Anybody recommend a good insect book, one with all British insects in?
No idea about a book with all insect and suspect it would be massive !!
but two of my favourites are:-
Field guide to the dragonflies and damselflies of Britain and Ireland - Brookes, Cram and Lewington
Collins butterfly guide - Tolman and Lewington
i have a cheap bee guide somewhere but can't find it to recommend at the moment
Cheers Mike, to be quite honest I only really want a book for Butterflies, Drangonflies, Damsleflies and Bees. I'll take a look at the ones you've suggested. Cheers again.
Hi Mike, it maybe worth noting... The RSPB recommend a 5% disinfectant solution for cleaning feeders, bird table etc. That is pretty much what is available to buy as a household solution. I used to work in the janitorial industry and 5% solution was also the norm for disinfectant supplied to a wide range of industries, and products have to be animal and child safe with regards to potential risk of toxicity if ingested. Obviously lots of stronger solutions are available as are more specialist products with more specialist uses, including Jeyes Fluid which in itself as a neat fluid is toxic if ingested and can be a particular risk to Felines, but I've read that even Jeyes can be used for cleaning bird feeders when used in the correct dilution. But one article suggests a lot of people just use warm water with a bit of mild washing up liquid, and also every once in a while, more so in summer, pour boiling water over to eradicate any bugs or mites etc that can gather on rotting or mouldy stale food that is left in the feeders, the risk with that in the way of scaulding goes without saying. Hope this is of help. Rob
Thanks Vic. I'll pass that on. She assumed that normal household products wouldn't be suitable but wasn't sure what would be as the instructions with the feeders were fairly vague.
There's loads of advice on the internet on cleaning feeders just Google "bird feeder hygiene". Basically feeders should be cleaned once a week. A small stiff brush is ideal for removing old stale food that might have stuck in joints etc followed by a wash down with ordinary water. The area under the feeders should be cleaned as much as possible removing any old food remains etc. Once the area has dried off a disinfectant should be applied both to the feeder and the area around and below. General household disinfectants are NOT normally appropriate. There are several brands of disinfectant designed solely with birds in mind. The best is probably Chapelwood Bird Feeder Disinfectant. This product is available on Amazon UK but is not cheap. There are other brands available that are much cheaper but I suppose it's the old adage "you get what you pay for"
Agree with Bradshaw Brook Bolton saw one recently and quite regularly 7 Acre Countrty Park at the north end but have seen them all along it. Path runs alongside the brook Compstal Nature Reserve around the weir/bridge but also further down the river there's a path below the lodge along the river. Finally below Hinds Weir in the centre of Bury although river bank folliage can restrict views and burrs cp bury on any part of the river but often near the bridges that enters the carpark.
good ticking
-- Edited by Ian Boote on Friday 30th of July 2010 12:10:03 AM
i am not sure where is local for you but i have had good dipper sightings on bradshaw brook in bolton this year and also on Binn Green/Yeoman Hey Plantation, the brook near dovestones main car park had a few dippers on it just last week
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Did you see it? It was small and brown and flew that way.........................
If you go onto the bird sighting part, there is a thread for dipper spotting. Most in Winter, though, even the ones at Etherow seem to be hiding at present
