"Natalie" wrote in message
om...
Is anyone else having problems accessing URG? My news server
News.CIS.DFN.DE has managed to delete it from their list.

This message is being sent via Google. You can't get rid of me that
easily ;-)

Natalie

My connection 'hiccups' occasionally but on the whole is a far
superior connection than my ISP provides :~)
Jenny

"John wrote in message ...
I know this is a gardening group, and I am not off topic, honest!.

I have a wren and a wagtail attacking the moss between flags. If only
they
removed it all I would be very happy, however I suspect they are really
going after the insects not the moss.

Not so sure about that, the local Wren that lives in our Ivy normally
removes a lot of Sphagnum moss from my pots of Pleiones about now (I've seen
it fly off with it) and I've always assumed it was for nest building, anyone
confirm that?

--
Bob

www.pooleygreengrowers.org.uk/ about an Allotment site in
Runnymede fighting for it's existence.

In article , Sue & Bob Hobden
writes

Not so sure about that, the local Wren that lives in our Ivy normally
removes a lot of Sphagnum moss from my pots of Pleiones about now (I've seen
it fly off with it) and I've always assumed it was for nest building, anyone
confirm that?

Yep they do because they strip ours from round the pond, and there are
always bits hanging out of the house martin's nest that they use - but I
think it is the ferny stuff they are after, not the lumpy stuff that
grows between paving flags.
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason,
put jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see deadspam.com

"sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
in article , Malcolm at
wrote on 5/2/03 6:14 pm:


In article , Sue & Bob Hobden
writes

snip
And when I clean out our hairbrushes, I always throw the gleanings out of
the window for birds to pick up and use.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

*smiles* My Nan taught me to do that when I was small and the habit stayed.
Sadly she's no longer with us but you've reminded me to pass on her wisdom
when our lil one is born (well not immediately of course!).

--A

"Warwick" wrote in message
...
In article ,
says...

In article , Sue & Bob Hobden
writes


I don't know how long the Chlorate would take to break down in the nest,
but you'd be exposing the female to long periods of any chemical while
she incubates. This would be true for the chicks too who would be
sitting in a nest with some dosed dead moss until fledging. The chicks
wouldn't have much feather protection for some time and would be
spending time with thin skin pressed to moss. I'd tend to try to avoid
sprying any chemical around if the sprayed stuff was likely to end up in
a nest.

We water our moss with Armillatox and that does a good job (done last month)
It smells a bit (like disinfectant) but is environmentally friendly. Still
don't know if it would be good for lil chicks though.

Spraying where birds aren't collecting then yes, and spraying and
covering fine. The most recent surveys of bird life are showing such
drop offs in populations of small birds that I'd like to keep the risk
of even minor contamination as small as possible.

We see very little in our garden, but are so far assuming that it is
because we only started to implement the garden last year when we moved
in and cut down the leylandii.

Ours was the same four years ago but now we find it quite a challenge to
count the number of birds for the RSPB Garden Watch.

There are no shrubs, undergrowth or cover
that birds can use on their way to the feeding table as yet. This'll be
fixed in the next month or so (gardening schedule is slipping a lot due
to the puppy we gained in October and the baby on the way come July)

Congratulations on your already-arrived addition (our 'pup'is now two) and
extra special congrats on the two-legged expected addition (my first is due
in July too)

--A

in article , Alison at
wrote on 6/2/03 4:39
pm:


"sacha" wrote in message
. uk...
in article , Malcolm at
wrote on 5/2/03 6:14 pm:

snip
And when I clean out our hairbrushes, I always throw the gleanings out of
the window for birds to pick up and use.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

*smiles* My Nan taught me to do that when I was small and the habit stayed.
Sadly she's no longer with us but you've reminded me to pass on her wisdom
when our lil one is born (well not immediately of course!).

--A

I read about it somewhere years ago and it's become a fixed habit. It's
fascinating to watch them come and pull on the hair and extract it from the
rose we have outside our bedroom window. I do the same with the dogs' hairs
when I remember to brush them! Your baby will have to wait a while if it's
a baldy like our grand daughter was at birth. ;-)
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk

I think a lot of small bird species use moss in their nests. Chaffinches
pick moss off the north side of our roof every year in early spring. They
make a mess as they dislodge moss on to the drive way.
I do a general clear up of the roof in April when nest building is complete.

"Jane Ransom" wrote in message
...
In article , Sue & Bob Hobden
writes

Not so sure about that, the local Wren that lives in our Ivy normally
removes a lot of Sphagnum moss from my pots of Pleiones about now (I've
seen
it fly off with it) and I've always assumed it was for nest building,
anyone
confirm that?

Yep they do because they strip ours from round the pond, and there are
always bits hanging out of the house martin's nest that they use - but I
think it is the ferny stuff they are after, not the lumpy stuff that
grows between paving flags.
--
Jane Ransom in Lancaster.
I won't respond to private emails that are on topic for urg
but if you need to email me for any other reason,
put jandg dot demon dot co dot uk where you see deadspam.com