Nice close up of the tit and the ladybird,I presume the initials in the gate are to help prevent the gate being stolen
been back today under RSPB and carved in the same fashion is the Postcode so your theory is spot on - thanks
Not sure about Somerset but in our area gates are fair game for stealing and as well as marking them many are hung with opposing hinge pins but these are a bit more difficult to hang .
Seaman yes there are certainly thieves in that area and at a car park close to that gate police put car traps and that gate has the hinges fitted to stop thieves.Unfortunately birders cars get broken into in that area.
Pete,be careful not to leave anything in the car and do not leave a notice saying nothing in the car as they have even been known to break a window and spitefully leave a note saying just checking.
Cheers Sooty sound advise looks to be a bit vunerable so won't be leaving my car out of sight any more - really appreciate your advise
michael s said:Pete,be careful not to leave anything in the car and do not leave a notice saying nothing in the car as they have even been known to break a window and spitefully leave a note saying just checking
It is for this reason that we never put RSPB or other wildlife stickers in the car windows or leave even obviously empty bin cases on show in the car,thieves think that when they see wildlife stickers in the car there may well be optics or cameras inside and give it a go.Until fairly recently both Chris and myself were doing volunteer ranger duties in our local dales and found this the case a few times so leave as little as possible in the car even if it is out of sight,not always practical if you are on a touring holiday in which case try to park as public as possible.
Sound advice offered about protecting your belongings and car. We did indeed have a gate stolen recently - even with the opposing hinge pins - they came with a petrol driven angle grinder and simply cut through. We have since used a router to carve in the name and postcode to deter a repeat performance.
There's been quite a few thefts locally lately of metal troughs/feeders, heavy duty batteries from diggers/tractors etc and even fuel stolen from farm vehicles parked in fields so please all be vigilant and leave nothing in your cars. It's a shame we have to do these things isn't it. Hope you all continue to enjoy your birding even if you have to carry a lot more than normal.