Britain needs more nestboxes

11/02/2019

As part of National Nest Box Week 2019, which kicks off on Thursday 14 February, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is calling for homeowners to put up more nestboxes for declining garden birds.

The simple act of putting up a nestbox can make a real difference for our birds, providing them with the space they need to raise a family. A growing proportion of the global human population now lives in towns and cities, with the United Nations predicting that two-thirds of humans will live within such urbanised landscapes by 2050. Urbanisation is considered to be one of the greatest threats facing bird populations, resulting in the loss of natural habitats and the feeding and nesting opportunities associated with them. 

Newly urbanised landscapes often lack the mature trees that provide nesting cavities for small birds, such as Blue Titand Great Tit, while other cavity-nesting species – such as Common Starling, Common Swift and House Sparrow – have seen changes in building regulations reducing nesting opportunities that once existed under the roof tiles of our houses. The loss of such sites may have played an important role in the significant declines seen in the breeding populations of these species since the early 1990s (Starling by 74 per cent, House Sparrow by 35 per cent and Common Swift by 51 per cent).

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It’s not too late to Give Nature a Home! -via Morwenna Griffiths

Media Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

It’s not too late to Give Nature a Home!

RSPB encourages people to put up nestboxes

Morwenna Griffiths, from the RSPB said, "March sweeps in with a welcome promise of spring and the first early morning flutters of the dawn chorus tuning up are heard.  Song thrushes harmonise with blackbirds and robins, as they begin to mark their individual territories and endeavour to serenade a mate in time for the breeding season.

"Birds behave skittishly over the next few weeks – blackbirds fight it out for a nesting patch and dopey doves might be seen hanging upside down in trees.  It’s all down to hormones; an increase in prolactein starts to trigger changes in birds at this time of year.  Milder weather, more invertebrates etc to eat and longer daylight hours all signal to birds that it’s time to start buddying up with those proverbial bees.

"Nestboxes are excellent substitutes for natural nesting holes, which may be scarce in gardens.  Encourage a bird to nest in your patch of green by putting up a nestbox - make your own or purchase a pre-made box from a range of reputable outlets including the RSPB and other wildlife charities.  RSPB nextboxes are made from FSC timber and have several important features such as: drainage holes to prevent water-logging and a perch-free entrance with a deep chamber - to keep predators out.

"Blue and great tits, house sparrows, starlings, robins, wrens and house martins are most likely to take up your ‘LET’, but the species of bird you attract depends on the, the box’s shape, where you position it and the size of the hole:

"Of course some garden birds don’t nest in cavities, finches and thrushes hide their open cup nests in vegetation.  So another great way to open your home to wildlife is by planting a range of native trees, shrubs and climbers – they make great nesting and feeding habitats."

The RSPB is also keen to remind people that sparrows and starlings are in serious decline. Putting a nestbox high in the eaves will help local populations (entrance hole 32 mm for sparrows, 45 mm for starlings and larger box).

For more information visit: http://homes.rspb.org.uk/

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For further information and to arrange an interview, please contact:

Tony Whitehead, RSPB Press Officer, 01392 453754, 07872 414365

Photographs:

Images to support this story are available from RSPB Images.

To access an image, please click on the hyperlink below and then enter the user name and password when prompted.

https://www.rspb-images.com/respages/storysetsignon.aspx?key=c15a9b48-129b-42c9-a5e9-2ec6ab603886

User Name: Nestbsw

Password: Nestbsw1

NOTES FOR EDITORS -

Nestbox hole-sizes and box positions preferred by different species:  (You may wish to include this as a fact box)

·         25mm blue and coal tits -

·         28mm great tits, tree sparrows, pied flycatchers –

Fixed 2-4m up a tree or wall, faced between north and east. The aspect must avoid hot midday sun and wet winds. make sure the bird has a clear flight path to the nest.

·         32mm house sparrows and nuthatches

·         45mm starlings

Prefer boxes sited high up under the eaves. Sparrows nest in loose colonies, so place 2-3 of these boxes a meter apart.

·         Open-fronted box, robins and wrens

This needs to be low down, below 2m and hidden out of sight.

Sent by:

Morwenna Griffiths Reserves & Premises Co-ordinator RSPB South West Regional Office, Keble House, Southernhay Gardens, Exeter, Devon. EX1 1NT Tel 01392 453767 rspb.org.uk

The RSPB is the country�s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home. Together with our partners, we protect threatened birds and wildlife so our towns, coast and countryside will teem with life once again. We play a leading role in BirdLife International, a worldwide partnership of nature conservation organisations. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654