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For 3 years I have had Blue tits nesting in a wooden box on the back of my garage.
This year I replaced the box with a posh woodcrete one and put it in the same position. I moved the old box and hung it on the fence. Both these boxes have a hole for Blue tits only. During Nest Box week I decided to get another woodcrete box with a larger hole for Great tits and Sparrows. The Blue tits spent ages checking out all 3 boxes and then decided on the one with the larger hole which means the other two will be empty as I only have the one pair!!
The 2 "Blue tit" boxes are in good positions with trees and shelter but the box they have chosen is more exposed and whats more the children next door have their trampoline right next to the fence but it has not detered the birds!!
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
Oh, the joys of birds. We have had the same' problem' with blue tits and sparrows. We know what we would like the birds to do but they don't do it !! But, then, why should they. We all love them though.
They certainly don't know which holes are "designed" for them! I'd always thought Blue Tits would nest in just about anything and obviously don't care much about the entrance hole - we have Blue Tits nesting under our roof for example. So this raises the question, why do boxes come with different sized holes? It seems to make very little difference to the actual birds!
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Hi,
waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the 60s and 70s when there were a lot more House sparrows about, they would take over nest boxes if the hole was large enough. Blue tits were recommended 1'', Great Tits 1 1/8 '' ; because sparrows needed 1 1/4 '' I seem to remember.
S
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seymouraves said: Hi, waaaaaaaaaaaaay back in the 60s and 70s when there were a lot more House sparrows about, they would take over nest boxes if the hole was large enough. Blue tits were recommended 1'', Great Tits 1 1/8 '' ; because sparrows needed 1 1/4 '' I seem to remember. S
ie - BT 26mm, GT 28.6mm Sparrow 31.7mm (to one decimal place)!!!
The RSPB suggest these figures:
25 mm for blue, coal and marsh tits28 mm for great tits, tree sparrows and pied flycatchers32 mm for house sparrows and nuthatches
However, Surrey birds must be fatter than average. We've found that bluetits need 28mm and great tits 32mm.
Its all the good food you put out for them lol
AL
If its no fun Yer no doin it right!
Hi Neil
I am loving your video clips - fascinating to watch the Blue Tit preparing a home for her young. Thanks for sharing it.
Best M
I have just had some Great Tits in the garden! They took some dog hair I had put out for nesting material and then tried the nest box that I had specifically put up for Great Tits (or Sparrows) and were given short shrift by the Blue Tits that are nesting in it!You may remember that I have 3 boxes and the Blue Tits chose the "wrong"one.At least I know I have Great Tits in the area.
Ah well maybe next year!
My blue tits are still in the bigger box but now seem to be using another box as well!
Could it be a new pair who are nesting for the firrst time do you think?
Seymourgraves is very right about the hole sizes. If there is no or little competition, blue tits are not overly fussed about the hole size. However, in situations where they run the risk of losing their nest to a larger competitor, they would prefer a hole with an entrance only big enough for them, excluding the larger birds that might threaten to turf them out if they only could get into the box.
I think I have babies!!
My bluetits today are both very busy going back and forth into the box every few minutes so something must have happened overnight!