Nestbox's and poles!

[lee_adc]

I don't know if this has come up before, but my garden has limited places to put birdbox's. What are peoples views/opinions/experiences with putting box's on the top of poles along a wooden fence line?

Regards,
Lee.

[Jos Stratford]

I see this question was poised a couple of months back, but there have been no replies, so better late than never.

Out here in Lithuania, it is standard practise to put nestboxes on poles, primarily for Starlings. Virtually anybody who has a garden or land shoves a box up on a pole about 3 metres high! Occupancy is very high.

In my own garden, I have about 12 boxes - 4 of which are on poles, Starlings chose two of the pole boxes and Pied Flycatchers in a third. Last year, Starlings in one, Pied Fly in another, a Swift in another and a Redstart in one more. Success has been 100% (bar one when a female Pied Fly was killed by a cat) and summers can get hotter than in the UK (not this year though!)

Incidently, people by and large ONLY put Starling boxes up - they are a bit like swallows here, summer visitors only and one of the first migrants to return, so very much the 'first swallow of summer'.

Back to the questions of poles, I think birds have the brains to decide what is best for them, so if it's poles or nothing, I suggest putting up a pole!

[snowyowl]

My swallow boxes are on fence posts.