Dear Friends and Customers,

We seem to have a problem with spam on our news site. We now have almost 14.000 (!!) comments on our posts, which most of them will be spam. Removing these spam messages seems not to work (can anybody help please!), so if you have a question or remark, please e-mail us (slateandnature@btinternet.com) or send us a message to our facebook page (slateandnature) and we will always come back to you. We apologise if we haven’t replied on your comments.

Thanks and regards, 

Jeanette

This beautiful Nuthatch was seen by Peter on his Slate and Nature Bird feeder; This bird feeder can be hung vertical (like here) or horizontal.                                                            For more information, see our brochure page on our website. 

You can also follow us on Twitter for more @slateandnature news.

Spring has finally arrived and the first birds have started nesting. It is already busy at our boxes and Susan sent us this picture which she took last week of her Blue tit at the Slate & Nature blue tit box. We are looking forward receiving more pictures of the birds in action ……..

This coming Saturday & Sunday 7th & 8th of December 2013 our studio is open from 11am-5pm. You will be welcomed with a Chocolate treat; we hope to see you!

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK for more news!

This is our latest product; Gerard has just finished it and we are very excited about it!
It is a triple box for the House sparrow.
There is a substantial decline in house sparrows both in rural and urban population. The House Sparrow, or Passer domesticus, used to be so abundant in the UK that we did everything we could to get rid of them. In the early ’90 scientist first noticed the populations declining, and urban areas were the worst hit. There are now thought to be 10 million less house sparrows in the UK than there were 25 years ago. The blame has been pointed at everything from cats to air pollution, but recent research suggests two factors are having the most impact.                               Insects are a vital food source for sparrows, especially in the spring and summer when they are feeding their young. Studies suggest that a decline in insects is resulting in house sparrow chicks being in poor condition. The lack of insects is most probably down to urbanisation of our green spaces.                                                                                               Another  reason is the lack of nest sites. Help nesting house sparrows out by putting up nest boxes for them near the eaves of your house. One nest box is unlikely to be enough for colonial nesting so put a few up side by  side or Gerard’s specially designed & made triple House Sparrow box. House sparrows are sociable birds and like to nest in large numbers, that’s why we made this triple box, all made of reclaimed (British) slate. The price is £ 49.-. Put your nest boxes over 2m above ground on north to east sides of your house to avoid the hottest sun and coldest winds. 

On the first picture Gerard is making the drawings, secondly he made a prototype from carton, a very serious business!, then the cutting phase and finally the finished product. Now we only need some lodgers.             (from BBC Nature features)

Gerard just finished his (limited edition) Slate Garden Thermometer; now we only need the pointer to go up! Our Studio is open every day during this Easter weekend, come and join us for a coffee/tea.

Spring is in the air, the birds are getting ‘musical’ and when the temperature will rise a little, it will be booming & busy! If you haven’t already done it, this is the time to clean your bird boxes. If you have one of our ‘sliding’ boxes, it is a very easy process to do; first untwist/remove the wire at the back, secondly slide the bottom out (to the front, or to the rear, just feel what is easier). It is possible that some off the nesting material is a little sticking to the bottom; don’t worry just push a little harder or you can ‘pry’ a long  flat (bread-)knife over the bottom section (separating the nesting material from the slate). Sometimes the nest stays in the box; just take it all out. Our birds are genuine crafters in building their houses! Be surprised in the materials you recognize they apply; from magazine snippets, plastic wires you were missing, to their own feathers as inner lining, making the box cosy & snug for the young ones. You can wash it out with some fresh water, but it is not really needed and please NEVER use any soap or detergents! After sliding back the bottom, re-wire it, the box is ready to receive its new lodgers again! Any Questions?, drop us a line!

As you can see on these pictures, there can be little larvae, small insects in the old nest, so this could be a reason to clean the boxes.

This lovely picture we received from Betsy in Texas!