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Nest Boxes

A nest box is a fantastic way to attract wild birds to your garden. By providing them with a safe nesting spot to raise fledglings in spring and summer, as well as shelter from the harsh cold during autumn and winter, your birds will feel right at home in your wildlife-friendly garden.

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FAQs for Nest Boxes

A nest box provides birds with shelter throughout the seasons, from raising their young in the Spring to sheltering them from the harsher weather during the Winter months.

Nest Box entrance hole size guide

  • 26-28mm will attract Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Marsh tits & Willow Tits.
  • 32mm will attract House Sparrows, Tree Sparrows, Pied Flycatchers, Nuthatches & all Tits.
  • Open-fronted nest boxes will attract Robins, Wrens, Black Redstarts, Spotted Flycatchers, Blackbirds & Pied Wagtails.

Where should I put my nest box?

Most garden birds like their nest boxes sited 2-4 meters above the ground, but there are certain birds who prefer their boxes to be higher or lower, click here for more details. If possible, face the box between North and East to avoid rain, wind and direct heat from the sun. When securing the box against a solid surface (tree or wall), let it sit tilted forward slightly so rain won't get in through the entrance hole.

When should I put up a nest box?

If you want to encourage birds to nest in your garden, then make sure you put your nest boxes up in winter when birds will be scouting out the best nesting spots. But it's also worth noting that you can put a nest box up any time of year. Birds will use it for roosting and shelter in extreme hot/cold weather conditions and from predators.

When do birds start nesting?

In the UK, the bird nesting season officially begins in February and ends in August, with the most active period being from March to July.

Should I clean out nest boxes?

If you want to give your nest boxes a thorough clean, we recommend doing this in the autumn time when birds are least likely to use them. We have a wide range of bird cleaning and hygiene accessories that are non-toxic and will keep your birds safe. Click here for a step-by-step guide on how to clean your bird boxes.

Should you put anything in a nesting box?

Birds will usually remove anything they find in a nest box that wasn't put there themselves. This is so they can make sure all nesting material in the box is clean and wasn't used by a previous bird. If you want to give birds a helping hand with their nest, place nesting wool in your garden so birds can find it with ease and won't have to travel far to build their nests.

How to encourage birds into nesting boxes?

  • Setting up bird feeders and water around your nesting box is a great way to motivate birds to settle in it. If you see the same bird flying back and forth through the box's entrance, it quite possibly means it's taken up residency. When this happens, move the feeders away from the box to avoid disturbing nesting birds.
  • More nest boxes = more birds! You don't need to have just one box in the garden; place two or three boxes with various types of entrance holes, and see how many different species nest in your garden. Click here to learn more about different birds' preferences in nest boxes.