Do you clean your nestboxes? (1 Viewer)

[vinnielo]

Has anyone done any research into whether bluetits prefer boxes which already have a moss lining from the previous occupants, or whether they prefer clean and empty boxes?

Obviously, there's the health hazard if they're not cleaned, but I'd be interested to know which they prefer - are they lazy or clean?

 

[Ruby]

Hi,

Not sure what the birds would prefer, but I think previous threads on this subject came down in favour of cleaning for reasons of hygiene...

Have a search and you might be able to find them, but as I recall, the favoured approach semed to be....clear out all of the old debris and then pour in boiling water (ie no cleaning products necessary!!)

 

[Marmot]

We have had BTs nesting in our box for 2 years (they missed out this year for some reason).

I would say clean the box out as you get little flies etc in the moss. Also on our 1st year it was a bad year for BTs and they gradually started dying over a number of days in the box and only one managed to leave -so it had to be cleaned for obvious reasons. But year 2 all 8 fledged!

The BTs are very capable of finding moss etc but if you want to give them a helping hand (like year 2) I purchased some nest builder,(its like cotton wool in a hanger -cost about £5) I helped by pulling smallish bits off and attatching them to bushes around the garden. When we took the box down for cleaning it was 90% of this.

Also another thing to take into account boxes do get used for winter roosting a GT has used ours for the last 2 winters, he seemed comfy enough without any moss.

Hopefully Elizabeth Bigg will see this thread, she knows her BTs very well. Here is a link to her site.

http://www.biggonline.co.uk/

 

[Kiscokid]

I read somewhere that it is a good idea to put moss into the boxes to give them a head start - does anyone 'successful' here recommend that? I had one coal tit inspect my box this year - but he/she didnt fancy it and flew off. I'm trying two on opposite ends of the garden for 2005 so hope for a bit more joy!

 

[florall]

I've also heard that you need to clean the box, not just for hygiene reasons, but also for safety reasons. If you leave the old nest in, next years blue tits will build another nest on top, and this will make it that much closer to the hole, thus making it easier for predators to get at those eggs and babies. In fact, for this reason alone, blue tits will probably reject a box that still has the previous years nest in.

When you clean it out, pour boiling water into it, to help kill germs etc.

 

[Elizabeth Bigg]

We received so many requests for informtion on this topic last year, that we posted this message on the first page of our 2003 web diary:

Advice on the Annual Cleaning of Nestboxes posted by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust

After the end of each breeding season, all nestboxes should be taken down and the old nesting materials removed, and the box should be scalded with boiling water to kill any parasites. Do not use insecticides or flea-powders - boiling water is adequate. Annual cleaning is best carried out in October or November.

Under the terms of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, if unhatched eggs are found in the box, they can only legally be removed from October to January inclusive, and they must be destroyed! It is illegal to keep them.

http://www.lincstrust.org.uk/factsheets/nestbox.php

 

[nobby]

I have a few nest boxes in my garden and I clean out all bar 1 every year (it is an old box that is rusted shut).

The tits do not seem to care if they find nest material from the previous year and just make another nest over the top. In the wild this would happen every year and would continue I presume untill the nest became too full to use.

I can only think of 1 reason for leaving nest material in the box over winter anyway is that it provides insulation when the box is used for roosting over winter. The warmer the box the less calories the bird burns up keeping warm over night.

I suppose this has to be balanced with the toll parasites take on the young chicks in the box if the material is not removed and if the birds have a ready supply of food from a feeder over winter.

On another note I switched on my nestbox cameras on Sunday and was surprised by the number of visits from Blue & Great Tits. This has continued all morning today. Perhaps they are seeking out roosting boxes for the winter?

Brett.
http://uk.geocities.com/[email protected]/nest_box.htm

 

[Elizabeth Bigg]

Brett - thank you for posting this. When it became obvious that the female in Box1 had vanished, and her mate had stopped visiting the box, we gave up on it. When the chicks fledged from Box2, we stopped monitoring after a few days, and haven't looked since.

However you spurred us on to investigating again. Malcolm had to take down Box1, because he couldn't manage to get it showing on the screen, but when he looked inside, it was obvious that it had not been visited for ages - there was a mass of spiders webs all around the box and across the hole. There must have been a dodgy connection, because we can watch it again now it has been replaced on the tree. We've never had roosting birds in the past, but the motion detecting stuff is all ready again on both boxes, just in case it catches any visits.

 

[salty]

i have never cleaned out my nest box before! the blue tits who use it every year keep on coming back, so i thought they probaly change the bedding themselves. they raised 11 chicks this year! although the box is starting to get a bit old and tattered, would i be able to change it without scaring the birds off? i dont want to change the box only to find they wont use it next year.

 

[nobby]

Hi Elizabeth

I don't know when the birds start roosting but I had a Great Tit roosting in my "Blue Tit Box" from late December last year untill late January.

This remindes me, I was at home for once at midnight on new Years eve last year when my Neighbours a few houses down let off a load of fireworks to see in the New year. I quickly switched on the nestbox cam to see what was happening in the nest box. The roosting Gt Tit was in obvious distress, the microphone in the box was picking up the loud bangs from the fireworks and the inside of the box was lit up from the flashes. After the fireworks had stopped the Gt Tit stayed in a state of distress for about 5-10 mins then it suddenly calmed down and went back to sleep.

It might be something to bear in mind if anyone has fireworks in their garden on New Years Eve. I don't think it is cold enough by Bonfire Night for the birds to have started roosting in Nestboxes.
Brett.

 

[nobby]

i have never cleaned out my nest box before! the blue tits who use it every year keep on coming back, so i thought they probaly change the bedding themselves. they raised 11 chicks this year! although the box is starting to get a bit old and tattered, would i be able to change it without scaring the birds off? i dont want to change the box only to find they wont use it next year.

I would not worry too much about scarring the birds off. I have changed an old nest box for a new one and the birds still returned the same day. They seem to be aware that something has changed as they stop at the entrance hole the first few times then start using it as normal.

I once changed the position of a nest box from South West to North as it was getting too much sun. The Blue Tit flew to the tree trunk in the exact position where the hole in the nest box was and seemed confused that it could not find the hole. It took a few hours to realise that the box had moved around the tree and after a few inspections was back in the box. This was of course an empty box where the bird was Roosting I would never move a box with chicks in.
Brett.

 

[Elizabeth Bigg]

i have never cleaned out my nest box before! the blue tits who use it every year keep on coming back, so i thought they probaly change the bedding themselves. they raised 11 chicks this year! although the box is starting to get a bit old and tattered, would i be able to change it without scaring the birds off? i dont want to change the box only to find they wont use it next year.

When we installed our first box (complete with camera) it was in place of the box where bluetits had raised chicks for several years, and there was no problem. We were so pleased with the results that the next year we replaced the other box (in the front garden, and this was a "Woodcrete" one) with a new camera-equipped box - again it was used successfully. We have always cleaned out the boxes every autumn.

 

[salty]

thanks for the reply guys! i was getting worried about the tits's future if the box crumbled apart in a storm or something! might get a new box up before spring. cheers.

 

[bob freeman]

cleaned out my bt box after every breeding year,last year only had roosting bt but cleaned out box in feb to rid it of droppings,wonder if this put it off breeding in said box or if change to new box did it,have had same tit roosting in box every night from last november up to present date which i find strange,any ideas out there?

 

[christineredgate]

There is an extensive article in the latest copy of Birdwatching mag which includes the cleaning of feeders etc.

 

[romancitizen]

No need to put moss etc out if you have a lawn - just give it a good going over with a lawn rake, and leave the birds to help themselves.

OK, so some people have a moss-free lawn....but not many of us.

 

[lvn600]

House sparrows have been using one nestbox for the last few weeks. When can I be sure that they are done so I can take the nest out so that hopefully another pair of birds can use this nestbox?