Advice needed: Relocate occupied birdhouse

[Noshberry]

About 5 weeks ago I put a birdhouse in the garden and it has been occupied by blue tits. I just recently found out that the birdhouse may not be in direct sunlight. Unfortunately mine is! :-( Is it possible to relocate the occupied birdhouse?
We have a silver birch tree about 2-3 meters from the birdhouse's current position and was wondering if I could attach the birdhouse to the tree's trunk and that way it would be shaded...
Please help, I'd hate the poor little birds to suffer.

[artdemole]

Would leave now as disturbance may cause box to be abandoned.Sun should not be too strong this time of year.

[RKB]

Blue Tits wont start building a nest for another 4-6 weeks, so move it now if you like and it wont make any difference. Although they have finished breeding by June so direct sunlight is rarely a problem for them anyway.

[valleyforge]

If blue tits are already occupying the box, then presumably it suits them fine just where it is ... perhaps the warming rays of the morning sun get them off to a better start after roosting there all night?

Of course it's the heat from the sun rather than the light of the sun that's the main issue with nest box positioning ... but as RKB has already mentioned, that may not become too much of a problem for your blue tits in any case. Besides, just because they are roosting in it at the moment is no guarantee that they'll consider it a good enough place to nest.

You don't say where the box is currently mounted, but moving it from a wall for instance, to a tree trunk, might just make the occupants more vurnerable to predation later on in the year.

[Noshberry]

Thanks to everyone for your advise - it's greatly appreciated.

First off, my apologies for my ignorance on this subject... However, I would like to get it right in future and not put the birds in harms way if it can be helped.

At the moment the birdhouse is attached to a dead tree trunk in front of, but at the end of, a row of hedges - it seemed like a nice spot at the time, with a soft landing onto grass for when the chicks learn to fly (and also I am able to see it from the kitchen window). It also gets direct sunlight for most of the day.

Since all of you agree that it's not a problem to leave it as is for the time being, as the sun isn't too strong at this time of year, when should I consider moving it?
When the chicks first learn to fly, will they return to the birdhouse at night until they are older and more experienced in flying and fending for themselves?

Again, excuse my ignorance and thanks for your advise.

[solus]

Originally Posted by Noshberry

When the chicks first learn to fly, will they return to the birdhouse at night until they are older and more experienced in flying and fending for themselves?

Again, excuse my ignorance and thanks for your advise.

No, once the birds fledge they will leave the nest box and won't return. Some birds (but not necessarily those that nested there) may use the box for roosting during the colder times in winter but if you wish to move it I would suggest you do so in Autumn (September-November sort of time) as your original pair may re-use the box for a second brood in the weeks after the first lot have fledged.

[Elizabeth B]

The sun is at its hottest in June!!

This is what the BTO suggests:

Ensure your nest box is sheltered from prevailing wind, rain and strong sunlight – these factors are generally much more important than the compass direction in which the box faces.
National Nest Box Week - Nest box essentials

Nest building has already started in one of our boxes - and from our records of camera boxes since 2001 (22 nests) I can see that most start dates were between mid-February and late March.

[nightshade]

One of my boxes faces the same way but has been in use every year until this winter it fell apart (bought in Abergavenny market) Another box that I moved to a better place had the tits throwing a tantrum at the previous location so I had to replace it! Could you not just shade it somehow? I stood a plant in a pot on top of a post to shade one box, the tit loved it as it needed watering frequently.

[Noshberry]

I had a quick look yesterday to see if it was possible to shade the birdhouse somehow, but it seemed that I'd need something on the roof of our house to get shade to it. I'll have another look when it's sunny again...