Bird boxes

Hi all, we have a number of birds visiting the garden and quite a lot are regular diners with us. We have put up three nest boxes but they didn't get any use. We thought that it was because they were facing a back window so we moved them the other side of the house, still no luck. Any idea what we can do to make them more 'bird friendly' - and where to position them? Facing which direction? Any help will be much appreciated.
  • Hi Marina,   we place our nestboxes (suitable for Blue Tits, Great Tits, etc.)  a minimum of  three metres high facing between North and East which is preferred by the birds so as not to get too hot in the midday sun during the warmer months.   They should not be too close to feeders or feeding stations and should have a clear flight path if possible.    Hope this info helps but others may have additional advice for you.   Good luck, hope you see some lovely chicks this breeding season.   Robins prefer more open style boxes nearer ground level but well screened by shrubs or bushes. 

  • Thanks Helen. We have an open style robin box but we have put it up on the roof of the extension (so there is a 'ground' feel to it) near a growing climber as there are cats in the area and we don't think its safe for robins to nest in the garden so low. We do have a North - East facing wall so we will put the nest boxes there. The question is - how far apart should they be from each other?

  • Hi Marina,  depending on the size of your garden I would place boxes as far apart as possible as birds can be very territorial;   I would have thought 25ft would be sufficient or you could place a box in back garden and one in the front.    

  • Thanks Hazel, I will try this and report any changes (hopefully we'll see chicks!).