Nest Boxes .....

Kess73

These will be in Aldi next week.

http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/special_buys3_15817.htm


I got to have a look at the feeding station and the build quality is pretty decent and the cable/camera etc are pretty good as well.


The picture quality is quite good, especially for the price, as is the sound quality.

sables2

Sure where would i be with out ye Ditch? Your the man . As you can tell by now - i'm NOT your regular DIY man now! Saying that: i was hard at work all afternoon..yes, all afternoon working on my BT nest box. You know what....i'm thrilled with my 'revelation':). Seriously i am. I owe you an apology - my sheet i got was in fact 4' X 4' Marine ply sheet from Chadwicks. I have it in bits and pieces at this stage. As we say: "it's all over the shop":eek:. But, i have my BT box now and ready for hanging. The base i have is: 3"X 5"....(not exactly our 'proper' measurements, but hey...will they sack me?) The hole entrance is 25mm diameter....? Looks really OK and bloody tough!! Will i have to put 'filling' in it...IE: straw, twigs, etc for nest bedding...or will they do the job for me? How about i put it out now...or wait till next November/December. In other words - is it too darn late now? Position wise....SE facing? How about i put it on a leyandaii tree above my shed....say 4/5 meters high? What I'm getting at is: do i have to be 'regimental' to the point of perfection... Cheers buddy;).

Ditch

Sables; Ye box is a bloody disaster! But, only to purists, like me, who strive to keep up with the cutting edge of nest box stuff

I'm sure some lucky pair of Blue Tits will gladly accept ye offering and reward ye with a successful brood.

The important thing is that ye've asked the questions that have given me the opening to mention the 'Best Practice' bit. Now, thanks to you, anyone reading this far knows that they only need to go to Chadwicks and buy a 4' x 4' sheet of marine. That'll make them a stack of good boxes

Will ye have to put filling in it? No. Most box using birds are perfectly fine with just the right space. I, for one, will always mention when it's generally considered better to add anything. (See, eg. GSW)

When to put a box up? Moment it's made. Period. Book says, " Nest boxes should be put up " such and such? Ignore it. Tell them I said so. That I said they're talking out their bums.

Do natural holes, in trees, suddenly happen in January? April? August? December? Do birds go round checking the age of holes? No.

They get the urge to nest and they start prospecting. That can be any time between now and god knows. And, with blue tits? Everyone who's put up nest boxes will tell ye of the time they put one up and had blue tits in it that same day!

North, through East to South East is the industry standard facing position. Saying that, I knew a kestrels nest in a west facing hole in a wall that threw successful broods for decades!

Leylandai isn't a tree I've ever experienced. Strikes me though that I'd probably lop a branch off, to give better 'access' to the box. Birds tend to like a clear flight path. So I'd open a window for them. See?

Height? For blue tits? Probably the least 'regimental' nesters out there! I've seen them nest, quite happily, year after year, at five foot. And that was in a box not much bigger than this mug I'm drinking my tea from. And it was so old and rotten a stiff wind could've exploded it!

Four, five yards up? That's exactly what I'd recommend myself

Ditch

whyulittle wrote: »

I put together one each of these on the BTO site this afternoon.

Adequete, but improvement needed I think! A worthwhile endeavour though, as I can see how to put them together better.

I presume birds don't notice the absence of right angles!

Whyulittle; There's two things that would make me Not steer anyone towards that page ~ despite me being deeply in love with the BTO .....

One; Ye see the need for a router? How's the average person with just a hand saw and hammer at their disposal going to cut that channel for the lid to back into?

Two; Look at the size / width of the plank they're recommending. 150mm again. 'Bedsit' box!

Soon as I get round to it, I'll post a cutting plan, almost identical to the tit box one. Only this is for a front opening box which can be made, literally, with just a saw and hammer.

Robin box? To be perfectly honest; I've never used one. Because I never had robins around! :rolleyes: Now I do have them. But they tend to nest where they will.

Think I'd better try putting out some robin boxes this year though, so they might nest where I can easier find them, to record for the BTONRS.

Ditch

Kess73 wrote: »

These will be in Aldi next week.

That looks a bit of fun, Kess Someone started a thread asking about these 'Cam Boxes'. Wasn't you, was it?

Anyway, yeppers, I think I can see screws, in that picture? Nice, if so. Shows a bit of quality. Not like these bloody staples we see so much of today.

I don't know what size the box is. But, I can guess; Bedsit? :rolleyes: I'd like it deeper too. That hole's too low, for my liking.

As for the feeder option? I'd hang a feeder. Wouldn't use the tray as it appears to have no drainage. Sure fire recipe for mess and disease.

Ye figuring on getting one? If so, please keep us up to date on how ye find it

sables2

How are ya Ditch. Ha,ha. You say it as it is buddy! On a more serious note: the BT box is OK i think. I'm definitely going to put it up now...no mincing about . One thing i didn't do - i didn't have a 'door' for it. It's all nailed. (NO protruding ones though). I'll leave out the filling then, leave 'em to do there own thing. I think i'll stick it/hang it on a very large grisilina hedgerow...it's very sturdy to hold a BT box i'm sure. think it's ok to have an opening/gap in hedge so i can view it with my binoculars/scope?

Thanks again Ditch.;)

whyulittle

Ditch wrote: »

One; Ye see the need for a router? How's the average person with just a hand saw and hammer at their disposal going to cut that channel for the lid to back into?

Two; Look at the size / width of the plank they're recommending. 150mm again. 'Bedsit' box!

Pffrt, router. Hammer, chisel and ten year old woodwork skills. :P

But yeah, they did conveniently skip over that part in their instructions.

Mine ended up with a floorspace of 6" X 5". My material was inch thick rather than 3/4", so couldn't stick exactly to their plan.

Would welcome some other designs though.

Ditch

whyulittle wrote: »

Mine ended up with a floorspace of 6" X 5". My material was inch thick rather than 3/4", so couldn't stick exactly to their plan.

Would welcome some other designs though.

I envy ye those wood working skills! I'm just a kack handed wood butcher!

6 x 5's fine, mate. I hammer this point about the 6 x 6" because that's perfection. But, how many blue tits do ye think go scouring the countryside with a Stanley Tape clipped to their little belts, rejecting any natural hole that isn't exactly 6 x 6"?

Let's face it; They'd be extinct! As it is, they're in big numbers. That's why they can't afford to be fussy. That's why they'll accept bedsits. That's why I implore people to provide them with more morally acceptable housing

Regards other plans? That does it. I'd bet get a sheet of paper out and start work. I'll show ye the Front Opener. I favour this one because it does away with all the cuts, hinges or vile strips of old inner tube.

ppink

Ditch great thread!
one question I have is would they live next door to each other........i.e. if i put up a couple of boxes right next to each other would they be happy using them both or do they like space(BT's I am talkign about). Also is there anything I can do for finches as I have probably 40+ of them visiting right now. do they all go for the same thing?

I also saw someguy in discovery doing these:
http://www.gardenstew.com/blog/e308-27-extreme-birdhouses--the-wellington-hotel-.html
and I was really wondering by the end of the show who would live in all those appartments

trebor28

made one up a little while ago, kind went by the link that whyulittle posted up but ended up with an inside measurement of 6' x 5'.

the 1' inch hole looks way to small but then i suppose bt's are quite small.

will try and post up a pic tomorrow. made an interesting hinge structure for it.
gona try and protect it from the elements with some old lino.

Judgement Day

ppink - most birds like their own space and putting nestboxes side by side is not a good idea. Apart from drawing attention to them from predators the end result will probably be nothing in any box placed alongside another.

Meant to say that finches generally build their nests in trees and bushes and will not be interested in nestboxes.

Ditch

Ppink; Blue tits aren't exactly known for their gregarious attitudes, at any time of the year or under any circumstances.

To be honest with ye? The idea of 'clustering' nest boxes is neck and neck with such complete and total misconceptions as having a nest box any where near feeders. Offering plastic ('Sweat') boxes, etc. Or going to the effort of making a box; Only to offer the bird the opportunity to live in what amounts to an under stairs cupboard.

In short? No. If ye want to look after blue tits? Focus on what blue tits want. They want that room. They also want their space. I don't have any 'by the foot' information to hand. But, as ye asking me? I just go my 'nose'. When I lived in a 'nice' house, early suburban sort of thing? I'd put up one BTB in the back garden. One box is enough for pretty much any 'garden', in the usually accepted sense of the term.

Now? Now I'm gone crazy. I now live in an old family farm cottage with, I'd guess, about half an acre or so of 'garden'.I have about 1/3 of Sitka Spruce stand. 1/3 of 'open ground. 'Lived on', with a tree sheltered ditch running beside it'. 1/3 of paddock, backed by a bigger stand of Sitka, on one side. Tree 'hedges' on the others. Like the sitka's, pretty much left to it. Out buildings in amongst.

Been here five years. Watched the birds like a hawk. Now I'm ready to box up I reckon this patch can handle three BTB's. Couple of Great Tit Boxes. At least one Coal Tit box ~ God; How I'd love to get those in one!

And that's aside from the robins and spotted fly's. Not to mention the tree creeper. The pied wag's? Don't even start me off on those! See? All these birds can be 'boxed', in a comparatively small area. Just use ye loaf and don't try to get any of them living so they have to eyeball eachother from their boxes. Certainly not the same species anyway.


Finches? All native finches are what we call " Open Nesters ". That's to say they make nests in bushes and trees. No interest in getting into holes and hiding. About the only thing we can do for them is to leave them somewhere (natural) to nest. Hedgerows and tree lines. Most importantly; Peace.

One may also choose to 'Control' potential predators of such birds, in ones own patch. These would mainly be gray crows, magpies and cats. I'm a professional 'Pest Controller'. I specialise in fur and feather. Anyone care (or Dare!) to start off on That subject?


The guy in ye link? Nothing to do with our subject. Fair play to the guy; He seems to create some ... err ... well; 'Creations', doesn't he? Puts me in mind of 'Lord Leitrim of Lough Rynn'. Only, at least the places he had put up could be lived in.

No self respecting birds would adopt those monstrosities *Cough!* " Creations " .....

ppink

Thats cool guys thanks, I am new to the bird thing and did not know that about finches.
still got loads of blue/coal/longtail tits here too so I will get a few boxes done and set them up apart from each other.

Ditch yes they are "creations" in that link:D. i could hardly believe my eyes when it was on tv and they never answered the most basic query which was who would live in there!

Ditch

Trebor; As, I'm sure, I've already pointed out on this thread ~ I'm trying to explain perfection, as close as we can get it. If ye only have planks an inch either side? Fine. Better a bedsit or even a home with 'spare room' than no room at the inn.

One inch / 25mm hole is perfect for the blue tit. 28mm for the larger great tit. Keeps them apart, see? GT can't get into a BT's box. BT gets into a GT's box? He's liable to get the sh!t beat out of him! (Alright; Saying that? I have a whack off big natural hole in my cow shed. Blue, Great? Just a matter of who gets there first in any given year. But .....)

Pic's are great! Please do. I'm interested to see how ye using this lino. Though, I would point out that it'll barely get through a single years usage as any sort of hinge.

I'm Really, Seriously being rushed off my feet tonight. Various fora and text messages. Running like a lunatic, just to stay still. But, I Will produce that cutting plan for the front opener. May even knock one up and show a photographic guide? Though, in all honesty? I think that would be an insult to anyone's intelligence.

Christ; If ye can saw a straight enough line? Ye can make one of these boxes!

Ditch

ppink wrote: »

still got loads of blue/coal/longtail tits here too so I will get a few boxes done and set them up apart from each other.

Interesting! Blue's we've about done to death. Long's don't use boxes ~ look about eye level in cover that doesn't go a lot higher. Hard to describe it but; They like a 'stand' of bush, rather than a 'thinner' hedge. Nest like a smallish easter egg. No bigger than ye fist, if that big. Mossy looking thing.

Coal tits are my thing of the moment. I'm into these! NO Prior experience. I've simply never lived near them before. I've asked the experts though and the response was wide and varied.

Seems one can use a box with a hole in the side. Or even on the top(?!) Positioned anywhere from ground level to a few foot up a tree.

Pink; Bear with me. I raised this on the NRS's private / members only forum. I'll go in there and dig out what they told me. Wouldn't it be interesting if we both made identical boxes, this year, and placed them in similar situations ~ them compared notes on what happens?

Feargal as Luimneach

Hi Ditch,
I live in a bungalow. I have two House Martin boxes up on the North side of the house. They are 3 metres above ground. I have a plank of wood attached above the nest boxes. I have them up 2 years, but unfortunately have never had residents. There are Martins about during the summer however. Any tips???

Ditch

House Martins? One critical factor we must get out of the way to start with: Is ye property painted white?

Feargal as Luimneach

Ditch wrote: »

House Martins? One critical factor we must get out of the way to start with: Is ye property painted white?

The house is white and the shelf over the nest boxes is white. The House Martin boxes are made out of concrete. Should I paint them white? If so, Why?

Ditch

So, it's not going to be as simple as advising ye to repaint ye entire property white then? :P

Tricky one, mate. I'm well enough familiar with what ye'd call a bungalow. Height, up in the apex of the eves, would be fine. I've known them nest at twice that height and even lower.

It's not the colour of the wall ~ they completely prefer white walls. God alone knows why, but it's almost a strict prerequisite with them.

This board above the 'boxes' niggles me. Why did ye do that? I'm trying to visualise exactly what positions ye have these nests in. And why ye felt the need to put a board over them.

That snags. I could be part of the problem. Equally, they might just not have felt the need to come to you yet.

Have ye monitored them over the years? (Ye obviously, seriously know ye stuff. See that from ye other posts. I'd have you down as someone who'd have ye finger on the pulse) Have they built up? Have they taken over new sites?

If they're taking new sites and still ignoring ye ready made nests? Then I'd venture that it has to be something in that positioning.

Oh, and North is perfectly fine too. Only bird that ever nested in town was on a north facing wall.

Let's talk about that top board and the exact positions of these nests.

Feargal as Luimneach

Ditch wrote: »

So, it's not going to be as simple as advising ye to repaint ye entire property white then? :P

Tricky one, mate. I'm well enough familiar with what ye'd call a bungalow. Height, up in the apex of the eves, would be fine. I've known them nest at twice that height and even lower.

It's not the colour of the wall ~ they completely prefer white walls. God alone knows why, but it's almost a strict prerequisite with them.

This board above the 'boxes' niggles me. Why did ye do that? I'm trying to visualise exactly what positions ye have these nests in. And why ye felt the need to put a board over them.

That snags. I could be part of the problem. Equally, they might just not have felt the need to come to you yet.

Have ye monitored them over the years? (Ye obviously, seriously know ye stuff. See that from ye other posts. I'd have you down as someone who'd have ye finger on the pulse) Have they built up? Have they taken over new sites?

If they're taking new sites and still ignoring ye ready made nests? Then I'd venture that it has to be something in that positioning.

Oh, and North is perfectly fine too. Only bird that ever nested in town was on a north facing wall.

Let's talk about that top board and the exact positions of these nests.

Here's a photo:

I put the board up to stop birds like crows landing on nest and peeking into the nest. Should I remove the shelf?

Ditch

Oh, I see! Exactly like the side / end of my own place here. I think I was so focused on that nest in town that I was blinded to the fact that that place has the sort of eves where the roof sticks out a bit.

I'm sure ye know the sort of thing I mean. Birds shove their nests up hard under the over hang and bingo; They have their roof.

Nope. Can't honestly see a damn thing wrong with ye set up. So, the only real thing we have left to go on is; Are ye situated amidst a sellers market?

If that colony's expanding at all? Ye should have every chance of some coming to you. If they're static, or declining? Be a bit like me putting a Barn Owl box in my cow shed. Might look the business. But as I have no Barn Owls around me .....

Feargal as Luimneach

Numbers stable, hopefully they might take to it.... Thanks for the advice:)

Ditch

Here ye go. I've caved in as I'm simply too busy. I've nicked the diagram from the BTO book " Nestboxes " by Chris du Feu.

I'll just point out ~ for the umpteenth time :rolleyes: ~ that they suggest a six inch plank here. I consider that 'minimal' to the point of being cramped.

When ye go down to the builders yard or saw mill then, to pick up a rough sawn plank. When ye open ye mouth to say, " A six inch, rough finish, plank, please. " Just force yeself to slip in the word " Seven " or " Eight " where ye trying to say " Six ".

Then ye can pretty much follow this Cutting Plan:

See? Great box. About the simplest form of construction there is. Don't need to be a Cabinet Maker or Einstein to put that together, do ye?

sables2

That's a great little plan you got Ditch, look forward to giving it a go . Sure as they say: Practice makes perfect. Marine ply is the Mercedes of cuts then...

Ditch

Yes, mate. Marine Ply's the Dogs. That stuff deserves the very best treatment. Drilled holes. Brass screws. Why the hell not use brass cup washers too? Only cents.

Adjust that cutting plan to ye sheets and ye can still make several bigger boxes per sheet. No problemmo.

Marine's especially suited to that particular design too. Because ye won't get the warping and twisting that occurs with soft wood planks. Lids / doors can be the worst part of a box. They contort into all sorts of shapes and ye end up with sticks or gaps.

trebor28

here is my blue tit house, hopefully!




i took that before i put the little lino roof on it. it just goes from the front of the lid to the bit at the back up against the tree.
its facing roughly south east.
i brought it out to where i was going to sight it, but hadnt enough wire, went back in to get more and on the way out i could see a blue tit on the roof pecking at it to test out my workmanship.:D

that area will all be overgrown come spring/summer time so should be ok.

Ditch

Trebor; That's great, mate. And, like ye say; Blue Tit's already prospecting it! Ye'll have them in there this year, I reckon. Then it'll become a pretty well permanent thing

One word of advice? Take that 'perch' off. Extremely common but Big mistake, putting perches on nest boxes. Birds don't need them (OK, kestrels do. But, lets not split hares here )

No, providing any sort of perch is really just providing a foot hold for a predator who's trying to reach inside there.

trebor28

will do.

how the hell do they manage to get in there while flying??

Ditch

trebor28 wrote: »

how the hell do they manage to get in there while flying??

Aha! See? Now, this is exactly what people don't understand. Right? That's why they well intentionedly imagine the bird must need a landing perch

Ye sat in a chair, right? OK. Hold ye arms straight out in front of ye (move the chair to give yeself room for this). That's ye wings, at the furthest point of their downward beat. Right?

Now bring ye legs up. Bend ye knees and then straighten ye legs. Or simply lift ye legs to horizontal.

See? That's how birds do it. They simply reach out with their little, grippy feet and grab hold of the bottom lip of the hole. Then they close their wings and pop in.

They do it all so fast, even if we're stood there watching, it's hard to spot those little legs kicking out there. But that's what they do

Know all sorts of weird stuff, don't I?

trebor28

like this chaffy!

Ditch

Ohhh, bless! Look at his little legs!

Yeppers. That's the sort of thing exactly. Only, they sort of lean back further when approaching a nest box hole. Bit more like they're sort of sitting on their bums, in mid air.

sables2

Cheers Ditch. Marine ply seems to be too good for my BT's....no 'lookers' yet. It is only up about 12 hours thought . Trebor's BT box looks well good. Your right on the mark with the perch - i read on the net...(and from you)..it's a complete, NO NO! Too many predators, etc. Amazing the way these little birds can fly right in, at such a speed and NOT crash....:rolleyes: So would it be criminal to put another one about 30/40ft away from my current BT box?

trebor28

to double up on what sables asked, how close is too close for another one??

would it be alright to put up one for some other bird??

artieanna

Great thread Ditch I just read all six pages...plan on putting up a few "Luxury" boxes over the next couple of days.

Ditch

Distance between boxes? There's two answer to this one, guys. One is the stiffly scientific one. The other ~ and the one I favour ~ is, " How long is a bit of string? "

See, research has been done into the spacial density of the genus paras, blah, blah, my eyes are glazing ..... I think it comes down to something like five hundred yard territories for blue tits. That's in woods. Seems pretty immense to me. But, that's my understanding of the dry, academic papers.

Dunno. Ordinary people have reported them nesting in boxes pretty much side by side! Bang goes another Phd earning piece of research! :rolleyes:

But, let's forget all that. Let's just have fun! You just put up what ever boxes ye feel like. Where ever. I don't know if ye live in a terraced house in central Dublin or on an isolated farmstead in Mayo. How can I lay down hard and fast rules for ye in ye unknown situations?

Much, much more important than, 'How many Blue Tit boxes can I saturate an area with?' is the question; 'How many Different boxes can I put up, to provide for the greatest range of species?'

Now, There's a question we can seriously get our teeth into! I've done Blue Tit, Starling, Great Spotted Woodpecker. Next I'm figuring to cover the other side of the Blue Tit coin; The Great Tit!

Great tits are buggers for the boxes too. Only, in an ideal world, they have slightly different preferences to the Blue. I'd certainly put up one of each, even in the pokiest back yard. And I wouldn't stop there either

Ditch

Artieanna; Thanks But, more than that; If all this has inspired ye to get some boxes up? That really does come close to nirvana!

mgwhelan

i put up a dipper box in the autumn, checked it at the weekend and they've starting to build a nest already, is it common for dippers to build this early

https://us.v-cdn.net/6034073/uploads/attachments/332345/145857.jpg

Ditch

MG; Now that I've got up off the floor ....! WOW!!! Dippers? That's So Sexy!

Frankly, I've absolutely no experience of these fantastic birds. Simply because I've never lived anywhere near where they could be found.

However, I've just posed ye question on the Nest Recorders forum. It's been published a few minutes ago. Maybe, tomorrow ~ when I receive the next digest ~ someone with experience of Dippers will have voiced an opinion

And now I'd like to ask a favour; Could ye please explain to us the dimensions of that box and how it's put together?

Only, I recognise it as a home made version of the Dipper / Gray Wagtail box Schwegler produce. I've always wanted to get my hands on one of those, to learn the dimensions and details.

I now have Gray wag's in reach of me. And I have possibly several bridges in mind. Strangely; I thought I had the diagram for that box. But, I've just gone through my library and can't find it

I'd be most obliged .....

Ditch

I like Great Tits. There's just something about them.

The sort of boxes for them are actually remarkably different from ye bog standard blue tit box. Great tits like their depth. I like giving them some depth too.

Because they need a bigger hole ~ 28mm. And the bigger the entrance hole, the greater the risk of something else getting a furry arm in there. So, good depth keeps the bird down, out of reach.

Two sorts of box then; The one we've already covered under Blue Tit. Only with different dimensions. Or an entirely different sort of concept altogether ~ and one I like, if only because it makes such a pleasant change ~ the 'Long' box style. I call it the " Shoe Box ". Ye'll see why .....

'Standard' (Blue Tit type) box then, for great tits, I'd want certainly that magical six inch square inside base. Then it wants to be deep. A foot would be the minimum I'd consider.

Some authorities have even stated twenty inches! Blimey! Ironically though; Would ye believe that was suggested as a way of stopping ~ wait for it! ~ " Nuisance " Tree Sparrows from moving in! :eek: Those were the days, eh?! 'Lovely great tits. Don't want those marauding flocks of Tree Sparrows in our boxes!'

No. Good foot or so deep would suit me, and ye average great tit too. Bit more's fine. But twenty inches? Waste of good timber.

And that, really, just about covers the standard type great tit box. Now how about this Shoe Box idea?

Quite simply, think of a shoe box and we're pretty much there Only, this one we make out of wood. But, it's the same shape as a shoe box. And the hole(s) are made at the end of the box. Not in the longer side.

Again, I'd aim for a minimum six inch internal width. About the same height. Length? Foot, minimum again. Fifteen inches wouldn't be over kill.

Some people suggest ye put a baffle towards the back. Little, low fence that the bird'll nest behind. Up to you, in my opinion. Its not being there won't stop the bird nesting back and it'll make cleaning the box out easier.

Perhaps a compromise suggestion might be a baffle in a foot one. No need in fifteen inches?

Hole(s), as said, need to be 28mm for great tits. And, as this box closer replicates the sorts of places they nest in my cow shed; Under the roof and behind wall plates. Long, deep tunnel sorts of places (Places which I can't get at, incidentally! Hence I'm going to block them and put up boxes instead, so I can record the nests) Light travels differently in them.

So, it's considered a good idea to put a couple of holes, side by side. That way, more light can get in. This, supposedly, encourages the birds to nest further back too. The whole idea of this getting them well back is to stop furry arms from reaching them again. See?

One little tip about this design; Use a wider plank for the top. It wants to cover the top edges of both side walls. Yeah? And run a good bead of mastic along the tops of those side walls, and the back, before ye fasten the top. Makes a nice, water proof seal, see? Handy with flat topped boxes

Ooh, before I forget; Great tits seem to like that bit more height, if ye can manage it? I mean; Blue tit'll just about nest at eye level.

But great's do like a bit of height. They like exposure too. Somewhere they can look out from and see lots. And they like a clear air space to come home through.

In a word; They do better on the wall of a building than buried away in the middle of a leafy tree. Trunk of an ash tree, in a fence / hedge line's fine though. Long as it's beneath the branches. but still about ten foot up

Edit
This tree is the sort I'd put a Great Tit box on. See how it's nice and clear all around it? Tree itself isn't encumbered with a load of branches either.

ISP_dude

Just read though this thread yesterday. Thanks Ditch for all the good advice. Keep it coming Made my own 6"X6" blue tit box today and put it up in the garden. We have blue tits and coal tits in the area so hopefully we get some residents for the box.

Ditch

ISP; By " 6" x 6" " I take it ye mean the internal floor space? Only, the box really wants to be a bit taller ~ 9" to a foot ~ than a six inch cube.

I do trust I've made that clear in what I've put down so far? Else I'll have to go back and edit some stuff, obviously.

Is it that Cutting Plan causing confusion? I realise I've left the original (small) measurements. Hard for me, because I work in inches. I know hole size mm's by rote. But, that Plan? I need to Google what " 200mm " means in inches.

Never mind. Blue tits have nested in bean tins before now. A six inch square cube would be luxury, by comparison. As I'm at pains to try and point out here; I simply have this beef about providing the biggest box ~ within reason ~ possible.

Better a bedsit than a shop door way, eh?

trebor28

Ditch,
a foot is roughly 30cm.
so from that 6inches is 15cm
4 inches 10cm
and so on...


thats what i go on.

ISP_dude

No I got that I made it 6"X6" floorspace. Height 10" at the front.

Ditch

Ten inch front? Perfection! Reezult!!!

mgwhelan

well ditch here's a link to the website that i got the idea for the dipper box



[EMAIL="http://www.schwegler-natur.de/index.php?main=produkte&sub=vogelschutz&psub=nisthilfen-speziell&pcontent=wasseramel-bachstelzenkasten-nr19&lang=en

Ditch

Aah; Schwegler! 'Entertainment' for nest box freaks! I've spent many a long period of quality, private, time drooling over that site.

" Internal dimensions: 18 x 18 cm Total length: 37 cm "

OK. And, based ~ presumably? ~ on that information, ye've made ye own and it's worked a treat for Dipper?

May I ask what height that internal baffle is, please? Have ye built in any access hatch?

mgwhelan

I didn't put in one, the entrance looked too small for the bird to get in so just left it out, the dippers don't seem to mind

Ditch

:eek: Blimey! Yet, I've just checked out 18 cm on my tape ..... shade over 7" ! As I say, I'm not at all familiar with Dippers. Only ever saw one once. Special birding trip to Wales. Almost worth it just for the Dipper!

I'm focusing on Gray Wag's though. I reckon, from my experience of their nests else where, a half height baffle should be about right for them. They don't need it either. They just build a deep enough nest. Just belt and braces

I'll let ye know as and when we get a response to ye question about this nesting schedule

Ditch

Bingo! Did I say Wales ....?

This, hot from my e mail, from Mark ~ a fellow BTO NRS member:

" Had a lot of experience with Dipper in Wales, Finding complete nests without lining throughout February would expect to start finding them on eggs early March. When lining goes in, eggs follow shortly.

all the best, Mark. "

mgwhelan

thanks for that ditch, i'm going to see if i can a picture of the dipper going into the box