I put straw into my nest boxes,after I had cleaned them out last autumn. I had great tits nesting. Do I clean this straw out now for them to nest? Will they use the box with straw in it? Or am I too late to do anything? I’ve seen great tits looking in but none have ventured in yet.
thanks Penny
To be honest I would say leave well alone, it is too late now. Although you have not seen any going in with nesting materials, they may have and if they have been about they will have been inspecting the box to see if they want to use it. You could scare them off by doing anything now. Boxes should be cleaned out Oct-Jan time.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Straw is more a chicken type of nest material. For wild birds, they bring their own material in. I don’t know where the straw was sourced or how old it is. (Pesticides, decomposing etc). Cleaning the box out is best done Sept and Oct IMO, but many sites incl Winter months (which I disagree with due to roosting disturbance during cold weather).