nestboxes (1 Viewer)

[seb_seb]

how close can feeders and fatballs be to nest boxes?i dont want the future occupants to be put off. also..saw some woodpigeons getting a bit horny on a lamp post today.

 

[IanF]

Our feeders are no more than 15' from the nearest nestbox which has raised a family of Blue Tits for the last two years. Having said that, I'd reckon the more distance between them the better to minimise disturbance.

 

[alanhill]

Well, to pursue this 'space' issue a bit - how far apart, or really how near together, should/could nestboxes be? I have a fairly small garden with just one tree of any size, an obvious site for a nestbox or nestboxes. I also have some nestboxes with a 30mm hole, thus probably OK for tits and sparrows. But could I place them fairly close together? Will tits nest close to other tits, or to sparrows? I am sure there is someone out there who can help on this.

 

[LMG]

I have several boxes up around my garden and on the house. I've found that different species will nest quite close together but the same species won't. The nuthatch doesn't like close neighbours but I've had bluetit, great tit, spotted flycatcher, wren and robin all within spitting distance of each other! I do have plenty of food out for them and it's not that far from the boxes. Good luck with your boxes.

 

[vicky@glos]

I think we should see how many of us have birdboxes in our gardens.

I'll start this one off....I have three.

I have one able to house Great-tits - which it did last summer.

Secondly I have a one able to house blue-tits - was not used last year.

Thirdly - I have a box which was used to hold a large champane bottle in. The front is slotted in from the top. This I did take about a 1/4 to 1/3 off it. This box had the great-tits in it the year before last.

So I'm looking forward to see who will be lodging with me this summer.

I am thinking of getting a few smaller next pockets to put into the conifers. And maybe a box for the robins.

My garden is narrow but long.

Vicky@glos

 

[seb_seb]

3 also.2 or small tits and one for great tits....do wrens use nest boxes?? they are not hole nesters but have had people say they nest in tit boxes

 

[alanhill]

Thanks for the ideas. I'll try a few nestboxes in my tree and hope that different species are tempted.
Not sure what you meant by "next pockets" for conifers, vicky@glos; should that have been "nest pockets"? If so, what is a nest pocket?
I am convinced that conifers, particularly Leylandii, are very bad news for small birds. Birds that normally nest in hedges will do so in Leylandii, but whereas a traditional thick and spiky hedge is good protection from predators, soft conifers are not.
For three successive years now I have watched a pair of dunnocks nesting in a tall Leylandi across the road, and each time have seen a magpie go in and take the young at the time of hatching. In fact I have recently watched the magpie systematically go through the tree from top to bottom, for the present just sussing out where any potential nests might be, and then 'clocking' the site for a future Sunday dinner.
And I have a strong suspicion that the ever growing number of squirrels will also relish a tasty meal of the eggs.
So I think that any means of providing safe nest sites in or near conifers could be very advantageous for small birds.

 

[IanF]

Hi Alan,

I have some Nest Pockets too. They are woven reed constructions about the size of a grapefruit in which birds can roost overnight and in some cases use them for nesting. Robins reputedly use them when placed near ground level. You can hang them from hedges or place them in shrubs and conifers. Generally they work out at around £9.99 for three, though I picked up six for that price.
I have four in our garden, out of which I know for certain that one gets used for roosting. Here is a photo -

 

[LMG]

Nest pockets

I've got three nest pockets too! The wrens use them for roosting, although one pair successfully raised chicks see photo.

 

[paula]

For my 3 acre plot I made 24 nest boxes, placing them at least 3 meters apart and at least the same distance away from the feeders. Most are used by blue- and great tits. I clean them out in December and this year 2 or 3 of the boxes had unhatched eggs in them. I wonder why.
The birds are very much house hunting......I hear tapping and tinkering going on in some of the boxes.
It is very satisfying when after all the hard work of making and hanging all the boxes, the birds actually use them!

 

[Norbert]

how close can feeders and fatballs be to nest boxes?i dont want the future occupants to be put off. also..saw some woodpigeons getting a bit horny on a lamp post today.

I've often wondered about this too, but my feeders are only about 2 metres away from my nest box, and this has been used successfully for the last 8 years or so, so it doesn't seem to bother them much