Nest boxes

[Glow worm]

Anyone had any luck with them?

Dead chuffed- after 5 years of failure with two house martin nest boxes I put up - at last, one is occupied. So, finally some success. In 2005, when the house was new, some martins built a nest right away but sadly it collapsed as it dried out. Broken eggs and mud everywhere- it was heartbreaking, so I quickly put some nest boxes up to try to encourage them back. But they have completely ignored the boxes until now. Great to have them up there and hear them chirping away.

 

[Baggy]

Great to see that, especially as martins are having a bad year due to the dry start to June. Hopefully next year they'll both be occupied. We're going to put a wren box up for next year - but might see if we've got room under the eaves for one of these as well.

 

[funnymummy]

#2 is bird mad! He asked for a bird table for christmas, and has over 20 types of feeders hanging round the garden, in the hedge - He is happy sat on his beanbag at the living room window, binoculars in one hand, bird guide in the other.
A while back, he spotted a birdhouse on sale in the pet shop & begged me for his pocket money a few days early to buy it, once home I looked for the best place to site it, but he insisted that it had to go on the end of our garage so he could watch it from his window - That's where he wanted it, so that's where I put it, but I did try to explain that as it was right next to our garage door, up & over type that you really ahve to slam hard to lock, and less then a foot from the communal path (splits at the top to go to 7 houses) it was pretty unlikely anythign would want to use it...but he was adaamnet that's where it was going!
Within 2 weeks we had BlueTits nesting...the chicks left the box last week - Was amazing to watch x
He now has plans to put up another 5 which Grandad is making for him!!

 

[Baggy]

Excellent! I'd be quite happy to sit on a beanbag all day watching birdies! Our neighbours probably think I'm some kind of pervy stalker, there are wrens nesting behind our garden shed so I'm frequently starig out of the window with binoculars.

 

[Piemaster]

Now into the 2nd year of a camera birdbox


Nowt so far though

 

[Fnaar]

We have 2 hoosmortin nests on wor hoos... occupied every year ... lovely to see them flying around on a summer's evening!

 

[biggs682]

we have had a nest box up for 3 yrs , a couple of viewings but nobody has moved in yet , we live in hope .

so well done

 

[Glow worm]

#2 is bird mad! He asked for a bird table for christmas, and has over 20 types of feeders hanging round the garden, in the hedge - He is happy sat on his beanbag at the living room window, binoculars in one hand, bird guide in the other.
A while back, he spotted a birdhouse on sale in the pet shop & begged me for his pocket money a few days early to buy it, once home I looked for the best place to site it, but he insisted that it had to go on the end of our garage so he could watch it from his window - That's where he wanted it, so that's where I put it, but I did try to explain that as it was right next to our garage door, up & over type that you really ahve to slam hard to lock, and less then a foot from the communal path (splits at the top to go to 7 houses) it was pretty unlikely anythign would want to use it...but he was adaamnet that's where it was going!
Within 2 weeks we had BlueTits nesting...the chicks left the box last week - Was amazing to watch x
He now has plans to put up another 5 which Grandad is making for him!!

That's superb! A bird expert in the making!

 

[Glow worm]

we have had a nest box up for 3 yrs , a couple of viewings but nobody has moved in yet , we live in hope .

so well done

I decided this Spring before the martins returned, that the nest box entrance was too narrow and might be putting the martins off. So I shinned up there, with a stanley knife and cut away about an inch or so to widen the gap. I'm sure that's what did it because if you look closely at the ridiculously enormous photo I posted (sorry about that!), you can see the birds have added a little layer of mud themselves. I wonder if they are somehow programmed to have to build at least a little bit before they'll go in- so may be worth a try. I've often noticed how they'll build on the remains of previous year's nests.

 

[Glow worm]

We have 2 hoosmortin nests on wor hoos... occupied every year ... lovely to see them flying around on a summer's evening!

That's brilliant - trouble is I can't think of any suitable double entendres!

Hereabouts, our street was only built in 2005, so it was so exciting when martins immediately took up residence on many homes. Sadly, because of the plastic or PCV or whatever they made the house's eaves with, house martins have trouble attaching their mud nests to the plastic and many nests have fallen to the ground (which happened on our house in the first year).

One of our neighbours was so upset, she gathered a fallen day or so old chick from her house and raised it for three weeks in a PG tips box in the airing cupboard, feeding it eggs and mince! Remarkably, it fledged fine one day out of an open window, but she was just sad she missed the moment to say goodbye!

 

[rich p]

W've had a brood of blue tits and great tits fledged early. They may do another brood I guess.

I have the plans(!) to make a swift box and bat box for next year.

 

[funnymummy]

That's superb! A bird expert in the making!

Oh indeed, for a child with 'limited mobility' he seems to be able to walk round the local RSPB reserve for hours at a time
He has a speech impediment too, his poor teacher was quite worried when he rushed into school one morning shouting about his Tits!

 

[Glow worm]

Oh indeed, for a child with 'limited mobility' he seems to be able to walk round the local RSPB reserve for hours at a time
He has a speech impediment too, his poor teacher was quite worried when he rushed into school one morning shouting about his Tits!

It's the Great Tits that normally get you into trouble!
I once came unstuck when emailing a mate at a county council about some bearded tits seen locally. he got a rollicking from his boss for receiving a tit related message- honestly!

 

[BearPear]

After several mornings leaping out of bed around 5am to scare off a very loud pair of Wood Pigeons, we noticed that they had built a nest behind the satellite dish right outside our bedroom window!

There are 2 eggs in there and they take between 16-18 days to hatch, it's been 14 days to our knowledge. I've named her Wilma and we have reached an understanding - she no longer hoots in the early hours! Hopefully the chicks won't be too disturbing if/when they hatch!

 

[quassleberry]

We regularly have Great tits nesting in birdboxes in the garden, they alternate each year between two favourites. One year I was lucky enough to be in the garden when they fledged on their maiden voyage, one little bird found he couldn't make it as far as the rest so landed on the nearest thing to him which happened to be my shoulder, he stayed for what seemed like ages chirping for a parent to come back for him, the parent seemed quite shocked to round the side of the kennel to find its' offspring with a human.

The blackbirds regularly build around the garden in the hedges & drainpipes.

A bit off topic but has any one else noticed how many more Goldfinches there are this year?