Nestboxes and Nesting Sites
You can encourage more birds to live in your garden by providing places to nest. One way to do this is to put nestboxes on walls, fences or trees.
You can buy a nestbox or make your own.
- Different sorts of nestboxes are available for different sorts of birds
- Don't put out more than one or two of the same kind in an average garden.
- Put you nestbox in a quiet part of the garden where it cannot easily be disturbed.
Unusual nest sites
- Put an old jug, kettle or teapot on a shrub or tree (spout down for drainage) - robins have a reputation for using such artificial nest sites.
- Why not leave a small window open in your garden shed, or make a special entrance under the roof? Birds are great opportunists and a blackbird or robin might take the chance to raise young out of reach of cats.
- Pied wagtails will nest in all sorts of unusual places, including a pile of stones or bricks.
- Natural nesting sites Ivy is valuable in any wildlife garden. Dunnocks, chaffinches and blackbirds can nest safely hidden among the twining stems. The evergreen leaves provide shelter from the rain and cold and insect food for small mammals and birds. The berries are a valuable source of food in winter when other supplies are running out
