If you're looking to attract more bird activity and support local populations, installing a bird box in your garden is a great way to do so. However, the type of birds that may use your bird box will depend on your location and the type of box you have installed.
In the UK, some of the most common garden birds known to use bird boxes are blue tits, great tits, house sparrows, and robins. Here at Nestera, we have been making bird boxes for 20 years and have perfected our designs to suit a wide variety of garden birds.
Bird Box Features
Our bird boxes are made from responsibly sourced Western Red Cedar and feature a removable front panel pre-drilled with a 34mm hole, including 3 protective plates of 34mm,32mm and 28mm. They also include two metal entrance hole protective plates to prevent predators like woodpeckers from entering the bird box. Additionally, our Bird Box camera systems feature hi-spec WiFi cameras that allow you to watch birds nesting up close in HD via your phone or tablet.
Location, location, location!
When choosing a location for your bird box, it's important to consider the bird species' preferences. Birds prefer a quiet and safe location, away from human disturbance, such as foot traffic or noise. Different bird species prefer different heights for their nest box.
Tits
For example, blue tits prefer open woodland, parks, and gardens, so to attract them, mount your nest box on a tree, wall, or fence 2-4 metres off the ground, in open areas with plenty of vegetation. We also recommend that you use the entrance hole of 32mm. Great tits are smaller in size than blue tits but prefer a similar nesting environment.
Sparrows
House sparrows, on the other hand, prefer to nest in colonies and like open habitats with plenty of cover. Mount your nest box on walls under the eaves of buildings, 1-3 metres off the ground, near gardens or areas with plenty of vegetation. For this bird species, you can either install the 34 mm hole or the 32 mm one.
Robins
For robins, mount your nest box on a wall, tree, or in a shrub 1-2 metres off the ground, in a quiet and secluded spot. Our nest box design takes this into account by featuring a removable front panel that caters to robins' preference for open-fronted nest boxes.
Home sweet home
To attract birds to your nest box, it's best to provide a reliable source of food and water by setting up a bird feeder and bird bath near the nest box. Many bird species also prefer to use nesting material to line their nest box, so leaving things like twigs, grasses, and feathers near the box can also help attract nesting birds. It's important to be patient as it may take time for birds to discover your nest box.
