Bird box advice

[mikeakc]

I have decided to make some bird boxes to go on my garage. I wonder if any of you could offer some advice.

I would like to encourage something a bit more interesting than little songbirds, perhaps swifts or a bird of prey. The catch here is that the two warm faces of the garage building (west and south) are in our garden and regularly have two little children running around making a racket. The two quieter sides face north and east which will obviously be cooler. The east side is very exposed to a gravel drive and is where we park our cars, the north side looks out over a field. It is in a pretty rural area so plenty of hunting space for small rodents and insects. So the question is what kind of bird box would give me the best chance of success? If anyone is really experienced in this I would be interested to know if I could have two up, such as an owl box and a swift box or whether the duo wouldn’t get along!

I’m all ears to your thoughts, even better if you’ve had some success on a similar scenario.
Many thanks, Mike

 

[jall55]

I have decided to make some bird boxes to go on my garage. I wonder if any of you could offer some advice.

I would like to encourage something a bit more interesting than little songbirds, perhaps swifts or a bird of prey. The catch here is that the two warm faces of the garage building (west and south) are in our garden and regularly have two little children running around making a racket. The two quieter sides face north and east which will obviously be cooler. The east side is very exposed to a gravel drive and is where we park our cars, the north side looks out over a field. It is in a pretty rural area so plenty of hunting space for small rodents and insects. So the question is what kind of bird box would give me the best chance of success? If anyone is really experienced in this I would be interested to know if I could have two up, such as an owl box and a swift box or whether the duo wouldn’t get along!

I’m all ears to your thoughts, even better if you’ve done it yourself and I’ll speaking from experience!
Many thanks, Mike

Hi Mike
Having and Owl and anything else will just result in an Owl !
Not such a bad thing but a waste of a box and the opportunity for something else - so i would go with one or the other

I love the songbirds and get pleasure watching them feed

Owls / raptors are incredible but remember they are very , very messy in the nest !

 

[Dunwaters]

There are plans for swift boxes available but they’re difficult to attract to them.
As above kestrels and owls are pretty messy in the nest and they really don’t like disturbance, so your site near your home may not suit.
Have you thought about installing a bat box? Plans are on the interweb but be careful what you wish for, they’re protected and you definitely don’t want a colony in your roof space.
We used to have pipistrelles and we got a lot of pleasure watching them zoom about in the evening but they’re infested with parasites, as are hirundines, and their droppings stain the ceiling, so when they mooched off of their own accord I wasn’t too cut up about it.
At this stage I stick with the common stuff in the bird boxes, they arrive in March and are gone by June which is just about when we want to use the garden ourselves, an arrangement that suits both sides.

 

[Woodsmoke]

I would like to encourage something a bit more interesting than little songbirds

They need all the help they can get these days though

 

[mikeakc]

They need all the help they can get these days though

That’s true, but so do swifts. We’ve got songbirds galore too!

 

[Nick703]

I’d just put two or three up,one large one for kes-owl-jackdaw size birds and a few smaller ones dotted about, small birds will still nest in close proximity to raptors,owl,jackdaw

 

[jall55]

I’d just put two or three up,one large one for kes-owl-jackdaw size birds and a few smaller ones dotted about, small birds will still nest in close proximity to raptors,owl,jackdaw

Yes they will - they just dont to last that long

 

[Nick703]

My mates got several jackdaw nesting in his garden in boxes and holes in trees and loads of tits in the smaller boxes and barn owls in a box in one of his barns

 

[Ruby Tuesday 2]

Can't help the original question but in the last week we have found at least a dozen tiny sparrow chicks around our house dead on the floor , then this morning I watched a male sparrow chucking them out the nests then showing his lady friend the nest boxes.I guess from the amount of sites they've checked she must be a posh incomer to the town and he must be a local.

 

[mikeakc]

Went for a home-made Swift box. I have been playing Swift calls on a Bluetooth speaker in the morning as apparently this is the right time of year for last years young to find a box which they will then hopefully return to next year to nest. Fingers crossed

 

[Pelyma]

Swifts ideally need about a 5m drop and no obstructions around them, but you never know.

 

[Foxyboy43]

Hmm. Currently seven boxes - 1 for bats, 3 for tis and 3 for sparrows. The ones I get most pleasure from are the humble sparrows - large broods and constantly doing their best to get off the endangered list. If only the Sparrowhawk would go veggie!

 

[old keeper]

A bit off-topic, I haven't seen a single swift this year. There used to be scores hereabouts.