New to Nest Boxes (1 Viewer)

[Quantum]

Hello,
First post. I have a nice back garden with plenty of foliage and mature trees. Perfect for small birds. For the past few years I have put out a few different bird feeders and have enjoyed watching the various birds visiting and eating from the feeders. This year for the first time we had a pair of Blue Tits nest in a nesting box. We were so excited about it and enjoyed watching them from a distance coming and going for a few weeks. However about 3 weeks ago the Blue Tits stopped feeding the chicks. I don’t know what happened. Perhaps something happened to one of the adult pair. Or only other thing I can think of is that I put some peanuts into one of the bird feeders close by to the nesting box. Could this have spooked the adult Blue Tits? Or could the extra activity from other birds feeding close by have spooked the parents away?
I am going to build and put out a few different nest boxes this year and don’t want the same thing to happen again. Unfortunately the chicks perished, all 6 of them.
Many thanks.

 

[delia todd]

Hi Quantum and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators.

Presumably you had similar weather to us during May... cold and wet? Many Blue Tit nests failed this year as there weren't the caterpillars around to feed to the young. The oak leaves were late, meaning there were no caterpillars feeding on them. Then the heavy rain washed what caterpillars there were onto the ground (Blue Tits feed in the canopy).

Hopefully the weather will be better next year, as Blue Tits only get one chance each year.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

 

[KC Foggin]

Welcome aboard Quantum and enjoy!

One thing I can suggest is to not put any feeders close to a nest box because it can draw other birds to the feeder and close to the nest box and frighten the parents and cause them to leave.

 

[Kits]

Welcome to Birdforum. I hope you enjoy your visits.

It looks like one of your nest boxes is close to the play area. Maybe activity there made them abandon the nest? It also looks quite low to the ground making it easy for cats to reach.

 

[Quantum]

Hi Quantum and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators.

Presumably you had similar weather to us during May... cold and wet? Many Blue Tit nests failed this year as there weren't the caterpillars around to feed to the young. The oak leaves were late, meaning there were no caterpillars feeding on them. Then the heavy rain washed what caterpillars there were onto the ground (Blue Tits feed in the canopy).

Hopefully the weather will be better next year, as Blue Tits only get one chance each year.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.

Thank you so much for the warm welcome. Yes May was very cold and wet. Although the Adult Blue Tits stopped flying into the nest box very suddenly. I fear that by putting out food in the bird feeder I attracted birds into the area which might have frightened them off. I am annoyed with myself. The chicks were about a week or a little more old. I have loved seeing them flying in and out of the nest box. Hopefully they will return again next year.

 

[Quantum]

Welcome aboard Quantum and enjoy!

One thing I can suggest is to not put any feeders close to a nest box because it can draw other birds to the feeder and close to the nest box and frighten the parents and cause them to leave.

Thank you for the advice. Yes I think that is what has happened. I am so annoyed with myself. I had not put anything into the bird feeders for a few weeks up until then. Lesson learnt. I won’t make that mistake again.

 

[Quantum]

Welcome to Birdforum. I hope you enjoy your visits.

It looks like one of your nest boxes is close to the play area. Maybe activity there made them abandon the nest? It also looks quite low to the ground making it easy for cats to reach.

It was hanging from a branch and was secure. Out of reach of cats. But yes a little low. I fear that by putting out peanuts in a bird feeder close by I frightened them off. I’ll lever do that again. I am so disappointed. I’ll build a couple of nesting boxes myself now and secure them properly for next spring. Thanks for your reply.

 

[KC Foggin]

Thank you for the advice. Yes I think that is what has happened. I am so annoyed with myself. I had not put anything into the bird feeders for a few weeks up until then. Lesson learnt. I won’t make that mistake again.

We all are constantly learning when it comes to our bird life

 

[King Edward]

I don't think it was anything you particularly did wrong here. Blue Tits are pretty tolerant of disturbance, and the longer the nest goes on the less likely the parents are to just abandon it. Nests do fail unfortunately, that's just nature.

 

[Quantum]

I don't think it was anything you particularly did wrong here. Blue Tits are pretty tolerant of disturbance, and the longer the nest goes on the less likely the parents are to just abandon it. Nests do fail unfortunately, that's just nature.

Thanks so much for your reply. I’m going to make a couple of Nest Boxes and hopefully provide some prime real estate for them for next year.

 

[Janar]

Welcome to Bird Forum, Quantum. It's nature but sad to hear when birds chick die. If you want to build a blue tit birdhouse, I found an article that can help you. And a good woodworking book with birdhouse plans.

Inside Max Woodwork Book - Bird House Plan

Peek into the Max Woodwork Book Look What You Really Get Before You Buy it? You will receive an email after purchasing the book. Which directs you to a page where you can download all these plans. Plus you get 17 FREE bonus plans. Lets look what inside the Arbor To Birdhouse.zip. […]

birdhouseplan.com

Chickadee bird house plans and nesting habits - birdhouseplan.com

Here you will find best chickadee bird house plans and instructions on how to assemble it and where to place it.

birdhouseplan.com

I hope it help.

 

[Andy Lakin]

The nest box in your picture looks to be on the small side. I would have a look on the BTO website where they have some plans for nestles. Probably not a factor on the previous breeding attempt, but I would imagine they wouldn't appreciate being moved about by the wind if hung on a tree/ shrub and may need a firmer fixing. One thing I use on the roof when making my boxes is the plastic roll used for damp proof courses. You just need to overlap it and can very quickly attach it with a heavy duty stapler and the box should last for years.

 

[Quantum]

The nest box in your picture looks to be on the small side. I would have a look on the BTO website where they have some plans for nestles. Probably not a factor on the previous breeding attempt, but I would imagine they wouldn't appreciate being moved about by the wind if hung on a tree/ shrub and may need a firmer fixing. One thing I use on the roof when making my boxes is the plastic roll used for damp proof courses. You just need to overlap it and can very quickly attach it with a heavy duty stapler and the box should last for years.

Thank you. I build 3 nest boxes in the Autumn and hung them up during the winter. I built them off of plans. I have one with a 25mm hole, one with a 28mm hole plus one I build for Robins. I’ve seen some interest in them over the last few weeks. Hopefully I’ll have tenants in them soon.

 

[Quantum]

Welcome to Bird Forum, Quantum. It's nature but sad to hear when birds chick die. If you want to build a blue tit birdhouse, I found an article that can help you. And a good woodworking book with birdhouse plans.

Inside Max Woodwork Book - Bird House Plan

Peek into the Max Woodwork Book Look What You Really Get Before You Buy it? You will receive an email after purchasing the book. Which directs you to a page where you can download all these plans. Plus you get 17 FREE bonus plans. Lets look what inside the Arbor To Birdhouse.zip. […]

birdhouseplan.com

Chickadee bird house plans and nesting habits - birdhouseplan.com

Here you will find best chickadee bird house plans and instructions on how to assemble it and where to place it.

birdhouseplan.com

I hope it help.

Thank you. I built 3 nesting boxes over the Autumn and hung them up before Christmas. I have had some interest in them. I’ll take some pics tomorrow.

 

[Quantum]

My nest boxes. Some interest in them since they went up. Hopefully I’ll have some new tenants soon.

 

[Andy Lakin]

It still surprises me how birds will use the most ridiculous places to nest with virtually no room and reject the nest boxes provided. The worst I saw was a Great Tit nesting in the open top of a hollow metal post only about 75mm in diameter. It's worth as well collecting some moss to help them out, as it's amazing how much graft they put in collecting suitable material.

 

[Quantum]

It still surprises me how birds will use the most ridiculous places to nest with virtually no room and reject the nest boxes provided. The worst I saw was a Great Tit nesting in the open top of a hollow metal post only about 75mm in diameter. It's worth as well collecting some moss to help them out, as it's amazing how much graft they put in collecting suitable material.

There is no shortage of moss in my back garden. I recently went over the lawn with a scarifier and removed loads of moss. It is all dumped in behind the trees out of sight. But the birds do know where it is and use it to nest.
Last year was the first year that birds other than collared doves nested in my back garden. It was brilliant watching them come and go. Hopefully we will have some nesting again this year.