March 2025 was when the bird hide build finally began, although in truth planning began several months before this. It was the previous September when we had the idea to construct the hide. The next month or two was spent with several hours sitting in various parts of our land trying to find the best place to situate the hide.
The best location for the birds it transpires is not always the best situation for the hide. Sloping ground, a small stream only centimetres from where the back wall would be and ground made up of 90% rock, 9% clay and 1% metal sheeting were just some of the potential problems for the bird hide build.
The slope of the ground meant having to dig down nearly three feet where the rear of the hide would be. Not too much of a problem with my little mini digger, but the location of the small drainage stream just behind the site was a nerve jangler for sure.
For safety sake I built a land drain under the hide to minimise the risk of flooding should the stream overflow its bank. So far so good – we’ve had some heavy storms and it is fine so far!
Over Budget and Over Schedule
I’m not going to divulge what the starting budget was for the bird hide build or what it ended up being. Suffice to say finishing three times over budget was not my finest moment. Being three months over schedule also highlighted a lack of project management skills. To be fair, other work commitments did transpire to be more demanding on my time than anticipated. Frustratingly the overspend amount and time deficit could have happily seen us sitting on a Caribbean beach for two weeks with far less physical toll on my body. But hey ho, the end result is well worth the pain and we have a bird hide to be proud of.
As the build progressed we continually upped the spec of the hide, which partly explains some of the overspend and delays. Electric underfloor heating was added, as were protruding window boxes. The interior walls were changed from simple OSB sheets to log lap tongue and groove to match the exterior. All very worthwhile additions – I can definitely vouch for the benefits of the underfloor heating warming my toes on cold autumnal mornings.
The spec for the furniture and fittings was also raised to ensure maximum comfort for our visitors (as well as myself). The fully adjustable office chairs certainly make sitting for several hours a more pleasurable experience than it might have been. It also seemed sensible to add electrical sockets with USB3 and USBC outlets meaning that all manner of phones, camera batteries. and laptops can be kept juiced up. The shelves in front of the viewing windows were given fully locking support hinges allowing them to be hinged out of the way allowing for tripod access should it be needed. All the shelves were made from Red Cedar grown less than five miles away and milled locally. These have a “live” edge for a beautiful aesthetic. Definitely an indulgence but one I’m glad we did. Some might say the addition of 100mbs wifi was also an indulgence but as I was running the armoured underground power cable the sixty meters from our studio it also made sense to run the network cable too.
Whilst the extra expense for these little indulgences may seem a little over the top, the reaction from the first of our visitors has definitely justified the cost. “Wow” is the most frequently used exclamation from people on entering the hide and “Not like any other I’ve been to” has been a frequently used phrase. Both of which give me a warm fuzzy feeling inside as I leave them to use the hide in peace. See the finished hide here: Luxury Bird Hide – Next stop…the reflection pool!