Author Topic: Any success with your bird boxes? (Read 3358 times)

Poly Hive · « **on:** 02 April, 2015, 02:46:01 pm »

Our two got so dilapidated over the winter I made two brand new ones. The old RH one had two successes over the last 6 Springs, and the new one is being investigated by a pair of some sort of tits over the last three days and at least one of them was in there for a good 15 mins today so we have hopes. Last year we had blue tits though they only raised one chick which we read is a bit unusual.

How are yours doing?

PH

Asterix, the former Gaul. · « **Reply #1 on:** 02 April, 2015, 02:57:53 pm »

In our barn conversion we had a pair of birds whose type I forget (non-British species, anyway) nesting in an external wall cavity. When nesting was done I did some essential work preventing its future use and hung a bird box I carefully made nearby. Next year they ignored the bird box and built their nest on a ledge inside the building above our new stairs. 2 broods were raised despite our having to use the stairs constantly.

Canardly · « **Reply #2 on:** 02 April, 2015, 06:04:41 pm »

Nothing as yet.

bumper · « **Reply #3 on:** 02 April, 2015, 06:13:37 pm »

all of ours are getting guarded

I've got one in the shed, hanging on the wall. A blue tit is trying to get to it!! I may open the windows so it can take a peek

graculus · « **Reply #4 on:** 03 April, 2015, 08:19:14 am »

We had a standard RSPB Tit box on the trellis on the back end of our garage for several years; it got used every year IIRC. A few weeks ago we took the trellis down (necessary to get rid of the ~~triffid~~ ivy covering most of the garage) and moved the box onto the side of the garage visible from the house.
This morning a bluetit was seen, doing the equivalent of slamming the doors and kicking the tyres when looking a second hand car over.

T42 · « **Reply #5 on:** 03 April, 2015, 09:09:57 am »

We have an owl that deigns to favour our barn every couple of years. First time we heard it calling just outside the window we nearly jumped through the wall.

Other than that, high up on the outside of the barn wall we have a nesting box which has never been used by birds but is loved by carpenter bees. It's redundant, anyway: what bird would nest on a south-facing wall when there are two mature trees and a bunch of bushes to choose from?

Little Jim · « **Reply #6 on:** 03 April, 2015, 01:48:36 pm »

Our old bird box gave up last year - the hinges on the roof rusted up completely solid so I made a new one over the winter from some wood off-cuts and felt on the roof. Today I spotted a blue tit giving it the once over so fingers crossed. Does anyone use the open fronted boxes designed for Robins and the like? I've only ever used "tit boxes" with a small hole (when I was a kid it was a two shilling piece sized hole for blue tits and half a crown for great tits. I think the birds have gone metric now). Always had a lot of success with them.

graculus · « **Reply #7 on:** 03 April, 2015, 02:07:13 pm »

Quote from: Little Jim on 03 April, 2015, 01:48:36 pm

(when I was a kid it was a two shilling piece sized hole for blue tits and half a crown for great tits. I think the birds have gone metric now).

Yes. 25mm for bluetits, 28mm for great tits (and 32mm for house sparrows).
I have built open -fronted robin shelves for others but not used them in our garden due to the high concentration of squirrels and cats.

Poly Hive · « **Reply #8 on:** 03 April, 2015, 03:21:39 pm »

My 28mm box is now inhabited by blue tits... go figure.LOL They eyed up the 25mm one but...

PH

graculus · « **Reply #9 on:** 03 April, 2015, 07:59:12 pm »

They obviously didn't read the instructions! The guidelines on how high off the ground to site them are also subject to creative interpretation. A colleague once leant a box up against a wall in his garden intending to put it up later that day, but when he came to do it a pair of bluetits had already taken up residence.

bumper · « **Reply #10 on:** 04 April, 2015, 10:28:20 am »

Quote from: graculus on 03 April, 2015, 07:59:12 pm

They obviously didn't read the instructions! The guidelines on how high off the ground to site them are also subject to creative interpretation. A colleague once leant a box up against a wall in his garden intending to put it up later that day, but when he came to do it a pair of bluetits had already taken up residence.

Last year I was working next to a pylon. It had metal box section on the bottom of the supports, from ground level to a max of 3ft. A pair of great tits had a nest inside with four chick

I've just checked one of the bushes in the garden and mrs blackbird has almost finished her nest

Pingu · « **Reply #11 on:** 04 April, 2015, 11:43:46 am »

Our box has never been used for nesting

bumper · « **Reply #12 on:** 04 April, 2015, 11:46:28 am »

Quote from: Pingu on 04 April, 2015, 11:43:46 am

Our box has never been used for nesting

Try moving it

Within the next week if nothing is even looking at it.

Pingu · « **Reply #13 on:** 04 April, 2015, 11:50:10 am »

We don't have many places to put a box in our small garden, unfortunately.

bumper · « **Reply #14 on:** 04 April, 2015, 12:00:18 pm »

Quote from: Pingu on 04 April, 2015, 11:50:10 am

We don't have many places to put a box in our small garden, unfortunately.

Poly Hive · « **Reply #15 on:** 05 April, 2015, 12:33:33 pm »

Sadly it looks now as if the traffic in the car park yesterday has put them off. No sign of them at all today. Sighs.

PH

HarryF · « **Reply #16 on:** 05 April, 2015, 08:38:51 pm »

A pair of Great Tits have been carrying moss into one of our boxes, after checking it out for a month. Sparrows have moved into another, three remain " up for rent" as yet.

We feel very excited. One box had six young tits emerge last year!

runsoncake · « **Reply #17 on:** 10 April, 2015, 10:59:13 am »

Quote from: Little Jim on 03 April, 2015, 01:48:36 pm

Does anyone use the open fronted boxes designed for Robins and the like? I've only ever used "tit boxes" with a small hole (when I was a kid it was a two shilling piece sized hole for blue tits and half a crown for great tits. I think the birds have gone metric now). Always had a lot of success with them.

I've had an RSPB robin/wren/wagtail des res sighted as per instructions for 2 years now, the only visitors to it have been Blue Tits looking for food.
Had various nest boxes over the years, every one has been treated with disdain, we did however have a terracotta bird FEEDER hanging on a bit of wire which a pair of Blue Tits raised a brood in

. The yucky mulch in the bottom of the feeder was v. nasty, they had built a nest on a 2-3cm layer of bird seed

bumper · « **Reply #18 on:** 10 April, 2015, 07:53:37 pm »

the magpies have raided one of the nests in the garden, the blackbirds. It happened this afternoon whilst I was out, my wife saw it.

They had positioned it in a stupid location, every day I commented that the squirrel or magpies would raid it.

I'm glad it happened now before it was full of chicks. The only thing that's annoyed me, 3ft to the left is a great tit nest, 3ft to the right a blue tit nest. I've not seen any of them return since

the robins and wrens are safe, they're in the garage crapping all over my wifes car

Poly Hive · « **Reply #19 on:** 11 April, 2015, 09:14:06 am »

Good news here, the tits are definitely still in residence and seemingly sitting so with luck there should be chicks soon. Just read up so she is laying at the moment and then will incubate for a couple of weeks so probably another three weeks before they hatch.

PH

runsoncake · « **Reply #20 on:** 11 April, 2015, 11:55:40 pm »

The House Sparrows usually nest in our roof, this year they seem to be nesting in the hedge. Are they going feral? Life is full of these mysteries !!!

Poly Hive · « **Reply #21 on:** 26 May, 2015, 05:12:26 pm »

Three blue tit chicks emerged this morning and eventually flew off with the parents keeping an eye on them. SUCCESS!

PH

T42 · « **Reply #22 on:** 26 May, 2015, 05:45:46 pm »

The wall of next door's barn is off to one side of our kitchen window* and is covered in ivy. We have wrens, goldfinches, redstarts and a few other spp nesting in it, as well as wood pigeons in the dilapidated roof.

*in most of Europe farmyards are all clustered together in villages rather than set in the centre of their fields. I know one spic-and-span town in Germany that has an evil-smelling farmyard smack in the middle of the high street.