Nest Boxes and planting,a membership survey

[nightshade]

Do any or all our members and visitors have nest boxes or are going to put them up (it will have to be soon for this year) bat boxes as well.
Have any of our members or visitors planted native species or altered their gardens to improve the lot of our wildlife in the last 12 months;ponds,pools, birdbaths, seeds or plants or intend to?

[StuartDH]

I've got a box sitting in the corner of the kitchen that's been there for about 6 months , but this weekend I'll 'definitely' get/make another 1 or 2 and put them up so I can add cameras later on.

[nightshade]

It occurs to me that I should get over 800 replys to this thread!! and as people interested in wildlife they should all be positive replys!!

[Tinkerbell]

At least one Blue Tit has been roosting in our nesting boxes over winter, and the other 3 sites in the garden also have interest shown in them this year, for nesting purposes. With over 3,000 'hits' on the Blue Tits nesting thread last year it was obviously a popular subject, so this year we'll keep an eye on developments again and report any significant activity.

Unfortunately, the box we built and put up for blackbirds last year is still unused.

[henrya]

I have several bird boxes. One bat box (waiting to be put up). Last year I put out three bird baths, and planted some Hops (partly because I wanted some Hops in the garden, and partly in the hope of attracting the Buttoned Snout (a moth that feeds on Hop). I also planted some Sedum for the late butterflies to feed on. Due to the continuing drought, my pond is dry.

henrya

[Jo Pedder]

i've one bird box that I put up last year. I fixed on a makeshift bird table to it and proptly a family of Wood Mice moved in! still feeding the mice which got quite tame last year but get very few bird visitors.

[wildone]

If you site a bird box near to where you put bird food the box will rarely be used. Too many others knowing where the nest is, and don't forget some song birds will predate other birds. If you want to see both the feeders and the bird box then line them up in your vision but not together.

[nightshade]

This is sad 800 members and only 6 replies,apathy or is everyone on holiday?

[HelenF]

We don't put nestboxes up but do hang woold and dog hair in the tree for the birds to use for nesting. We also have house martins nesting on the front of the house - we had 3 last year, and starlings nesting in the roof.

This thread has got me thinking and will see if we have a suitable place for a nestbox.

Helen

[pheonix]

i did have plans to put up nest boxes at my parents house (and hopefully still will) but i dont have a garden where i am now. i was hoping to follow the advice of planting trees, shrubs and plants in tubs for the birds etc and even feed them, but our back 'yard' is very open and there are unfortunatly alot of kids/vandals about (i awoke this morning to find a bike at the back door - probably stolen) and a high number of cats so this has put me off...

[John]

Originally Posted by nightshade

Do any or all our members and visitors have nest boxes or are going to put them up (it will have to be soon for this year) bat boxes as well.
Have any of our members or visitors planted native species or altered their gardens to improve the lot of our wildlife in the last 12 months;ponds,pools, birdbaths, seeds or plants or intend to?

You name it, we've done it. I have built a 10' x 6' Pool plus a stream and waterfall. I have three bird baths also, 4 feeding stations (allthough some kids stole my feeders from the front garden). We have a wild garden (including teasels), compost heap, decaying logs, Buddleia and plenty of bushy areas for anything to hide in. Not bad considering we only moved to here at the end of Nov 2004. The garden hadn't been touched for years prior to that due to ill health by the previous tenants so it was basically a blank canvas for us.

When we moved from Leamington we had to fill in our other pond (part of the tenancy agreement). In doing so we caught 33 Toads / Frogs and transported them to Coventry. I'm glad to say we still have quite a few of them left.

We are now reaping the rewards of our labours as we are having huge numbers of birds visit our garden plus over the weekend we had two new garden birds visit us. Two Siskin (which have now increased to 4) and shock upon shocks a Treecreeper climbing up the Silver Birch at the bottom of our garden. I was shocked as we live about a mile inside the Coventry boundary and it's about a mile to the nearest wood.

I wonder what else will visit us this year that's new to the garden.

John

[jennyb]

We've got a two storey nest box (with 2 separate holes) and each year only one gets used. However, this year the blue tits have been having a good look around both of them - so fingers crossed. I also have another which is waiting to be hung - yes I know it's probably too late for this year.

When there are babies in the nest, we get a woodpecker which comes to try to eat them. It has chipped away a lot of wood around the holes. I will have to try to get a metal ring to line the holes.

Since joining WAB I have ordered some different types of bird feeders and food to see if I can attract some different birds.

We have various semi-wild areas in our garden and I have already identified 46 different types of wild flowers! This year we are planning to leave a 6 foot strip of unmowed grass down the side next to the woods to see if that helps.

Jenny

[nightshade]

Phoenix,you will never know unless you try,TIC Berbris is a real intruder proof
plant !

[Helen]

Hi Nightshade

I have a tawny owl nest box erected, but I have the feeling, judging by the large numbers of them, they have plenty of natural nesting sites around here. Which is good, of course! Still, I keep my fingers crossed.

[Fourwings]

We have upwards of 30 nest boxes, 6 bat boxes in our 4 acre garden and meadow.
One acre of this meadow was planted as woodland in 1990, this has now matured fantastically.
Within the meadow there is also Rough grassland, cut meadow grass, shrubberys, 3 ponds, extensive nettle & bramble patches and several mature Ash trees.
The one thing that I want to do this year is to plant a large patch of dwarf Sunflowers, we grew a few last year and the birds & insects really enjoyed them.

[wildone]

Originally Posted by nightshade

It occurs to me that I should get over 800 replys to this thread!! and as people interested in wildlife they should all be positive replys!!

There are several of us without gardens. Hard to be positive in this way.

[John]

Originally Posted by Fourwings

We have upwards of 30 nest boxes, 6 bat boxes in our 4 acre garden and meadow.
One acre of this meadow was planted as woodland in 1990, this has now matured fantastically.
Within the meadow there is also Rough grassland, cut meadow grass, shrubberys, 3 ponds, extensive nettle & bramble patches and several mature Ash trees.
The one thing that I want to do this year is to plant a large patch of dwarf Sunflowers, we grew a few last year and the birds & insects really enjoyed them.

Jeez Fourwings. You make my smallish garden seem so insignificant now. lol

[Fourwings]

Originally Posted by John

Jeez Fourwings. You make my smallish garden seem so insignificant now. lol

To be honest, I think size is fairly irrelevant when it comes to judging a gardens value to wildlife. I've seen many huge gardens that are made virtually sterile and lots of small ones that are brilliant wildlife habitats.

As for our own garden, we were just lucky, it was already like that when we moved here.

[nightshade]

Fourwings is right you do not have to have a huge garden to make a difference somewhere to perch something to eat,water to drink and bathe
A dish (the sort you put under plant pots) about 10-14" Wide x 2-3"Deep a flat stone so they do not drown
A wire feeder or bag of nuts
A 2mtr bamboo cane to hang the feeder from,a crosspiece tied on for a perch
This was the set-up in a space just big enough to turn around in that a child had come up with
It is not how much garden but the desire to feed the birds

[henrya]

Quote
It is not how much garden but the desire to feed the birds
Endquote

And if there really is no room (or convenient place) for a bird feeder, even a potted plant will provide nectar (and possibly leaves) for butterflies and moths and a variety of other invertebrates. Even a couple of old bricks on the ground will provide shelter for creepy crawlies!

henrya

[pheonix]

well it seems fourwing is very very lucky!