Birds

So many good people have devoted a lot of time and money to feeding the birds during this very cold winter. Whether helping the birds in your garden or feeding the ducks at your local pond, everyone deserves praise for their generous efforts. Now, with spring surely just a few weeks away, can we ask you to help out again? This is the ideal time for getting your nestboxes sorted.



With older rough-walled buildings gradually disappearing from the countryside and walls, hedges and woodlands all under a bit of pressure, anything we can do in our gardens to help the local birds to build nests, sit on their eggs and raise a brood of chicks is to be welcomed. Garden centres and pet shops are obvious places to look for commercially designed birdhouses, but if you fancy making your own, drop by the Cabragh Wetland Centre one morning and I am sure someone will find you an easy design to take home.



Make sure you get boxes that are suitable for the birds in your neighbourhood – some are very specialist and may be designed to be attached high on the wall of a house. If you have space and can put up several boxes, then get a variety of types. A box with a small hole in the front will attract garden regulars like tits, sparrows and nuthatches, and if the hole is larger then bigger birds like starlings will take over. This sort of box can be placed in a hedge, attached to a tree or secured to the wall of your house or shed.



Robins, wrens and pied wagtails do not normally nest in holes, so a small, open fronted box is better for them. House martins and swifts like to nest in communities tucked up under the rafters of your roof, so two boxes near each other is desirable.



Placement is crucial. Think about predators in your area. Cats are so agile and climb so well that they are a huge threat to nests, so look for a site two to five metres high and well away from overhanging branches which might be a launch pad for your local puss. Do not put a perch under the entrance hole – it will make access easier for predators and also allow noisy house sparrows the chance to sit near the nest and upset the occupants, perhaps driving them away.



Another key issue is to face your box the right way. If you face it south or southwest, there is a danger of too much sun and wind getting into the heart of the nest, and this can dehydrate and kill the defenceless chicks. So north to east is the best direction for the opening. Another important tip is to keep nestboxes well away from the place where you feed the birds. Feeding sites will always be very busy, with noise, squabbling and a lot of species very active, all of which will discourage parents from choosing a nesting site nearby.



There are a lot of things to bear in mind, not least trying to ensure that you are rewarded for your community spirit by having a good view of nesting sites. So act now to get boxes up, and do drop in to Cabragh Wetlands Centre or contact us by e-mail (cabraghwetlands@eircom.net) if you want more advice.