With nesting boxes you can not only attract birds to your garden, but also make an important and valuable contribution to nature and bird protection. We have tips and tricks for you on how to make your garden bird-friendly and how to hang up nesting boxes appropriate to the species.
Nest box - what is important?
Due to human settlement, more and more nesting opportunities for birds are being lost. Therefore, nest boxes offer native birds the opportunity to reclaim their habitat.
When choosing the nest box, you should pay attention to the following:
- stable construction and attachment
- Material: solid wood, e.g. B. larch or wood concrete
- no gaps
- Adjust entry opening to desired birds
- Box should be easy to clean
Various nesting boxes presented
Nesting boxes of the same design should always be placed at a distance of 10 meters from each other. An exception are the nesting boxes for starlings and swallows, as these belong to the colony breeders and like to breed in the company of their conspecifics.
tree runner box
Short-toed treecreepers and treecreepers prefer to be behind protruding bark to breed from coarse-barked trees. There are special incubators for them that have a side opening to the trunk and are attached directly to the tree without a rear wall.
Half Cave Breeder Box
Half-height nest boxes are ideal for those bird species that like to breed in crevices and niches. These birds like it when there is light in the brood chamber. For this reason, the boxes have one or more entry holes.
nest in it:
- wagtail
- Redstart
- Spotted Flycatcher
- robin
- dipper
- wren
- different birds of prey and owl species
If you install semi-cavity breeder boxes, make sure that they are suitable for marten and cats are inaccessible. Suitable places for this are:
- balconies
- house walls
- shed walls
Cave Breeder Box
Cave nesting boxes are the most common nesting aid for small birds. These are closed boxes with an entry hole. They are best hung at a height of 2 to 10 meters.
When choosing the nest box, you should consider the diameter of the entrance hole. The following table shows you which diameter of the entrance hole is the right one for which bird species:
| diameter | bird species |
|---|---|
| 26mm | small tits (e.g. e.g.: blue, marsh, coal and crested tits) |
| 32mm | great, blue, marsh, coal, crested tit, nuthatch, collared and pied flycatcher, tree and house sparrow |
| 45mm | great spotted woodpecker, Star |
| 80-90mm | jackdaw, owl, stock dove |
incubator for swallows
Nesting aids for swallows such. B. The Barn Swallow can be attached to ledges, beams or walls in barns, open attics, garages or under roofs. Since swallows breed in colonies, you should attach at least 3 to 5 nesting aids.
wren ball
Small spherical nesting aids are especially suitable for small bird species like the wren. These are best placed in hedges or groves.
little owl nest box
Little owl nest burrows are almost a meter long and have a round entrance hole with a diameter of 65 millimeters. It is recommended to place the nest tube on a horizontal large branch. Older trees or fruit trees are best suited for this. The entry holes should point towards the trunk so that the young birds can easily get on the branch and back into the nest box without falling. However, installing a nesting box only makes sense if there are already little owls in the vicinity.
Hang nest boxes properly
Fasten the nest box at least 2 to 3 meters high with rust-proof aluminum nails, wire or wire brackets so as not to damage the tree. When hanging, be careful that the nest box faces east or south-east. The entrance opening is thus protected from weather influences from the west and from solar radiation from the south. Also make sure that no rainwater can get into the nest box, otherwise the young birds could drown.
To make the nesting area even more attractive for birds, create feeding places and set up bird baths.
Clean nesting aids
Clean the nest boxes after the breeding season in late summer. Please note that tits, dormouse or butterflies in the boxes for the winter before the first frost when the temperatures drop.