' Portable' perches.

[mex]

I just thought I would share this with everyone. I've been trying for a while to get ' that ' shot of a kingfisher on a local river, but the banks and river bed are mainly rocks and large gravel, making being able to drive a decent perch into it and withstand the river flow difficult. I went about making something more portable. At first I just filled an old paint bucket with cement and put my perch in it to set, it was ok but I was stuck with the same perch. I then got another old paint bucket, filled it cement and pushed 3ft or so of 1 1/4" diameter plastic tube down into it to hold just about any perch I was going to use, but I hadn't accounted for the cement being pushed up inside the tube that stopped the perch too high and made it unsteady,so third time lucky, my third and last paint bucket, filled with cement and this time I taped the end of a pipe over stopping the cement going up the tube...BINGO! I now have any perch I want in any position I want.

 

[Dale.]

Cool, great idea. Do you leave your perches in situ due to the weight?

I have been using perches I find on site, weighed down and propped up at an angle with rocks. Lately though, I've been using re-bar from B+Q, that has been shaped with a U in it so it can be stood on and driven into the river bed. I then cable tie a suitable perch to it. As you say though, it can be difficult to get the bar into the river bed at times.

Getting perches to stay put can be a problem, I think your idea will go some way to solving that problem.

 

[mex]

Cool, great idea. Do you leave your perches in situ due to the weight?

I have been using perches I find on site, weighed down and propped up at an angle with rocks. Lately though, I've been using re-bar from B+Q, that has been shaped with a U in it so it can be stood on and driven into the river bed. I then cable tie a suitable perch to it. As you say though, it can be difficult to get the bar into the river bed at times.

Getting perches to stay put can be a problem, I think your idea will go some way to solving that problem.

I just pull the perch out of the tube and leave the bucket/pipe under a bush at the river side, due to the weight I doubt anyone will pinch it. nor will it get washed away should the river rise.

( I have also zip-tied perches to the tube.)

 

[Box Brownie]

An interesting idea for sure....that could even be used in a garden environment. Though some of the cut branches we end up with are more than 1 1/4 inch diameter.

So very much food for thought and in regard to the cement, I surmise a bag of postcrete with added gravel (for volume & weight) would be a simple choice.

Thanks for sharing the idea and insights

 

[mex]

An interesting idea for sure....that could even be used in a garden environment. Though some of the cut branches we end up with are more than 1 1/4 inch diameter.

So very much food for thought and in regard to the cement, I surmise a bag of postcrete with added gravel (for volume & weight) would be a simple choice.

Thanks for sharing the idea and insights

I suppose you could use any diameter pipe you want, just need a biiger bucket for it. I just use ordinary sand and cement, but no reason at all that I can think of why postcrete won't work.

 

[The W]

I use buckets but filled with soil rather cement. You can fill it up closer to situ rather lug something heavy across a field.

 

[Box Brownie]

I use buckets but filled with soil rather cement. You can fill it up closer to situ rather lug something heavy across a field.

Doh! that I like, especially in regard to a garden environment as though it would be a larger tube compared to a watering tube, a branch holding tube would double up for getting water down to the roots of a larger plant tub..........and depending on the plant(s) in the tub they could be natural attractants for the wildlife.

More food for thought

 

[mex]

I use buckets but filled with soil rather cement. You can fill it up closer to situ rather lug something heavy across a field.

If you put it in fast water will the soil not wash out?

 

[The W]

I only use it in a field. That said I do drill drainage holes in them or by the end of the summer you end up with an awful stinky wet mess.