..advice please...

[justsomeoneelse]

hello all,
i appreciate it may be too late for this year, but when is the best time to put up nest boxes ? should one put up all boxes in one go, or is it possible to fit boxes throughout the year ? i know there are different shapes and sizes of nest boxes for specific birds, but is it wise/good practise/wrong to have a fair few nest boxes in one garden ?

ideally, i was thinking about having a sparrow parade under the eaves, a tit box on the right handside of the garden and say a bigger box for blackbirds on the left handside. is this workable, or just over kill on my part ?

also, do boxes tend to last long ? some boxes that certain websites sell, in my opinion, wouldn't last a heavy shower in summer, let alone a gale force wind in winter ! wood/plastic/or that new brick type material... or doesn't it really matter ?


justsomeoneelse


ps. i hasten to add i wasn't refering to this website ! <gulps>

[Emma]

Ideally, boxes should be up and ready for occupation in January if you want something in it by the nesting season of the same year. But you can put them up anytime, obviously.

What you state doesn't sound like overkill, it should be fine. Blackbirds don't use boxes as such, in certain circumstances they have been found nesting on top of one which is hidden in deepish foliage. Blackbirds need cover and will build a nest in a conifer or in ivy, for example. What you could get, though, is an open-fronted robin box and place it in some cover in the garden instead. Or, you could get a box with a 32mm hole and put it on the side/back of the house.

I wouldn't use a plastic box - it'd get too hot in direct sunlight.

Boxes should, ideally, be placed facing east with no obstruction in front of the hole. Blue Tits like a direct flight path. They should always be placed with the hole away from the prevailing wind (these cold winds can kill all babies overnight)

Hope that helps!

[justsomeoneelse]

emma,
..you have helped very much indeed...


justsomeoneelse

[Kerry L]

Hi

I think if you put a box up out of season, at least the birds will get used to it. They might even use it as a winter roost.

Regards, Kerry

[panda123]

[quote=Emma;486]Ideally, boxes should be up and ready for occupation in January if you want something in it by the nesting season of the same year. But you can put them up anytime, obviously.

I wouldn't use a plastic box - it'd get too hot in direct sunlight.

Boxes should, ideally, be placed facing east with no obstruction in front of the hole. Blue Tits like a direct flight path. They should always be placed with the hole away from the prevailing wind (these cold winds can kill all babies overnight)
emma
......................................
I have one Robin nest box up (2 months ago) and have just put a Blue Tit box up. both in a very discreet position. Hanging on my shed, one either end. In a gap of about 12".

Now I hope to put a box up for House Sparrows, but my garden is south facing. the last thing i want to do is cook them. Any ideas anyone.....:confused:

[Loopy]

Hello!

What about the height of the box? I have a south east facing garden and was thinking about attaching a blue tit box to a 6 feet fence away from prevailing everything (including cats!). Is this high enough?

[PiratesAhoy!]

Hi Loopy!

Sorry your post doesn't seem to have received an answer so far. I'd reckon that 6ft is high enough, provided there's enough cover around for the tits to feel safe and practice flying to, and there's no way other wildlife (like cats) can get to them. Basically I'd say suck it and see.

[Loopy]

Hi PiratesAhoy!

I have placed the nest box, it's not quite 6 feet high as I'm worried too much sun would have got to it. It's on the back fence with conifers nearby and hopefully, no way for the cats to get to it. Fingers crossed!

We seem to have a pair of robins in the garden at the mo. Blackbirds are still chasing each other around or away. Frog spawn has appeared in our pond. Spring is definitely on the way! :)

[WoodyAcres]

Hi,

I wouldnt worry too much. Last year I placed 8 nest boxes around my garden - all of them between 4 and 5 feet (dont have anywhere higher than that). Four of them were used (Great tits, Blue Tits, Wren) - all successfully reared young.

My main aim was to keep them out of the reach of my own cats - so I placed them in cat-inaccessible areas.

Interestingly enough, I have been observing the birds pick which boxes to use this week - looks like I shall have a bumber crop of young this year!!!

One problem I noticed this morning - is a mistle thrush has chosen to nest in a cotoneaster - but only a couple of feet from the ground. Thrushes are notoriously bad at picking nest sites - but I feel this one is doomed!!

[Loopy]

Thanks Woodyacres. I want to get more nest boxes. Thought I'd try an open fronted one and maybe a couple more closed ones as we get a fair few blue, great and coal tits. What do chaffinches use? I have quite a few of them visit the garden.

Sounds like the thrush needs a few lessons on how to avoid predators!

[Kerry L]

Hello all
Out of our 5 nest boxes put up, the only one in use at the moment is probably the most exposed and the nearest to the ground at about 4.5 ft. The bluetits are well under way with the nesting material.
Sometimes height doesn't really matter because a wren built it's nest in a small cement mixer belonging to a friend of ours - not inside the drum, where it probably would have been safer, but on the exposed part underneath the drum! As he is a builder, he wasn't amused and had to find another one to use for a while!
Regards, Kerry

[Kerry L]

The blue tits in our nest box think they are woodpeckers! They keep hammering at the opening as if it isn't big enough - although one certainly has been visibly squeezing out of the hole and dropping down before being able to zoom up again. It has had me in fits of laughter and it had the same result on my mum when she saw it. The other one is thinner and has no problem getting in and out. I also noticed that after the thin one had brought in some nesting material, the tubby one would take it out again and drop it, what a fuss pot. Another of the nest boxes is in use, but I couldn't spot what it was - blue tit or chaffinch? I have seen a blue tit and a wren barging each other out of the way to have a look inside, but thought it was empty until this afternoon, but I couldn't see as the sun was behind it. It looked like it had a Grace Jones haircut, though! It has kept a low profile while I was working on the veggie patch, and the box is quite hidden from the house unless I'm in the bedroom, so I shall have to be sneaky and find out what it is.
Blackbirds are nesting in a weeping cotoneaster tree - we purposely did not put a nest box in there as we felt it was too easy for predators to reach, but hey, what do we know? Mrs B has been very busy pulling out the old leaves from my red hot pokers and dragging them into the plant. She had such a tug of war, that I have pulled all the old leaves out and left them on the side for her to take her pick.
The treecreeper box is still empty, and I haven't seen a treecreeper this year at all - typical!
Regards, Kerry

[Kerry L]

I think something must have disturbed them, no activity or sightings at all. We have had a spotted woodpecker around, and the sparrowhawk is still about, and then we have next door's cat and the squirrel. Lots of predators around at the moment.

Regards, Kerry

[dougied]

We've had no action regarding our tit box! A couple of Great Tits showed some interest earlier in the year, hanging around and one looked like it was trying to widen the entrance with it's beak. But they have now disappeared and nothing since! Oh well. :(

[Kerry L]

After I thought they had gone, they are back and I can hear cheeping whenever I hang out the washing. The parents don't mind me being around and continue to feed their babies when I am only a yard away. Even He-man using the strimmer didn't bother them!
I am now quite relieved. I don't know whether they are the same parents, as they both fit in the hole very well - no squeezing in and out, just zooming in and out constantly.
Regards, Kerry

[Loopy]

I haven't seen any action in my tit box.

One blue tit had a nosey the same day I put it up but haven't seen anything since. I can't wait until my holly bushes and pyracanthas get a bit bigger. Got some ivy cuttings as well. :)