Help the do and dont of nest boxes

[Joanne]

Anybody give me any tips on bird boxes i have one is it to late to put it up and the best place for it.The back garden would be best fo me on the house not sure about the sun hits the back of the house midday.The nest box would be in the eves of the house we have lots of house sparrow is it best to just leave it dont want them to bake in the sun.Dont want to put it on the front of the house as i dont trust the kids around here.

[rogerk]

Anybody give me any tips on bird boxes i have one is it to late to put it up and the best place for it.The back garden would be best fo me on the house not sure about the sun hits the back of the house midday.The nest box would be in the eves of the house we have lots of house sparrow is it best to just leave it dont want them to bake in the sun.Dont want to put it on the front of the house as i dont trust the kids around here.
It sounds as though your house points north/ south, not ideal for birds to nest in, the most preferable place is with the hole facing east, away from the prevailing weather. It is probably not too late to put it up, though be aware that this year it may become occupied with a less dominant pair.
They may be sparrows or they may be bluetits, either way, they'll most likely be a first year pair and so aren't usually successful in their first attempt.
The hole needs to be at least 1 and 1/8th of an inch (29mm) for tits and 1 and 1/4 inch (32mm) for sparrows.
Good luck!

[NJBirdringer]

Hi Joanne,
No problems putting a nest box up in March. Most songbirds are still prospecting for homes around now. Try to have the box facing north and no lower than 2 m off the ground. If you trying to attract House Sparrows (and more people should) they like the box higher up than usual. (think about them usually nesting in a houses eaves) but a garden fence is fine. If you are building a box yourself and need some plans/guidance send me a private e-mail and I will help as much as I can.

[Elizabeth Bigg]

Anybody give me any tips on bird boxes i have one is it to late to put it up and the best place for it.The back garden would be best fo me on the house not sure about the sun hits the back of the house midday.The nest box would be in the eves of the house we have lots of house sparrow is it best to just leave it dont want them to bake in the sun.Dont want to put it on the front of the house as i dont trust the kids around here.

Joanne - go to: www.rspb.org.uk put nestbox into the search facility, and you'll find lots of info there.

[Joanne]

Thanks for all your help i am putting my box up at the weekend if we dont have bad snow in Nottingham.Now got to ask my neighbours to borrow their big ladder to get up to the eves and be brave anoth to go up.