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Love Birds? Build a bird box during National Nest Box Week

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According to tradition, Valentines Day is when birds start pairing up before settling down to nest. So each year, this date kicks off National Nest Box Week, organised by the British Trust for Ornithology, who are encouraging us to put up nest boxes, as loss of natural habitats is threatening bird populations. Read on to find out how you can help native birds.National Nest Box Week (NNBW) is great for birds. Starting on St Valentine’s Day, it’s the time we remind ourselves to provide homes for dozens of species, from Blue Tits to Barn Owls.  If you’ve never built a nest box before, why not give it a go this year? Or if you haven’t got the time, it’s easy to buy a good one. Go on, take part for Britain’s birds!

NNBW takes place each year from 14-21 February, and is organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Britain’s leading bird research charity, whose work primarily involves studying the populations of our common and garden birds.

Making Your Own Nest Box

Small-hole box

 

Making your own nest box is easy and rewarding! There are a variety of nest box designs suitable for a range of species. Two designs that are most commonly used in gardens are:

 

  • the small-hole nest box which is commonly occupied by tit species
  • the small open fronted box which gets readily used by robins.

GET INVOLVED!

Whether you’re a family with space for a box in your garden, a teacher, a member of a local wildlife group, or you belong to a bird club and could organise a work party, National Nest Box Week gives you the chance to contribute to the conservation effort in the UK whilst giving you the pleasure of observing any breeding birds that you attract to your garden.

Follow the links for ideas on how you can take part — and remember that any time of year is a good time to put up a nest box.

Lots of information on National Nest Box Week. If you would like to have a go at making your own the designs and dimensions of other types of boxes can be found in the BTO Nest Box Guide and further information on which birds use which boxes.

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