Rural housing development

[PedrX]

Hello. Can you please advise.

We recently moved into the country. The cottage is a wreck but the drive is a 100 yards of sycamore lined joy that forms an enchanting tunnel when in leaf.

On the trees, about thirty in all, I propose to attach bird houses.

I tried this on a smaller scale at the previous property but for year after year the boxes remained empty.

Most obvious questions are:

How many houses?

What sort?

How high up the tree?

Why won't the pesky birds move in, and so.

We are surrounded by rough grazing land criss-crossed by ancient hedgerows.

Most abundant species seen so far: robin, starling, house and hedge sparrow and various common tits.

There's Freddy pheasant too but I doubt he'll fit in a box.

Any advice will be much appreciated.

[rossy]

firstly welcome to the forum pedrx, what you could do before you put up any nest boxes is, have a look at the sycamore trees, to see if any have holes in, if you do find any, i would suggest not to place a box on the tree, just in case any birds have occupied it, as they tend to return yearly, as for the boxes, space them out , try 4, hole size, 32 mm, height approx 6 feet, good luck, rossy.

[PedrX]

Thanks for the welcome, Rossy. Hope I'm clicking the right buttons here and not replying to myself.

Check for existing residents. Good one.

But only four boxes. Perhaps owning this vast linear estate has gone to my head but could I not squeeze a few more in?

And will six foot be out of reaches of cats? I have this vison of birds perched high in the trees. Perhaps this is where I went wrong the fist time.

I don't doubt your superior knowledge. Just inquisitive.

Thanks, Pedr.

[rossy]

Originally Posted by PedrX

Thanks for the welcome, Rossy. Hope I'm clicking the right buttons here and not replying to myself.

Check for existing residents. Good one.

But only four boxes. Perhaps owning this vast linear estate has gone to my head but could I not squeeze a few more in?

And will six foot be out of reaches of cats? I have this vison of birds perched high in the trees. Perhaps this is where I went wrong the fist time.

I don't doubt your superior knowledge. Just inquisitive.

Thanks, Pedr.

do you have cats ? the thing is you can put them higher if you wish, dont forget birds in there natural nest sites can be higher and some lower, they do the choosing, you could put up more, but dont forget birds are terrortorial , you could put up an owl box , good chance theres some in the area, its not superior knowledge, just a guide, birds will nest in various sites, ie, ive seen great tits in a vase, robins in an old boot, pied wagtails in a tractor, blackbirds in a car engine, the list goes on, but whatever happens let us know if your successful, good luck . rossy.

[Kayleigh]

I think I read you should put nest boxes 20ft away from the next one but I could be wrong..

[werdnal]

You can put up as many boxes as you like, but its unlikely they will all be used at one time, if too close together. Birds will compete for food, so may chose not to nest too near another box. We have a 1 acre field, and have 4 blue tit type boxes (some used most years), an owl box (so far used by an over-wintering squirrel and a woodpigeon pair!), and an woodpecker box (so far unused). We also have a blue tit type box on either end of our house, and one on our barn (approximately 60ft apart). We could put a box in every tree around the whole circumference of the field, but we know many would remain vacant.

You will also find they may not be used in the first year anyway. Some species are already "house-hunting". Saw a blue tit visiting my neighbour's boxes only yesterday, so they may already have chosen a suitable site for this year, even if its too early to build yet.

Remember in a rural spot, there are many natural nest sites, and some birds who raise successful broods will return to the same site every year, so don't be too upset if it take a while for them to adopt your boxes. Try to go higher than 6ft if you can, most of ours are 10-12ft up. Remember, cats can climb trees, so inexperienced fledglings, straight out of the box, could be "sitting ducks" (excuse the pun!).

A well stocked birdtable and a regular source of drinking water is just as important for keeping them happy and making life easier for them, so consider that too.

[Gill Catton]

What you could do is use different type boxes for each tree so some open fronted for robins, small hole type nest boxes for tit species, larger holes for sparrows maybe larger again for starlings and perhaps even a couple of owl boxes. I would imagine tits would find these boxes as the often hunt through sycamores for aphids.

As for location the boxes need to be facing away from prevailing wind direction and out of strong sun (so that chicks don't get chilled or fried!).

Height can differ too so long as the are out of the reach of curious people or predators. I think owls like height I often see them sited in the fork of the trunk, but bear in mind you may want to check or clean boxes in the future so think about accesbility for you too!

Good luck sounds like a fab project!

[Monkey Orchid]

Just a thought, but have you thought of putting up some bat boxes as well? They could be a valuable addition to your 'country estate'.

If you go to the Bat Conservation Trust's website

Encouraging Bats - Bat Conservation Trust

and click on the links on that page, you'll find all the info you need about making and siting bat nest boxes. They recommend putting up 2 or 3 boxes at a time, 5 metres from the ground if possible, facing in different directions to give the bats a variety of temperature conditions to choose from.

As sycamores have a high biomass of invertebrate life (particularly aphids, late into the season when other forms of insect prey are diminishing), they should be a popular hangout for your local birds.

Happy home-building!

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Monkey Orchid

Just a thought, but have you thought of putting up some bat boxes as well? They could be a valuable addition to your 'country estate'.

If you go to the Bat Conservation Trust's website

Encouraging Bats - Bat Conservation Trust

and click on the links on that page, you'll find all the info you need about making and siting bat nest boxes. They recommend putting up 2 or 3 boxes at a time, 5 metres from the ground if possible, facing in different directions to give the bats a variety of temperature conditions to choose from.

As sycamores have a high biomass of invertebrate life (particularly aphids, late into the season when other forms of insect prey are diminishing), they should be a popular hangout for your local birds.

Happy home-building!

I just had the same thought!! Would be ideal to because they probably use the avenue of trees themselves for whizzing up and down

[nightshade]

Forget the birds, Monkey Orchid and Gill have it, It is probably alive with bats!
I think you should learn what you have for the first couple of years, it saves money and can save accidently driving off wildlife (like the bloke who put up bat boxes with a hammer action drill and had no bats for 2 -3 years)
Sit back look where the sun goes through the first year, it will give the best view points and locations for a pond and what comes and goes during the day.
With mature trees I expect the birds are all ready sorted, banging nails in will only undo your good intentions. Patience, Grasshopper, will bring you in touch with what you seek. Confucious was a very clever chap.
Have a look on Google Earth see if any green corridors tie in you house and garden with water woods etc. and S.E. for boxes.