PSA – Nesting boxes

The Cubs put 22 up in the local park this morning. Noted the locations with What3Words so we can go back and clean them out in Autumn.

3 more had hooks that broke so they’ve gone home to be put up in gardens. Thanks for the PSA.

Anyone worked out what the odd little metal hook thing in the side at the bottom of a vail is meant for? I’m thinking changing a bird feeder off maybe…..

The hook is to keep the front panel secure, turn it to point downwards and the panel can slide off for cleaning. I wouldn’t hang a feeder from it would discourage prospective nesters!

@gecko76 that’s brilliant! It might inspire a lifelong interest in them.

“I’m thinking [of] hanging a bird feeder off maybe…..”

As @wheelsonfire says, the general advice is not to do this, as it results in the birds that have hopefully taken up residence in the box end up spending most of their time & energy defending their ‘territory’ from invaders. And thus  not concentrating on their nesting attempts. Same in gardens – don’t put boxes up close to any feeders, and those bird-tables you sometimes see where there’s a hole & box built into the roof over the table are likewise a bad idea.

I put a couple of boxes up ages ago, neither seemed to get much attention, although a couple of tits seemed vaguely interested, but nothing happened. Anyway, one box I noticed has light coloured wood around the entrance hole, and I spotted a bird by the hole, so I grabbed my binoculars and there was a great tit busy pecking away around the edge of the hole, poking its head inside, then pecking away some more, then it’s head came out from inside the box, and it flew off carrying something in its beak, looked like a large leaf or something. I really hope they actually nest and raise a brood.

The other box has a perch on the front, but it’s well below the entrance hole, so I think I out to take it down and make up a perch just below the hole for smaller birds.
Just so long as panthers can’t get in… 🤭

The other box has a perch on the front, but it’s well below the entrance hole

Osprey box?

I don’t think perches are recommended as it means predator birds have somewhere to land, they’re certainly not required for the nesters. The nesting birds do quite often peck around the hole, I’ve fitted the stainless hole restrictors to mine (28 & 32mm) £3 and £2 from the RSPB and this has actually increased interest- it means that squirrels, Woodpeckers etc can’t raid the nests as easily.
I’d get rid of the perch!

Osprey’s have huge open nests on exposed trees…

I put one of these cameras in mine
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005962102456.html

Fingers crossed something takes up residence!

Still not too late to buy one and put it up! I have nesters in quite a few of mine now, I put them up to replace other old/home made ones and they must be a perfect interior size and hole size as I’ve now got nesters where previously I’ve had none for years. The small bits of wool that I put in to start them off has been chucked out of every box and I now have clumps of wool all over the garden. They like to put their own stamp on it apparently!

All I’ve got on mine is a wasp 🙁

A pair of great tits have started bringing nesting stuff into ours today. This is the second year we’ve had it up, no takers last year. We’ve got a camera from Green Feathers in there

To attract swifts to new boxes it can help to place a speaker nearby playing swift calls. Swift conservancy have some MP3 files. We rigged a bluetooth shower speaker last spring and had some (probable) yearlings investigate. Hoping they will come back this year to nest.

Some wasps made a nest later in the summer in one of the swift boxes. Anyone know if we can remove the old nest?

Here’s the two I put up on my silver birch some years ago, which like those posted above, had no perches on the front. I added one on each, but neither seemed to attract much attention, until this year, when I noticed the great tits hanging around the top one, with a lot of tapping going on. You can clearly see the birds have been going at the entrance hole like woodpeckers, and the bottom photo shows why. The lower box has had some pecking going on, but I think I put the perch much to low, so I’m taking it down and moving the perch a lot higher, it might get the blue tits more interested.

I certainly think any nest box should have a perch on the front, just a screw with a bit of tubing over it, or some heat shrink tubing, so the birds can perch and look into the box.

I’m looking into a double swift box for the front of the house as well.

A couple of birds nesting associated reads…

Breeding seasons can vary by a month from year-to-year https://theconversation.com/the-great-tits-in-this-oxford-wood-are-adapting-their-breeding-times-as-climate-changes-heres-how-224172

Nesting sites alone aren’t sufficient for Swifts https://theconversation.com/swifts-need-more-nest-boxes-but-that-alone-wont-be-enough-heres-why-223410

Our perennial blackbird nesting site has been claimed by robins as I type. We’ll see what happens when the big fella makes an appearance! No boxes, just a dense box honeysuckle 🙂 Robbie’s a very assertive type but the blackbirds are much bigger, any bets?

Robbie seems to have claimed the box honeysuckle, while the blackbirds explored the Photinia shrub. Ironically it’s the Red Robin variety and they didn’t stay

I’m disappointed that my Osprey dad joke was ignored ^^ but it was bad 🙂

A woodpecker has just vandalized one of my PSA bird boxes, with nesting blue tits but I think the chicks are still ok. There is a hole about the size of a 2p half way down !!

Is it me or are have the prices gone up a lot from the original post?

https://www.birdfood.co.uk/national-trust-products/nesting-boxes

I tried to site my boxes on parts of trees where there wasn’t anywhere for predators to perch,  @binman are there any branches that you can prune to keep the fledglings safe?

@MrSparkle the original link was to an excess stock site – In-Excess – they’re like home bargains but online. Stock has probably gone from there now and your link goes to the original supplier. In Excess are good for all sorts of random stuff though, including camping equipment.

Is it me or are have the prices gone up a lot from the original post?

well yes, but that’s a totally different website to the original PSA!

 @binman are there any branches that you can prune to keep the fledglings safe?

The woodpecker just gripped into the bird box.

@MrSparkle the original link was to an excess stock site – In-Excess – they’re like home bargains but online. Stock has probably gone from there now and your link goes to the original supplier. In Excess are good for all sorts of random stuff though, including camping equipment.

That’d explain it! I’ve obviously missed the boat with this one!

still this on the original site

Aspen Larch 28mm Nest Box

An update and a reminder for you to clean the boxes out. From the ten I put up, five have been nested in, mostly tits I think and the fluff from dogs tennis balls used in at least one. I’ve cleaned them out today, a light disinfectant spray and a small amount of hay inside. Some birds use them for shelter in winter, my wife counted over thirty wrens going into one of ours one winter evening!!

Also, I’d be interested to know what you other boxers think of them? The ones I have with the sloping roofs as above have stayed a lot drier than the square ones.

I’ve got a Swift box, I’m waiting for the chap to come and fit it, and clear my gutters at the same time. Having looked closely at the house frontage, it seems like I can only fit one up under the guttering, because there are air bricks at the top of the walls, and quite a lot of utility wires that could be a risk to the birds coming and going, which is a shame. I can get a bunch of sparrow boxes along the side of the house, and I’m wondering if a Swift box could be fitted at the front end as well – they’d be able to have a clear approach and departure, so might work ok.

Who’d a thunk supplying housing for the wildlife would be so fraught with difficulties!