Nest box

[Sabine]

I bought a nest box for small garden birds and we put it high up in a tree that can't be climbed by cats. I am just wondering is there anything I can do to entice the birds to nest in there or do I just leave it empty and sit and wait?

 

[kirsterz09]

Best to leave the box alone, as we tried place nesting material in for them to use and they just chucked it all out lol, guess they prefer their own handywork! But it might be good to place some stuff around the nestbox like, nesting material and food, food is a good one as it makes the site more appealing to the parents as they don't have to venture too far away from the nestbox to obtain food.

 

[Sabine]

Maybe I leave a few seeds on it and hope they spot them

 

[hartleybun]

you may find that several birds are keeping a discreet eye on the box - checking it out when you arent looking! also the size of the hole determines the bird. hope that makes sense! each bird has it's preferences with regards to the box and its location.

good luck!

 

[irishbunny]

They were selling a really cool one in Aldi recently that came with a camera you can hook up to your TV

 

[Sabine]

I saw that one but we ended up buying the ordinary one. Today David made another one with a bigger hole so hopefully the robins will nest there as we seemed to have a pair in the garden.

 

[EileenH]

Robins don't nest in nest boxes, they will nest in trees. Birds have different nesting styles. Some are cavity nesters (those are the ones that use nestboxes). They can include House Sparrows (an invasive species, you want to discourage those - sorry English people, but they are killing our native birds over here).
Here is a link to birds that will use nest boxes, how high it should be, etc.

It is also matters which direction the box is hung. I don't remember what the right one is, but if you google around to find out information on birds and nestboxes, that will help too. I think it helps if the hole is facing southwest, but don't quote me on that.

 

[Sabine]

I actually never thought about the different nesting styles. Hopefully the robins will nest nearby. I haven't seen many sparrows around but loads of different other birds. No obvious activity around the boxes yet. They are facing west I think.
Thanks for the link I'll check it out later