National Nest Box Week 2024 gets underway

As the days lengthen and the breeding season approaches, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has called on members of the public to think about how they can provide a safe home for garden birds.

Each year, Valentine's Day marks the start of National Nest Box Week. Mid-February is when many birds will start to pair up and seek out territories for the breeding season ahead, so now is a great time to put up new nestboxes.

Loss of suitable habitat, changes in land use and other factors have negatively impacted many of the UK's breeding birds, resulting in many well-known species, such as House Sparrow and Common Starling, being placed on the Red List. As a consequence, gardens and public green spaces are more vital than ever for declining birds. The BTO says that providing nestboxes on our properties can help many of our garden visitors to thrive.

Many familiar bird species, including Blue Tit, will readily take to using nestboxes (Irene Harrison).

There is a staggeringly wide variety of boxes available, each designed to suit different species. Some birds are secretive and like to nest away from others, while others choose to form small colonies. Also, access to the box will determine which birds may use it. European Robin, Eurasian Wren and Spotted Flycatcher prefer open-fronted boxes, while sparrows and tits will use boxes with holes. Whether you build your nestbox or buy one ready-made, consider which birds you hope to attract. The box should be located where the entrance is sheltered from prevailing wind, rain and strong sunlight.

A bird that also takes readily to artificial nesting sites is Common Swift. These astonishing aerial acrobats have suffered major population declines in recent decades and many homeowners are now providing special boxes for these dynamic travellers, whose distinctive screaming calls were once a familiar summer sound in our cities and towns. With a fondness for nesting on tall buildings and under house eaves, swifts have suffered as a result of widespread home improvements and the restoration and repurposing of old industrial buildings. These incredible birds spend most of their lives on the wing, only landing when they come to nest with us. Now, thanks to the popularity of 'swift boxes', people all around the UK are creating new homes for these birds with considerable success.

The BTO website has a dedicated nestbox page which provides information and advice on the building, buying and positioning of nestboxes and the different birds that can be attracted.

As well as providing an invaluable home for our garden birds, nestboxes can also help supply important data. The BTO's nest monitoring schemes offer a way for people to monitor the health of our nesting bird populations by sending in their records, contributing vital information to the understanding of birds' breeding success.

The BTO's Nesting Neighbours survey organiser, Hazel McCambridge, said: "It really benefits our garden birds to put up boxes to provide them spaces to nest, particularly in urban and suburban areas where nest sites are very limited; by collecting information on nesting attempts we are able to keep track of how successful bird breeding is each year and how this is affecting populations. This provides an important puzzle piece in understanding how habitat and climate change is impacting Britain's birds."