Blue tits nest box close to housemartin nests - Question. (1 Viewer)

[Jenner]

Hi,
We have been given a nest box, and I searched the internet for advice about where to put it. The hole is 2.5cm, which I hear is suitable for blue tits.
We already have two housemartin nests under the eaves on the north-facing side of the house. The RSPB website says to not put nest boxes for starlings or house sparrows under the eaves near housemartin nests (I would email this question to them, but they have got too much mail). Would the same apply to a nest box on the wall for blue tits, 2-4 metres high up? It would be about 2 metres away from the housemartin nests, not directly beneath.
An alternative is to put it on the east-facing wall of the house (it would still face north because there is a jut in the wall for the chimney. Sometimes we get strong winds from the south in the winter). If I put it here, it would be about 4 metres from the nearest housemartin nest, albeit around a corner,
Thanks for any advice.

 

[Lawts]

Hi,
We have been given a nest box, and I searched the internet for advice about where to put it. The hole is 2.5cm, which I hear is suitable for blue tits.
We already have two housemartin nests under the eaves on the north-facing side of the house. The RSPB website says to not put nest boxes for starlings or house sparrows under the eaves near housemartin nests (I would email this question to them, but they have got too much mail). Would the same apply to a nest box on the wall for blue tits, 2-4 metres high up? It would be about 2 metres away from the housemartin nests, not directly beneath.
An alternative is to put it on the east-facing wall of the house (it would still face north because there is a jut in the wall for the chimney. Sometimes we get strong winds from the south in the winter). If I put it here, it would be about 4 metres from the nearest housemartin nest, albeit around a corner,
Thanks for any advice.

May not really help you but last year I had House Sparrows and House Martins nesting in the same nest at the same time. The martins had one entrance on the right, and the sparrows another on the left.

I guess based on that you would be okay at 2m, but best to get a few opinions.

 

[Jenner]

I am surprised and amused to hear that.

 

[AlfArbuthnot]

I wouldn't worry, Blue Tits are very flexible and weather is rarely so intense as to cause a problem, so put it wherever you like, 2-4 metres is quite acceptable. The east wall sounds fine, so does 2 metres from the martins. Blue Tits only have one brood, laying around now and fledging in early June, so they will have fledged and gone by the time the House Martins really get going anyway.

But you are perhaps a little late for this year, as most Blue Tits have already settled into a nest site, but you may get a late pair. Otherwise, it will be next year. A 25 mm hole will exclude sparrows and great tits.

 

[Jenner]

Thanks for your advice AlfArbuthnot. You said that blue tits are flexible about the 2 metre distance. Do you think the same applies to housemartins?
Does the 25mm hole suit any other species too? If I put the nest box on the same side of the house as the housemartin nests, it will be among ivy (not too thick though). Is this alright?

 

[AlfArbuthnot]

House Martins will be fine nesting 2 metres from other birds. Remember, the Blue Tits will be gone before most of the House Martin season gets going.

The only other species that could use a 25 mm hole are Wren, Coal Tit, Willow Tit and Marsh Tit, all of which which would be uncommon (especially the latter two).

Blue Tits like to be able to see the entrance of the box clearly, and Ivy can also help predators (mice) climb to the nest, so it is better not to place it in thick Ivy, or where it is obscured.

 

[Jenner]

Unfortunately the east side of the house as the location for the nest box has met with some objections, because we do not really see it there.
I decided against the north side because it is near my bedroom window, and it could be noisy early in the morning.
The alternative is a large Bramley apple tree with clear flight paths, which I think would be alright for the nesting season. In the autumn apples fall, and in the winter it occasionally gets very windy - we live opposite a field and so we are not sheltered from strong winds from the south.
I mention this because in a thread beneath this one called Garden Nestbox Questions, in the first reply a member called bongofury says that he had a blue tit in his nest box throughout the winter; I do not think it would be peaceful in the nest box in the tree on a windy winter night. There is a shed under the tree, and so I know what it is like when a large Bramley apple falls on the roof - bang! They fall from August to November/December.
I suppose I could take it down after the nesting season. Perhaps blue tits would know not to roost in it in winter anyway?
I welcome more advice on this. (I know it is a bit late in the year to hope for blue tits now).

 

[AlfArbuthnot]

I really wouldn't worry, they have a much tougher time in the woods, and if it is not to their liking then they will use something else.