Page 10 - WM Donald Newsletter - Edition Four

MUNITIONS, MEASUREMENTS AND MEADOW PIPITS – ALL IN A DAY’S WORK AT NIGG BAY!Anthus Pratensis 1 v W M Donald 0!W M Donald is constructing a coastal cycle and pedestrian path at Nigg Bay. The path replaces a smaller existing path which runs close to the eroding cliff edge.Our team on site recently had to down tools for two weeks when a Meadow Pipit’s – Anthus Pratensis – nest was found along the proposed route of the path.The Meadow Pipit has a hard life already without further disruption from W M Donald. A species of open uncultivated spaces, the Meadow Pipit feeds on insects and small invertebrates topped up in winter by seeds of grass, sedge and heather. It nests on the ground in dense vegetation laying between 2-7 eggs. The aim is to avoid detection by hen harriers and other birds of prey. However, cuckoos seek out Meadow Pipit nests, lay their own ‘lookalike’ single egg in the nest and, when it has hatched, the cuckoo chick tips out the remaining Pipit eggs with its wings.Photo: Eric YeomansThe Aberdeen Harbour Expansion Project involves the development of extensive new facilities in Nigg Bay, including 1,400m of new quay up to a depth of 10.5m. When it is completed in 2020, at a cost of £350m, the harbour will eventually support 7,000 jobs. The main contractor is Dragados UK.Although work on site only started in May this year, W M Donald has already been successful in winning several packages of work.During World War 2, Aberdeen had the unfortunate nickname of the ‘Siren City’ as it was the most frequently bombed city in the United Kingdom. There were 32 Luftwaffe attacks with the worst raid being the ‘Big Blitz’ on 21st April 1943. Several of the bombs missed their intended target and landed in and around Nigg Bay. W M Donald worked with a specialist UXO (Unexploded Ordinance) survey company to ensure the safety of the site before works could start. Magnetrometers were used to detect magnetic metal objects with our suction excavator used to identify non-magnetic objects. Fortunately, other than shrapnel and discarded junk including car engines, nothing was found.W M Donald has fabricated and installed the concrete pillars to support 8 monitoring stations. When a vessel is mooring in harbour, standard GPS does not react quickly enough to changes in sea level. Consequently, vessels entering the harbour willsimultaneously take readings from the 8 stations and calculate their position accurately enough to berth.In terms of traditional civils work, W M Donald has built the access roads and drainage for the North compound which will be used to pre-cast concrete units for the harbour construction. We are building the access road to the harbour’s visitor centre.10