This afternoon there has been great excitement at VGP - the much anticipated wildlife boxes have now arrived for our furry and feathered friends. On the cusp of Spring, we are hoping to tempt owls, robins, bats and dormice out of the woods to come and live in the garden with the honey-bees. Wrapped up like Eskimos, we spent three freezing hours carefully positioning the boxes: an owl-box is now facing north-east, under the canopy of the walnut tree, it has a direct flight path into the woods. Bats are to have two boxes in the ghost tree, each faces in a different direction allowing these tiny mammals maximum exposure to warmth from the sun. Ivy camouflaged Coletit and Bluetit boxes now nestle, cradled in knarled apple tree branches; this spring the chicks will be festooned in sweet blossom and seranaded in 'Buzz' by the bees. We have tucked the dormice boxes away on the back of the composters where they will benefit from maximum privacy and bio-heat from the breakdown of garden-waste. With wild nests appearing in the stone bird-holes on the studio, I feel like a site-agent allocating plots to 'Captain Beaky and his Band'! I have always adored this song...
' They march through woodlands singing songs, that tell how they have righted wrongs...
Timid Toad, Reckless Rat, Artful Owl and Batty Bat...'
The bat boxes are rough hewn to enable the tiny residents to
climb aboard. The build-spec and attention to detail in these practical boxes is superb!
