Managing Woodland Habitat for benefit of Birds

[Guinnessman1974]

Does anyone have any web links, leaflets etc. on how to improve woodland areas for the benefit of birds please?

I volunteer on a private nature reserve, however some of the woodland patches are quiet bird-wise, and I wonder on any good ideas to encourange more birds and nesting opportunities etc. i.e. for example, what are the best type of nest boxes to use in woodlands?

[Jonathan]

Originally Posted by Guinnessman1974

Does anyone have any web links, leaflets etc. on how to improve woodland areas for the benefit of birds please?

I volunteer on a private nature reserve, however some of the woodland patches are quiet bird-wise, and I wonder on any good ideas to encourange more birds and nesting opportunities etc. i.e. for example, what are the best type of nest boxes to use in woodlands?

Please don't think I'm attempting to be sarcastic, but try typing managing woodland for wildlife pdf into Google? There are many freely-available pdf's that give much information and, perhaps more importantly, references to other, more comprehensive publications.

You might find this useful too - 1993 BTO Guide 23 Nestboxes. It can be downloaded from here:

http://www.bto.org/notices/nestbox_guide.htm

Cheers
Jonathan

[RKB]

It all depends on what the woodland is like, how big it is, and what's there already.

Think VERY hard before tinkering with it, as some species will already be living there, and if you alter it then they may be lost.

Some of the woodland specialities also exist at low densities, so even though the woodland is 'quiet' it might be supporting important species. By encouraging lots of more common generalist species, you might get more birds but lose the rarer (more locally important) ones.

There is a trend for reintroducing coppicing, but this is not a panacea. By coppicing you are preventing the woodland ever becoming mature. So introducing coppicing emans that the woodland cannot then support Nuthatches, Marsh tits etc.

Also think carefully before putting boxes in, as you may increase the numbers of competitor species (e.g. Blue Tits at the expense of Willow Tits).