Hi and welcome to my Blog, my name is Paul Riddle and I live in south Leicestershire, UK. Back in August 2007 my quest began to locate as many local Little Owl territories as possible. The driving force was a reported decline in the uk numbers so I thought I would do my bit and conduct a study in my area. After 7 years and countless hours out in the field I have detected over 200 different sites. With a thirst for a greater understanding of the owls a more comprehensive monitoring and nest box programme then commenced. This also now includes monitoring the local and very sparse population of Barn Owls, please pop back occasionally and catch up with the life and times of my owls and any other wildlife that I come across. I hope you enjoy your visit!!!

Saturday, 12 February 2011

Burning the midnight oil.

If I'm not at work, out owling, watching the footie, down the pub or sleeping.......then the chances are recently you will have found me making Barn Owl boxes. Mostly alone but on several occasions Colin Green came over to offer a very welcoming hand. Marking out, sawing, screwing, painting and painting and even more painting has taken over my life. It started off as a labour of love but more recently it has started to get on my nerves as there just didn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel.....until now!

After what seems to of been hundreds of hours stuck away in my garage, finally this morning (Saturday 12th Feb) the second batch of 15 are ready for erection.


The "pyramid" of boxes before the erection starts, yes I know three of them are not quite ready, they need a final coat of paint and of course the entrance hole cutting out, that's a job for Colin (he's good at that), if he ever comes around again!!! 
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6 comments:

  1. Richard Pegler12 February 2011 at 11:10

    Very impressive - well done!! Shout if you want a hand putting them up.

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  2. Bobbster12 February 2011 at 18:33

    Wow impressive work, hopefully you will get tenants for each of them to reward your efforts.

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  3. sparky12 February 2011 at 18:44

    very well done Rid,and Colin,good work,and I hope that they ALL get filled up,with Owl's that is,good'on'ya boy

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  4. Anonymous12 February 2011 at 19:52

    looks & sounds like you've invested a mountain of time & effort into that lot

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  5. Simon Taylor12 February 2011 at 21:03

    i know how you feel Rid - I've just made 52 nest boxes for my local patch and finished last weekend thankfully. I dont want to see my Black and Decker workmate for a long time.

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  6. Paul Riddle13 February 2011 at 07:43

    Cheers for your comments guys!

    ReplyDelete

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