Post-natal nature

Well... a lot has changed! Meet Luc Thomas Darvill - born in the early hours of 10th March.

A couple of weeks early, but after an initial challenge with an infection, he is now home, well, and growing fast.

This coming Sunday he will be 8 weeks old!

You might remember from the last blog post that I had been busily man-nesting both inside and outside the house. The local 'patch' had been spring cleaned, and the next job was to build bird boxes.

Well, the building of the boxes went well, following instructions on the BTO website. 9mm exterior grade plywood, a pencil, rule, jigsaw (not the 10,000 piece coffee table type...) and a hole saw drill attachment for the hole. Me being the rugged type... these were all things that I had (except the wood).

So, the boxes had been made. However, the weather-proofing wood stain had not quite happened at the point that Helen went into labour. Contractions were, initially, 8 minutes apart. I suggested that she paint a box in between each contraction, but that didn't go down well...

So - Grandpa to the rescue! With Pa's help, the boxes were stained and hammered to promising looking trees in 'the patch'. More on these later...

Once the initial shock of it all subsided, we got back on track and outdoors, using a (soon-to-be-upgraded) sling.  A few tentative hill walks in the area went well, and Luc saw his first Pine Marten poo (left).

We also spent some time in the patch, looking at brown trout in the stream. On one occasion with BOTH ferrets! This is well and truly Tibs territory, but he seemed happy to share and to demonstrate his special crossing place to Milly.

The stream, it turns out, is full of little trout. You would never know it in daylight - they hide under the banks and under stones. But if you go at night with a decent torch, all is revealed as they are out in open water. Possibly to do with avoiding the two types of predator? Kingfisher/heron in daylight (avoid being visible) and otter at night (avoid being cornered?).

Luc has now smelt his first otter poo, having had it shoved under his nose. The otters are up and down the little stream and I've found a number of good sprainting sites. I suspect it is most used when the main river is in spate, which is unfortunate as it's not in spate at the moment, just as I want the otters to put on a good show!

I say that because I dusted down my four (expensive HD) trail cameras and had one last go at fixing them. And... much to my embarrassment I discovered that they work FINE (so long as you format the memory cards in a PC and not a Mac). Doh... But, a major bonus to have them back in action.

The prime spot for otter sprainting is always under bridges, where the poo can't get washed away by the rain. With a nice little bridge within 50 yards of the house, this should be the ideal spot. BUT - there were no large stones under the bridge. A few hours work with a very large metal bar later... and some huge boulders and concrete blocks have been duly levered into position.

The next job was to attach some brackets to the inside walls of the bridge to attach the trail cameras to. I don't have a cordless drill... but I DO have a petrol generator! :-D Both drill and generator were rated at 640 Watts. Result! Remarkably no dog walkers stuck their heads under the bridge to find out what all of the noise was about! Needless to say, smelly, noisy generator + drill made this a daddy only activity.

So far... no otters, but the cameras are working and have captured their first mammal!

The cameras are put out every night and collected every morning, with Luc joining me in the sling. Early by my standards... but not before the school kids have passed by. I sincerely hope that Dunblane school kids aren't adventurous enough to find the cameras, nor dishonest enough to steal them. Fingers crossed for this, and also for the appearance of an otter!

In the mean time we have been entertained by other damp animals.

Since early in the pregnancy I have been greatly looking forward to catching newts in the pond with 'Elsie'. It was a delight therefore to stumble across one sitting (can newts sit?) in the road on one of our evening strolls.

So, Luc has already met a newt, while he is still minute! It was duly deposited in our pond to boost the already-healthy breeding population.

Later on the self-same walk we..., well... the video speaks for itself:

And what of the bird nests? Well, I'm checking them weekly and filling in the BTO's Nest Record Scheme recording cards. So far nests are being built in three of the 16 boxes. Typically, the most advanced nest is in the 'bishop banjos' box that was cobbled together from all of the remaining fragments of wood once the 15 'proper' boxes had been made. I'll post photos once some eggs have been laid. So far this has been a 'daddy only' exercise, but the boxes aren't all tha high and the ladder is good and strong... Not sure.

Elsewhere, on my cycle home from work, I have discovered a fine blackbird's nest, with two tiny chicks and an egg that was in the process of hatching. Another one for the BTO's nest survey!

Looking into it involves lying in nettles and brambles at the top of a 15 foot cliff and peering over into the ivy. OR, lying comfortably on a camping 'roll mat', but very nearly slipping over the edge due to the lack of friction! It turns out that thorns make for very good safety anchors. Some flesh will have to be sacrificed. However, this is definitely a daddy only activity!!!