Topic: Birdbox cleaning

[Ninnyscrops.]

Something that I feel I should ask the question as to "why"?

We have many birdboxes in the garden, one in particular that was on a shed when we bought our house in 1983, and all have fixed lids.

The 1983 birdbox has never been cleaned and every year there is a family of bluetits. Our white box, an addition a few years ago, ditto.

Without birdboxes they would nest in hollows in trees and other natural places and there is no one to clean these nests, I think they must do a natural "spring clean" for themselves.

So why do we clean birdboxes  ???



1983 box



2010 box (I think  ::))

Ninnys

[Carol]

I don't think the birds will use the same nest or nesting material year after year when nesting in the wild.   Our feathered friends like us pick up contaminations easily and if cleaning out old nest boxes year after year then I would rather do that.  I see quite a number of birds in a year which are 'not well'   The public feed the birds more and more but do not clean the area where they are feeding and the wee things pick up infections and die.   I am constantly clearing the areas I feed the birds but this winter so far I have had an ill  Robin, 2 Bramblings and a couple of Greenfinches.   Its a shame and its all down to us  Joe Public. 

[Ninnyscrops.]

I always clean the feeding stations, Carol. It's just the boxes.

The green one on the shed isn't hanging by a nail or anything similar, I think it must have been erected by screwing the back on first then the rest constructed around it, there is nothing visable to dismantle!

The blue tits are already inspecting and tidying around it.

Regarding birds not re-using nests, they do.  We have a mahonia that is used by blackbirds every year, the same nest with additional material.

Ninny

[elvis2003]

Great photos,well captured!