Project Nestbox Latest and "Saving Tallulah

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24 January 2012

My top 10 birds

I have not been well the past two days so have not been out and about. I have even resisted working in my workshop. Anyway thought I would share my top ten bird species with you.

        

                                     Undisputed Champion in my eyes The Red Kite

1. Red Kite (stunning bird and has that little bit of welshness)

2. Bullfinch

3. Redstart

4. Pied Flycatcher

5. Coal tit

5. Marsh tit

6. House Martin

7. Dipper

8. Grey Wagtail

9. Nuthatch

10. Goldfinch

              

                                           Above my second favourite bird The Bullfinch

Email me your top ten and I will display it on my website.

22 January 2012

"Saving Tallulah"

Slightly astray from the topic of nesting birds, and a story that needed to be told, and given as much exposure, to as many people as possible. After a few hours erecting 20 nest boxes I returned to my car which was parked at Coed-y-cando Farm and was immediately drawn to a small gathering of people which included Richard  and Tracey the farm owners. What I witnessed next was truly shocking to say the least. Twenty Five year old Hayley Foulks who lives in Pontypool was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time two weeks ago when she unfortunately came across this lovely little female horse which was left starving to death on the side of a mountain road. The Filly was in such a poor condition she kept collapsing whilst attempting to walk and it took several people to get her up and onto a horse box.

                           

                                   Above Tallulah unfortunately all skin and bone

                       

Tallulah is one of the lucky animals who has been very fortunate to be saved by a special compassionate person like Hayley Foulks. Tracey Iles who owns Coed-y-cando Farm has agreed to allow Tallulah to recover from the extremely poor condition that she is currently in by housing her at one of her stables at Coed-y-cando Farm. Vets have assessed her and have basically given her a 50-50 chance of survival. Special care and attention is now needed as well as good old TLC from Hayley and Tracey.

     

                    Above Hayley and Tallulah                           Above Tallulah happy in her new home

Tallulah is certainly a fighter and what struck me when I was introduced to her was how friendly she was with humans even though she had been neglected and almost left for dead. Well it is very reassuring to know that Tracey and Richard of Coed-y-cando Farm and the local equestrian family have all rallied around together to help fund the vets fees, food and shelter that have been provided for this beautiful little Filly.

                                    

                      Above Tallulah in safe hands                                           Me with Tallulah

This sad story is all two familiar when it involves animals and thank god we have compassionate people like Tracey, Richard and Hayley. This particular story, I hope will end with a happy ending, and why shouldn`t it when you have people who care and will put themselves out to protect and care for those that are vunerable. Today I have witnessed total compassion by people who are few and far between and for that they have my utmost respect.

     

                                                           Above Ross Legalloudec and Tallulah

Tallulah`s story becomes even more plausible, because 10 year old Ross Legalloudec from Malpas got to hear about Tallulah`s story and he decided to take action himself. This 10 year old lad actually sold his Nintendo wi to raise money for Tallulah`s cause. Ross also donated £20 of his christmas money that he had left over which for me was an amazing gesture. If you would like or if you know someone who is in a position to help out with Tallulah`s cause then please do not hesitate to contact me at richyevs@btinternet.com. Tracey Iles has set up a facebook page for people to donate what they can. As soon as I get the facebook page details I will advertise the address on here.

                       

                               Hayley Foulks (no relation to Guy) with her new Filly Tallulah

I will leave you with this lovely image of Tullalah and her new owner Hayley Foulks and another plea for compassionate animal lovers out there who are possibly in a position to help out with this very worthwhile cause.

Coed-y-cando Farm, NewInn

I was up and about reasonably early this morning due to last evening`s advance planning schedule. The plan was to erect 20 nest boxes in Coed-y-cando Farm, woods but also erect a few around the farm itself. I have an Owl box in one of the barns but to date no Owls have shown any interest in the nest box. At the front of the Farm I have a feeding station set up and the regular daily visitors include the Farm, House Sparrow Colony, so with this in mind I have erected a few more Sparrow boxes and also a 3 hole colony box. I think it is important to keep this particular colony fed and housed for as long as possible due to the well documented problems with declining House Sparrow numbers. I would say the Coed-y-cando Farm colony have at least 10-15 males and probably slightly more females, so reasonably healthy numbers. It is my aim, and I have the full backing of the farm owners Richard and Tracey to preserve this colony and attempt to increase its numbers by feeding and erecting new nest boxes.

                          

                           Above is a Tawny Owl Box erect at Coed-y-cando Farm

               

                                Above are 2 photographs of my House Sparrow Colony nest box

           

      Above single nest box attached to farm building     and above right assembly line 355

Welcome to Project-Nestbox blog

About Me

My name is Richard Evans, I reside in a lovely rural village called New Inn just outside Pontypool which is situated in the County of Gwent.

 

                               

 

I suppose I was lucky enough to be brought up in such a beautiful area, one of which some people take for granted. I am one of those people who takes full advantage of what is actually on my doorstep, I regularly walk my two springer spaniel dogs around my local vicinity.

 

                                    

Located at the edge of New Inn is a wooded area called Coed-y-cando woods, and from a very young age based pretty much all of my days playing in what was once a safe haven for children of all ages.

                                                  

My dad and uncle introduced me to wildlife, and in particular birds, so it is from these that I gained some knowledge of garden and woodland birds. My dad is a carpenter by trade and I can remember to this day the time he supervised me constructing my first ever nest box. The nest box was purposely made to attract a family of Blue tits, with a 25mm hole of which only a Blue tit could enter. My dad and I erected the nest box in my local woods and attached the nest box to a tree about 3m high. A week later when dad and I inspected the nest box, to my amazement there was a lovely fluffy little nest containing 9 eggs.  From that day onwards I was mesmerised by nesting birds in particular, but pretty much all garden and woodland birds. Dad could see how enthralled I was and decided to build a bird table for our back garden. My bedroom window overlooked my garden and directly onto the bird table where as a family we kept appropriate amounts of food like peanuts, bread, fruit, berries and seed all year round. Again I was mesmerised watching a variety of species of garden and woodland bird such as Starling, House Sparrow, Blue tit, Great tit, Coal tit, Long tailed tit, Siskin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Blackbird, Mistle thrush, Song thrush, Dunnock and occasionally a Pied wagtail and Redwing if it was very cold, eating what was on offer. I used to spend hours either watching birds feeding in my back garden or watching woodland birds in Coed-y-cando woods.

                                   

The Blue tit box that my dad and I erected in Coed-y-cando woods was a complete success which resulted in 8 eggs hatching and all chicks growing and successfully reaching adulthood. This then inspired me to dramatically increase the number of nest boxes ready for the following spring. I can still remember the conversation I had with dad and the promise he gave me to supply me with the materials to construct several nest boxes. I bought books with information on garden and woodland birds to gain the knowledge needed to understand breeding seasons and habitat of all species which were either resident all year or were summer visitors. I can remember constructing 8 nest boxes in total and had different hole sizes for certain species like Great tit, Blue tit, Coal tit and robin. This hobby pretty much lasted until I was 15 when I decided to join Her Majesty's forces and in particular the army.

                            

After leaving the army due to a serious knee injury, I held several jobs, the last being the owner of a courier company.  It was whilst driving one of my company vehicles on a fateful day in September 2010 which gave me a completely different outlook on life. Unfortunately the knee I had so many problems with locked and my foot was stuck on the gas pedal.  I attempted to brake with my left foot but to no avail.  I left the dual carriageway up an embankment, through a wooded area and back down towards the dual carriageway, eventually impacting the side barrier which probably saved my life. I was actually thrown through the windscreen and ended up on the bonnet of the van or at least what was left of the bonnet. The vehicle was a complete right off and I must say looking at the vehicle as I was taken away in the ambulance, I then realised how lucky I was to be alive.

That is history, and now with my 3 children can look forward to once again participating in a hobby I loved so much as a child. Whilst recovering from an operation, I along with my son Ieuan constructed 72 nest boxes during December and January of 2010-2011. I was kindly given permission from Hanbury Park Estates to erect all of my nest boxes in Coed-y-cando woods. All boxes have been erected of various sizes to hopefully attract species such as the Greater spotted woodpecker, Lesser spotted woodpecker, Green woodpecker, Redstart, Tree Sparrow, Nuthatch, Pied wagtail, Spotted flycatcher, Blue tit, Great tit, Coal tit, Willow tit, Marsh tit, Tawny owl, Robin and last but not least the Barn owl. I am now in the process of monitoring all nest boxes on a daily basis, albeit at a distance. Early signs are good and through February 2011 have already spotted birds such as the Blue tit, Great tit and Tree creeper checking out some of the nest boxes.

I will endeavour to update this web site on a daily/weekly basis.

Address

Richard Evans
New Inn, Pontypool

Contact Details

Telephone: 07970 139550

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Project Nestbox and Living and dealing with Crohn`s Disease

As you can see I have been really busy of late constructing nest boxes for the fast approaching breeding season. Although I have battled through a chronic illness to achieve all this.  Up until now, only my family and close friends were aware of my chronic illness because I became embarrassed and depressed trying to lead a normal life. Unfortunately you cannot lead a normal life with a crippling ailment, and most people who suffer with similar conditions like me, try to put a brave face on. You cannot battle this illness on your own, you need the full support of your family, Friends and work colleagues. Lately I have suffered a nasty flare up over Christmas and if I am honest it scared me a great deal as I was passing so much blood. I was almost admitted to hospital and if It wasn`t for my GP`s intervention and decision to be put on a course of steroids then I would have been admitted. Lately, Several people have questioned why I am feeling so unwell and why so frequently and because of these questions  I thought now is the time to stop hiding and actually deal with it in the public domain.

I have now decided to share how I deal with this chronic and sometimes depressing illness  each day hoping that people gain a better understanding of the makeup of Crohn`s disease and how it dramatically effects individuals. I will attempt this in a diary form from day to day.

What is Crohn's disease?

Crohn's disease (also spelled Crohn disease) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines. It primarily causes ulcerations (breaks in the lining) of the small and large intestines, but can affect the digestive system anywhere from the mouth to the anus. It is named after the physician who described the disease in 1932. It also is called granulomatous enteritis or colitis, regional enteritis, ileitis, or terminal ileitis.

Crohn's disease is related closely to another chronic inflammatory condition that involves only the colon called ulcerative colitis. Together, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are frequently referred to as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease have no medical cure. Once the diseases begin, they tend to fluctuate between periods of inactivity (remission) and activity (relapse).

Inflammatory bowel disease affects approximately 500,000 to two million people in the United States. Men and women are affected equally. Americans of Jewish European descent are 4 to 5 times more likely to develop IBD than the general population. IBD has historically been considered predominately disease of Caucasians, but there has been an increase in reported cases in African Americans suffering from IBD. The prevalence appears to be lower among Hispanic and Asian populations. IBD most commonly begins during adolescence and early adulthood (usually between the ages of 15 and 35). There is a small second peak of newly-diagnosed cases after age 50. The number of new cases (incidence) and number of cases (prevalence) of Crohn's disease in the United States are rising, although the reason for this is not completely understood.

Crohn's disease tends to be more common in relatives of patients with Crohn's disease. If a person has a relative with the disease, his/her risk of developing the disease is estimated to be at least 10 times that of the general population and 30 times greater if the relative with Crohn's disease is a sibling. It also is more common among relatives of patients with ulcerative colitis.

What causes Crohn's disease?

The cause of Crohn's disease is unknown. Some scientists suspect that infection by certain bacteria, such as strains of mycobacterium, may be the cause of Crohn's disease. To date, however, there has been no convincing evidence that the disease is caused by infection per se. Crohn's disease is not contagious. Although diet may affect the symptoms in patients with Crohn's disease, it is unlikely that diet is responsible for the disease.

Activation of the immune system in the intestines appears to be important inIBD. The immune system is composed of immune cells and the proteins that these immune cells produce. Normally, these cells and proteins defend the body against harmful bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other foreign invaders. Activation of the immune system causes inflammation within the tissues where the activation occurs. (Inflammation is an important mechanism of defense used by the immune system.)

Normally, the immune system is activated only when the body is exposed to harmful invaders. In individuals with IBD, however, the immune system is abnormally and chronically activated in the absence of any known invader. The continued abnormal activation of the immune system results in chronic inflammation and ulceration. The susceptibility to abnormal activation of the immune system is genetically inherited. Thus, first degree relatives (brothers, sisters, children, and parents) of people with IBD are more likely to develop these diseases. Recently a gene called NOD2 has been identified as being associated with Crohn's disease. This gene is important in determining how the body responds to some bacterial products. Individuals with mutations in this gene are more susceptible to developing Crohn's disease.

Other genes are still being discovered and studied which are important in understanding the pathogenesis of Crohn's disease including autophagy related 16-like 1 gene (ATG 16L1) and IRGM, which both contribute to macrophage defects and have been identified with the Genome-Wide Association study². In this regard, there have also been studies which show that in the intestines of individuals with Crohn's disease, there are higher levels of a certain type of bacterium, E. coli, which might play a role in the pathogenesis¹¹ defect in elimination of the E. coli, by intestinal mucosal macrophages. The exact roles that these various factors play in the development of this disease remain unclear.

How does Crohn's disease affect the intestines?

In the early stages, Crohn's disease causes small, scattered, shallow, crater-like ulcerations (erosions) on the inner surface of the bowel. These erosions are called aphthous ulcers. With time, the erosions become deeper and larger, ultimately becoming true ulcers (which are deeper than erosions), and causing scarring and stiffness of the bowel. As the disease progresses, the bowel becomes increasingly narrowed, and ultimately can become obstructed. Deep ulcers can puncture holes in the wall of the bowel, and bacteria from within the bowel can spread to infect adjacent organs and the surrounding abdominal cavity.

When Crohn's disease narrows the small intestine to the point of obstruction, the flow of the contents through the intestine ceases. Sometimes, the obstruction can be caused suddenly by poorly-digestible fruit or vegetables that plug the already-narrowed segment of the intestine. When the intestine is obstructed, digesting food, fluid and gas from the stomach and the small intestine cannot pass into the colon. The symptoms of small intestinal obstruction then appear, including severe abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distention. Obstruction of the small intestine is much more likely since the small intestine is much narrower than the colon.

Deep ulcers can puncture holes in the walls of the small intestine and the colon, and create a tunnel between the intestine and adjacent organs. If the ulcer tunnel reaches an adjacent empty space inside the abdominal cavity, a collection of infected pus (an abdominal abscess) is formed. Individuals with abdominal abscesses can develop tender abdominal masses, high fevers, and abdominal pain.

• When the ulcer tunnels into an adjacent organ, a channel (fistula) is formed.
  
• The formation of a fistula between the intestine and the bladder (enteric-vesicular fistula) can cause frequent urinary tract infectionsand the passage of gas and feces during urination.
  
• When a fistula develops between the intestine and the skin (enteric-cutaneous fistula), pus and mucous emerge from a small painful opening on the skin of the abdomen.
  
• The development of a fistula between the colon and the vagina (colonic-vaginal fistula) causes gas and feces to emerge through the vagina.
  
• The presence of a fistula from the intestines to the anus (anal fistula) leads to a discharge of mucous and pus from the fistula's opening around the anus.

How is Crohn's disease different from ulcerative colitis?

While ulcerative colitis causes inflammation only in the colon (colitis) and/or the rectum (proctitis), Crohn's disease may cause inflammation in the colon, rectum, small intestine (jejunum and ileum), and, occasionally, even the stomach, mouth, and esophagus.

The patterns of inflammation in Crohn's disease are different from ulcerative colitis. Except in the most severe cases, the inflammation of ulcerative colitis tends to involve the superficial layers of the inner lining of the bowel. The inflammation also tends to be diffuse and uniform (all of the lining in the affected segment of the intestine is inflamed.)

Unlike ulcerative colitis, the inflammation of Crohn's disease is concentrated in some areas more than others, and involves layers of the bowel that are deeper than the superficial inner layers. Therefore, the affected segment(s) of bowel in Crohn's disease often is studded with deeper ulcers with normal lining between these ulcers.