Boats and base update
Both Pickle’s Folly and Dick’s Folly were serviced in February. Following some minor repairs, Pickle’s Folly passed a Royal Yacht Association inspection.
The Wednesday volunteer team cleared conifer trees from the planned site for a new training room and built a retaining wall. The base was jet washed to remove leaves and debris that had built up over winter.
Volunteers varnished the window surrounds and fitted new roller blinds on Pickle’s Folly, while the window surrounds and table on Dick’s Folly were also varnished. The boat poles and hooks have been painted. New port hole covers were installed.
Longstanding volunteer, Pete, sent through a photo of an avian addition to the trust’s fleet – Pete’s Folly. Painted in the same colours and style as the trust’s narrow boats, this bird box was gifted to Pete in recognition of his many years of service.
Bird of the month: mandarin duck
Volunteer, Roger, captured this photograph of a mandarin duck down the river from the trust’s Hunton Bridge base. This is the second year that the mandarin ducks have been spotted in the local area.
Roger said: “It’s a really good sign to see them here again. The males have such vibrant colours – they don’t even look real. An unusual thing about mandarin ducks is that they build their nests and roost in trees. Once they have offspring, they have to entice their chicks to jump out of the tree.”
“Because birds are light and have hollow bones, and they have many fluffy feathers, that tends to protect them when they reach the ground.”