shout if your birdboxes are in use yet!

[vicky@glos]

Hi all,
Just noticed one of my local blue-tits is checking out one of my three bird boxes.

Last year I had great-tits in one box at the bottom of the garden. But the year before that they nested in the bird box near my front room window at the top of my garden.

Last year I had no blue-tits nesting as the year before they nested in the box that was near my kitchen window at the top of my garden. But a woodpecker came after the young bluetits and the adults left them to die. I just had to bin that birdbox as I could not bring myself to clear it out. I knew the youngesters would of been still inside and I did not want to look.

I tried woodshavings in the birdboxes over the winter to make them warm inside but nothing wanted to stay in the birdboxes over the winter.

So I have just cleared it all out and have but up two peanut bags with knitting wool in small peices inside ready for the next building season.

So should we have a (none prize) compitition to see who notices their garden birdboxes in use first ?

So shout if they are getting used !

Vicky@glos

[IanF]

Ours are inspected by Blue Tits daily. We have a camera in one of the boxes connected up to the TV and so can watch them.
Last Winter we had a Great Tit roost in the box every night. Come April, it moved out and a pair of Blue Tits began nest building that very same day.
I'll keep you posted of any developments, but it's a bit early for nest building round here.

[Learner]

Bought a House Sparrow terrace in the autumn - it has been inspected by Blue Tits,Great Tits and Starlings but House Sparrows have completely ignored it !Blue Tits usually use my nestboxes but last year one was taken over by a solitary wasp.
It is still early this year for my local birds to be getting ready for nesting but I have added an open fronted box to try and encourage the local Robin to use this instead of my garage.

[Andrew]

This weekend at Featherstone a couple of Blue Tits were checking out the nest box so it seems to be just Blue Tits. I have three nest boxes but don't know owt about them cos they are hidden in laurel hedge and I don't wanna scare any prospective birds off.

[Paul 42]

I've not got bird boxes (second floor flat) but for the last three mornings I've watched blue tits checking out the crevises in the old walls of the apartement building., and great tits seem to have become much more territorial. Love is in the air...