Nest boxes and cats :( (3 Viewers)

[hippolad]

Hiya
Made a few nest boxes this year and straight away one of the tit boxes has attracted a pair of Blue tits, but a cat has been attracted also. The cat was getting on top of our rabbit hutch and trying to find ways to get close. So have moved the hutch and tried to cat proof the area around the boxes but it seems the blue tits have been spooked and stopped building the nest.
My question is should I remove the unfinished nest and let another pair of birds build a new one Or will they carry on and finish the started one?

 

[YuShan]

I'm told that Blue Tits are notable for leaving nests behind when they get spooked. A decade ago I had a nest box with a Blue Tit sitting on 9 eggs. Then a cat managed to climb the tree where the nest box was located. Of course he couldn't get in, but the bird got so spooked that she left the nest with the eggs behind and never came back.

Since I had no other place to situate the nest box, I needed a way to fortify the tree so cats couldn't get to the bird box. What I did was: I bought one of these surgical collars in a vet store that are used for dogs (£12 at the time) and put that around the tree trunk. Now cats cannot climb to the nest box. It proved to be very effective and I never had a cat problem again. In the years after this, I have had several successful nests.

 

[Kits]

It’s illegal to move or interfere with a nest.

You should leave the nest alone.

 

[YuShan]

My question is should I remove the unfinished nest and let another pair of birds build a new one Or will they carry on and finish the started one?

Don't touch anything until after the breeding season. It is possible that they only temporarily paused building the nest and that it will resume later. I have seen that happening many times!

 

[hippolad]

Thanks for your reply
Yusha looks like a good fix
And Kits ok will just keep an eye on it and fingers crossed.
This forum is great for information thank you.

 

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