Saw-sick Steve

Air Arms 400f for sale locally, also Gamo Phox and Coyote. Do magazines make a huge difference in the field or are people still happy with single shot? Also charging, pump v tank or can you use a compressor? Looks like I might have to invest in some traps as well, I'm used to the odd bit of damage on Sycamore, Beech and Hornbeam but this year not one has escaped attack and I've also had serious damage to Oak and even Willow, which is a right bugger considering many are trees I planted 20 years ago. Thanks for the advice so far👍

After the worst season I can remember for squirrel damage - they've even had most of the apples - I'm in the market for a new air rifle. Currently have a very old Feinwerkbau .22 break-barrel carbine but would like to upgrade to a modern PCP. Thinking .177 over .22 for range and accuracy and looking at Gamo as an affordable option, basically BSA made under licence? Any other makes to consider? Any advice welcome, Cheers in advance

I've never considered a battery saw before as I'd heard that they were under-powered and ran flat too easily, however apparently battery technology has come on a lot recently and I'm reconsidering so am after recommendations. Not expecting to replace a 2-stroke entirely, but I've got a fair bit of hedge-laying to do this winter - nothing too large diameter - and quite like the idea of a quiet saw that's not sitting on tick-over a lot. Reading through some reviews doesn't show any brand that stands out, seems to vary with each review so thought I'd ask on here for any personal recommendations. TY in advance🙂

Not about a small group of Irish criminals then? 😉 (I'll see myself out)

Change 'red' to 'blue' and 'Labour' to 'Tory' and you've pretty much summed up the Parliamentary track record of the current incumbent representing S.E Cornwall. 😀

As mentioned above, I'd find out who's responsibility it is to fence the ground before commencing work. Leccy's been mentioned which is a good quick solution - I used to keep pigs in by using hazel sticks with those screw-in insulators attached instead of those plastic posts, worked just as well. I remember doing a job in Derbyshire years ago now, clearing willow to open up some ponds - couple of the local farmers asked if they could take any willow to use as stakes to which I replied yes, but won't they rot out in a couple of years? Apparently, they used them in damp ground as 'live' fence posts - if you put them in the right way up they'd grow as cuttings. They showed me some examples, I've never come across this anywhere else either before or since.

Ordered a barrow with puncture proof wheel from Screwfix......which never arrived.😒 Now awaiting a puncture proof wheel from ross castors. Might try some of that spray gunk on one of the other wheels as I've just frightened myself by looking at the price of half-decent, new barrows.😨

Yeah, not buying that, sorry. Yes there's some Blackthorn around (but not flailed), but bramble - really? I can remember doing jobs on the old estate I started out on - over 40 years ago - that regularly involved barrowing aggregate over scrub and rough ground and never having a puncture. It definitely seems to be a relatively recent phenomenon, as I stated in the op it's either down to cheap Chinese rubber or lower ply tyres IMO. I'm going for a 'puncture proof' barrow and see how I get on. I'd like to try a 6 ply tyre, but having googled them they only seem to be sold in units of 10.🙄

Twistedhicap - that looks more like it, 6 ply should do the trick. Just wondering, without checking if older barrow tyres had a higher ply rating, or did 2 ply mean something else 25 years ago? Paul - re. wheel sizes and mountings - this is another problem I've encountered. Got a pretty decent barrow from MVF that's nearly 30 years old, galvanized, 90 litre capacity that's still got years of life left in it but the tyre is now (understandably) perished - can I find a wheel of the correct type to fit? Can I f....! tempted to try a puncture proof one from Screwfix

Without wanting to sound more of a grumpy old git than I already am, has anyone got any solutions to what seems to be a consistent problem for me of late - punctures in wheelbarrow wheels! I've tied puncture repair kits, new inner tubes and even resorted to a new wheel but with the same result - I now have three barrows with flats. I'm starting to think that the quality of new tyres/tubes is shite, whether that's down to poor quality Chinese construction or not I'm not sure, but I certainly don't remember having to do so many puncture repairs before, and the only barrow I've not had a problem with is an ancient one I leave at the yard that's nearly rusted through and with a really old cracked - but still inflated - tyre. Is it possible to get replacement tyres/wheels of a heavier grade ply, or has anyone tried the 'puncture proof' or 'puncture resistant' wheels? Do they perform as well as a pneumatic tyre, or not worth the hassle?

Think they're Cattle Egrets, not easy to tell from the photo but Little Egret have a more upright appearance with a longer neck and black bill whilst Cattle Egret are squat, more 'dumpy' looking with yellow bills. If you look at the feet, Cattle Egret have black feet and Little Egret yellow.

I'm down in sunny Cornwall. I thought for a while how similar the Dormouse 'tubes' they use for surveys were to the 1 litre milk containers so thought I'd give them a whirl. I use the 4 pint ones as tree guards - passing a cane through the handles for support - and have had Dormice nesting in these when they've 'concertinaed' in on themselves when 4 or 5 are placed on one cane.

Depends entirely on the habitat frequented by the Cuckoo., eg Meadow Pipit is the commonest host by far on uplands whereas in reedbeds it's Reed warbler - don't recall Willow warbler as being a common host?

No worries, I tend not to be a frequent poster but I do drop in frequently and try and keep up with your Ancient woodland thread - one of the best and most interesting things on here, IMO.👍 Dormice were present in a neighbouring field that had been left to re-wild after a dispute over ownership and occupied the hedges within a few years of them not being flailed to death - the hedges, that is 😁 They've now occupied the strip of trees I planted roughly parallel with the hedges(a mix of native transplants and natural regen) and are breeding - 3 years ago i put up a dozen boxes and nearly all were occupied, including with two breeding nests. I've also had some success with Dormice using old milk containers cable tied to trees.

Good stuff VI, real grassroots (or should that be treeroots?😁} conservation in action. I've under taken a similar project - albeit on a much smaller scale - on 18 acres of poor quality arable land that I've converted back to rough grassland with the long term aim to create wood pasture. Obviously I wont be around to see it to fruition, but in the decade I've been doing this, Dormouse have occupied the scrub woodland and hedgerows and a pair of Barn Owls have taken up residence in the box (tea chest) I put up in my old tractor shed. Impressive bird list, I'm old enough to remember when Cuckoo were widespread - we haven't had one for years - and we've recently lost Willow warbler. Haven't seen a Lesser-spotted woodpecker for 20 years, nor Lesser Whitethroat for 10, and Stock dove are increasingly rare vagrants these days. On the plus side, we do still get all the other red and amber listed species on your list - with the obvious exception of Nightingale, which we haven't had down here for decades. Keep up the good work, it's brilliant when individuals can make such a significant contribution to the conservation of our native wildlife.👏