Can anyone give me any idea where are the best sites for nesting boxes in the garden. I never seem to have any success. I know you should not place them where they get the sun directly on them, especially first thing in the morning. May be it is because I have a fair number of trees surrounding my garden and the birds prefer to nest there? Do the boxes have to be up for a while before the birds are confident enough to use them?
What kind of birds are you trying to attract? Many birds do not use nesting boxes and some birds 'require' a specific design and size. Also, sometimes bird houses are referred to as nesting boxes...which are you using?
I am trying to attract the smaller birds such as blue tits, robins. I think it is the tit family that are usually attracted to the boxes I have up which have just one small hole to enter the box. We have plenty of collared doves nesting in our conifers and also magpies which build nests in the hawthorn etc but have no luck with the smaller species. Having said that I think Robins mainly nest in more open boxes, or am I wrong?
I just found this website... http://www.bto.org/about-birds/nnbw/nesting-birds/robin ... your Robins do like open front nesting boxes and they look completely different from ours. and this http://www.bto.org/about-birds/nnbw/nesting-birds/blue-tit http://www.bto.org/
I don't have any joy putting up nest boxes in the garden either Pat. The Tits, Robins, Finches and blackbirds seem to prefer the trees in our other back garden where there is a tall beech hedge. I eventually took the nest boxes down and gave them to a primary school. Maybe the neighbours cats had a lot to do with the birds preferring to nest elsewhere.
I think you are probably right Eileen. We have a cat as well as our dog and maybe the cat's presence does put the birds off although I try to position the nest boxes where he can cannot get to them. I am at present watching a pair of magpies building a very large nest in a neighbours tree. Unlike most of the birds they tend to build their nests together. I remember a few years ago a blackbird built a nest in the corner of our bungalow right close to our back door but the female rejected it, apparently the male builds a few nests and takes the female round and she picks the nest she want's to use. I did not know this until recently, a 'twitcher' friend of mine told me.
Wrens do that too. I have a pair of them each year, it's really interesting to watch the male checking out all the bird houses and gourds in my garden. Last year he made a nest in 4 or 5 of them the female selected the gourd on the Passionflower vine trellis. Year before last she chose one attached to the fence and between the two of them squawking at me I couldn't get anything done in that part of the garden until the young fledged.
Hiya GG. I wish that I could help you, but the only places that I know of are across the channel here. I used to use a cut off clogg with a roof for blue tits. It was inhabited every year. I think that I have posted some pics on here. If you are ever over this way let me know and we can take you there and you can get one for yourself. It cost ~7,50 euro's.
Glad you got your questioned answered. Our robins in the US also like a open nesting platform. Toni it is fun to watch the wrens set up house keeping. Two weeks ago I cleaned out the boxes. YIKES! How do they even get in and out with all the sticks they pack in one house.
