Bird boxes

[Marigold]

I suppose that depends on whether you have squirrels in your garden, which also affects your choice of seed feeders of course.

 

[rick]

Woodcrete seems to be the Fort Knox of nest boxes with holes but chicken wire sounds good too if the predators are really going for it. I guess these are upgrades when required in a given situation - on the whole, any nest box for some species is better than they would build themselves as long as it is discrete and discreetly placed so as not to draw attention. Open fronted boxes especially.

 

[bigyetiman]

We have had Woodpeckers drill quite large holes into the sides, the squirrels seem to leave them alone here.

I should think they will go like hot cakes when you find an outlet for them. Our local wildlife Trust has a man make boxes for them, he does it to keep busy, and lets the profits go to the Trust. he has even progressed onto bespoke Owl boxes and bat boxes as well. He has trouble keeping up with demand at times.

They look lovely boxes

 

[rick]

I would love to make an owl box with somewhere to put it. There's one over on Newbold Comyn that is falling to bits but I guess the location wasn't successful otherwise it would have been replaced.

 

[dianefairhall]

We used to have swallows in our outhouses back in Yorkshire but sadly,have seen none here. We do get house martins though. How could I tempt them to nest?

 

[bigyetiman]

You can buy bespoke nest boxes to put up for them that look really natural they are usually attached to a piece of wood so easy to fix up. Our local Wildlife Trust put a group up and the Martins just adapted the hole with a bit of mud to make it to their preferred size, and some were happy with the nest hole size anyway. I think the Trust put 3 together to start with as they like company and natural ones have been added since by new birds

 

[dianefairhall]

Thanks, BYM. House martins did build one year in a window embrasure on the north side of the Yorkshire house. They weren't very successful but I think some of their third brood survived. You never know because you never see them fledge. They never came back, whereas the swallows were prolific every year and had sixteen chicks in three broods one year just before we left.