Last week we finally got around to insulating the attic in our old schoolhouse. Long overdue… I know, but it was a mammoth task (you should see our attic, it’s beyond mental), and there always seemed to be something more pressing to attend to.
The first thing I notices when I climbed into the attic space was a HUGE pile of twigs, moss, newspaper dried cow dung and sundry other bits and pieces piled up next to the gable end. At first I couldn’t work out what it was. Then it dawned on me: it was a jackdaw’s nest.
(Photo: nine 40kg coal bags crammed full of twigs and other jackdaw related material that came out of our attic last week)
I’d seen the jackdaws coming and going all summer, but nothing could have prepared me for the volume of nesting material they’d managed to accumulate.bring through the narrow opening in the gable end. It was mini-mountain of nesting material. I filled nine 40kg col bags with it in total.
I’m loath to do it, but I think I’m going to have to block up the hole with mesh that’s too small for the Jackdaws to get through, but still big enough to let the bats in and out. I’m all for living in harmony with nature – but you have to draw the line somewhere….
