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Well our first brood has fledged this morning which we were privileged to witness.
My question is, should we clean out the nest box now or wait until autumn.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Great news that the bluetits have fledged. Nest boxes should not be touched until autumn
(Pardon the Scottish Accent)
PLEASE BE AWARE:
THIS COMMUNITY IS CLOSING DOWN ON 1ST OF JULY 2025
That's what I thought but kept reading conflicting advice. We'll leave them well alone and hopefully get another brood
Hopefully conflicting advice wasn't offered on here. Realistically, blue tits are unlikely to breed again, esp if they went through the entire stage beyond fledging. But, many species do re-use nests and boxes in the same season (e.g. house sparrow), so rules are kept simple. (not everyone i.d's species correctly, incl blue tits). Many nestboxes are never emptied and cleaned out. My house martin nest cups never are for safety reasons. They also never used to be. But, having said all that, Autumn is the best time and I do now do it for the more accessible boxes.