lots of all sorts of bees everywhere. . . . . Keep an eye/ear out for them very rare blyths reed warblers. There is a few in Suffolk and other parts of the country. Saw and herd one again Saturday. Though boffins still not really believing us or that they could be on more than one site locally. . . . Up one farm locally a blackbird whistles back to the farmer in the same three note whistle when he calls to it then just carries on singing normally. Very strange and human like whistle. Says it been doing it for two years. . . . If you want to hear/see nightjars there is a few on Westleton Heath this year. Had three calling close round me an saw one Saturday night. Very surreal! Prob not happen again. A very strange sounding and looking bird. Saw a dartford warbler just before dark there to. With the reserves shut, in last few weeks we have had birders/ twitchers sussing where the turtle doves etc are and turning up on farms, parking up on tracks and in gateways trying to see them and other red listers we trying to help. Some have a lot of knowledge, but ant got a clue about how to watch/ approach wild birds or get the bigger conservation picture. Some of these tick box types had travelled several miles to do it to. NB

Lord V, what do you mean by get musked on? NB

We will have to see what happens. WJ have played there hand. Called us all sorts with there boring repeated bile and false information! It's up to us to support our orgs, keep educating folks and give them some real facts and why pest and predator control is necessary. . . . .Though it don't seem to be looking to good for wild fowling season at moment. NE holding things up and still on about no shooting on or near SSSI's. NB

It's in GWCT daily update to. On Gov site to. Good news! Evo Sec George Eustice saying it's important to keep a robust workable GL. Look like some changes coming though. Says new licences will come out in November to allow user groups to be aquainted with them before January. I wonder if they have simplified them? A lot of us gave them plenty of information last year to do so and get it done! Well done those that did! NB

Luvly ol film! The Keeper (1975) and The Piper of Nacton also worth a watch. NB

Did you go/ see/hear it JDog? *** got them local in Suffolk. Been around since last Saturday. Few of of us have seen it and fella sent recording to BTO. They have no match and local boffins still arguing over it as seen and heard on two local sites this week. Certainly looks like what i saw and had amazing vocal range. Like it was competing with blackcap and whitethroat that were also singing. Noticing loads of whitethroats about this year. Thinking more noticeable as there is less rape for them to hide and nest in. NB