In a simple wooden design or brightly painted, as a covered house or in the classic box shape - the range of nesting boxes is as diverse as the variety of bird species. The animals don't really care about the design of their home. In order for them to feel comfortable, other aspects are important. Here you can read how the design of your nesting box affects the type of guest seeking shelter.
Nuthatches like entrances around 34mm in diameter
Key Features
- Entry hole size
- height of attachment
- size of the nest box
Entry hole size
The size of the entrance hole plays an important role for the bird breeding in the nest box (€49.85). Understandably, this is inevitably related to the body size of the bird. A star, for example, cannot squeeze through a tiny hole. Here you will find information on certain bird species and their preferred hole size:
Diameter of 26mm
- blue tits
- coal tit
Diameter of 32mm
- great tit
- crested tit
Diameter of 34mm
- nuthatch
- Redstart
- pied flycatcher
- tree sparrow
- house sparrow
Diameter of 45mm
- star
- great spotted woodpecker
Diameter of 80mm
- stock dove
- Jackdaw
Diameter of 130mm
- brown owl
Open nest boxes without an entrance hole
- Spotted Flycatcher
- wagtail
Note: No matter the diameter, in order for your nest box to be accepted by the birds, the edge of the entrance hole must not have splinters or sharp edges.
height
Furthermore, the different bird species also prefer different entry heights. In general, you should maintain a minimum height of 3 meters to make it difficult for predators to gain access. Place your nest box in a tree, but don't hide it too much in the crown. Although all birds have different preferences, they all require a clear approach path.
size
As well as the diameter of the entrance hole, the general size of the nesting box plays an important role in relation to the size of the bird in question. Many nest boxes have a volume of 25 x 25 x 45 cm. The housing should not be too narrow - after all, a brood can consist of up to 16 young animals - on the other hand, the interior space must not be too large, so that no heat is lost. Incidentally, tits optimize their shelter by padding the nest box according to their needs.
- More tips
- the visual design of the nesting box is irrelevant
- Nesting boxes with different designs increase species diversity in your garden
- however, these should be placed at least ten meters apart
- keep a diary of the frequency of specific visitors. This will give you an overview of the precautions you need to take to increase species diversity