Nestbox Diary

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Cuskinny Marsh Nature Reserve

 The school has an ongoing project since 1990 in a local reserve. Mr.McSweeney and Jim Wilson, a local wildlife expert, set up a nest box scheme and every year since pupils have been compiling data about the birds that use the boxes!

Cuskinny – The reserve is situated about 2 miles from the school. It is privately owned land but run as a nature reserve under the auspices of BirdWatch Ireland.

Míle Buíochas – Many thanks to the Bird and Ronan families, who own the land, for giving us the opportunity to use the reserve.

Yearly Scheme of Work

Visits to the reserve take place at the weekends or in the evenings after school when the days are longer. Each trip is made up of two leaders and 5/6 pupils. Numbers are kept small so there is little disruption to the environment. Each group then reports back to the class the following day in school! During the term up the 30 pupils will get a chance to visit the reserve. Since we began in 1990 we estimate that 350 (approx.) pupils have visited Cuskinny!!

 

January/February – Our first visit is to check on the condition of the nest boxes. Some have to be cleaned out as birds will not use them if an old nest is already there. Some must also be repaired as they may have been damaged by the weather or may just be too old. Over the years our pupils have actually put boxes together after receiving the pre-cut wood from Coláiste Muire, a secondary school beside us. Many thanks to Mr. O Keeffe and his students for the help.

 

April – June – We visit the reserve approximately every two week and when the season gets busy sometimes once a week.

The pupils record –

  1. When the nests start.
  2. When the eggs are laid.
  3. When the young hatch.
  4. How many nests are made and used.
  5. How many young hatch and how many survive.
  6. The species of birds using the boxes.

All this information is stored in a file entitled ‘The Cuskinny File’, which can be seen on request in the school.

The results are sent to the British Trust for Ornithology (B.T.O.) as this organization runs a nest box survey. As far as we know we are one of the very few school, if not the only one, doing this for so long in Ireland and England!

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Cuskinny Marsh 2003

To begin our nest box project in Cuskinny Marsh Nature Reserve this year we decided that new boxes would have to be made. Pupils from Cobh Community College cut the wood and sent it to us before Christmas. Local nature expert, Jim Wilson, called in and Rang a Cúig put the boxes together with screws and glue. They were then treated with wood preservative so they will last a long time out in all types of weather!

It took a lot of work and a lot of time to do all this – here are some pictures of the pupils working on the nest boxes.

 

10ú be Bhealtaine (May) 2003

Results – Box 4 – 5 eggs; Box 5 – Bird sitting; Box 7 – Full nest;

Box 8 – Nest started; Box 9 – 4 eggs; Box 10 – Full nest;

Box 11 – Nest started; Box 13 – Nest started; Box 17 – Nest Started; Box 18 – Full nest to be lined; Box 20 – Great Tit sitting;

Box 23 – 5 eggs.

‘I thought that the most interesting thing was how the Chiffchaff migrates from south of the Sahara Desert to here each year – he must be some bird!’ (Jonathan)

 

19ú de Bhealtaine (May) 2003

Results – Box 5 – Blue Tit sitting; Box 7 – Great Tit sitting;

Box 9 – 7 Blue Tit eggs; Box 18 – 6 eggs; Box 20 – Great Tit sitting; Box 23 – Bird sitting.

‘The Chiffchaff is only 6 grammes in weight!’ (Jean Marc)

 

27ú de Bhealtaine (May) 2003

Results – Box 4 – Blue Tit sitting; Box 5 – 5/6 young; Box 9 – 5/6 young; Box 18 – Blue Tit sitting; Box 20 – 2 young; Box 23 – 5 young Blue Tits.

 

Different types of ferns were examined – Rusty Backed Fern, Harte’s Tongue, Spleenwort & Polypody.