Nestboxes on parade

Moving in: give wildlife a home this February with a garden nestbox

If you’re thinking about putting up a nestbox this spring, there are a few pointers to bear in mind. Not least of all, the importance of location, location, location.

As a general rule of thumb, unless there are trees or buildings which shade the box during the day, nestboxes should face between north and east, avoiding strong sunlight and the wettest winds. This makes perfect sense as no one wants a baking, hot front room or to get soaked when it’s blowing a hoolie outside. It’s helpful to tilt the box slightly forward so that driving rain bounces off the roof. A couple of drainage holes in the floor will give water a chance to escape if it does get inside.

Birds use up a lot of their energy in flight during nesting season, they can make hundreds if not thousands of trips backwards and forwards collecting hard and soft furnishings. Checking that birds have a clear flight path to the nest entrance will reduce some of that effort as well as giving them a vital escape route if pesky predators are about.

There’s definitely not a one house fits all scenario for garden birds. Different birds have varying requirements when it comes to their perfect home. But don’t let that put you off. Having a nestbox or two in the garden will give you seasons of endless pleasure as most species will return to the same site year after year. Here’s our simple guide for giving breeding birds a helping hand this spring:

• Attracting house sparrows These sociable birds are in worrying decline, having halved in number across the UK. They naturally make use of crevices in walls so you can help house sparrows by putting up a nestbox or two high up near the eaves of your house. These birds enjoy communal living and would prefer two or more nestboxes placed close together if at all possible. Use nestboxes with a 32mm entrance hole which is also ideal for great tits.
• Welcome in blue tits You would typically find blue tits nesting in holes in trees so to replicate this, place your nestbox between two and five metres up a tree, post or wall. You should see lots of action as these birds are very busy nesters and can be seen displaying to a mate by hammering on the nestbox with their beaks. As a smaller garden bird, blue tits need an entrance hole of 25mm. 

• Looking to attract robins? These garden favourites prefer an open fronted nestbox placed near trees, climbing vegetation and shrubs, with plenty of shelter to protect them from the wind, rain and predators. Robins typically nest low to the ground, try siting your robin nestbox around two metres from the ground – just high enough to deter prowling cats. This style of nestbox is also appealing to wrens and pied wagtails, so you might end up with a different tenant to the one you are expecting!
• Give swifts a home Swifts can be found nesting in tall buildings around many towns and cities. Sadly, our modern houses often lack the eaves and cracks that cavity nesting swifts love, but special nest bricks and swift boxes can really help these sociable nesters. To mimic their natural nesting site fix a swift box high on a vertical building wall, ideally under the eaves (at least five metres above ground). These fast flying birds swoop down and then up to the nest site at speed so it’s important that they have an unobstructed flight path to their home. Like the house sparrows, they are gregarious preferring to migrate, feed and nest in groups. Swifts are faithful to their nesting site and will return to the same one year after year so if you have space, why not put up a number of boxes near each other.

If you still need some advice choosing the right nestbox for your garden space then pop into our shop at Titchwell Marsh.  Chat to a member of our friendly team (we’re all birders) and have a look at the various house styles on offer. You can trust the quality of our nestboxes which are all made in the UK using FSC timber. We only use safe, non-toxic, water-based preservatives on our nestboxes making sure that birds don’t come into contact with any nasty chemicals.