Box 1
This is one of the new ones this year that I built specially
to put a web cam in.
Last year this site had a box the same as box 3 which
successfully had a family of Blue Tits. The new box is slightly larger with a
base size shammed to 130mm wide x 130mm deep in order to fit the camera in. It's
partially shaded, about 15ft high, West facing and has a hole aperture of 32mm.
Unfortunately, despite frequent visits by the Blue Tits, they chose not to nest
here.
Box 2
This is another new box this year with a camera and is almost identical
to Box 1. You can see in this photo the 22mm elbows that I've put in for
ventilation which also protect the camera from the rain. This box is slightly
lower than Box 1 at about 12 feet and is North facing. Again, no takers this
year.
Box 3
This is a box that I made last year with a base size of 120mm
x 120mm and a hole aperture of 32mm. It's about 20ft high, south facing and
partially shaded.
Last year it had breeding Great Tits in but unfortunately all
the chicks died. I can't be sure why but it may be because it's South facing and
with a few hot days the temperature may have been too much for them. This year I've put
in lots of extra ventilation holes and tried to give it a bit more shade. Had it
not been South facing, I would have put one of the new web cam boxes here, but
the cameras do generate a little heat on their own. This year it was the Blue
Tits first choice as a nesting box.
Box 4
This box I bought as an open-fronted box but I've
never had any takers for it, so this year, as you can see from the
picture, I've put a front panel on. It has a base size of 100mm x 100mm,
a hole that's 28mm and is West facing at a height of about 10ft. No takers
this year.
Box 5
Another shop bought box similar to box 4. Although the Blue
Tits have shown some interest in this box, it's never had any takers, preferring
the slightly larger boxes. As you can see from the picture it's also had a
little attention around the hole from a woodpecker. It's also West facing at
about 12 feet with a hole that was 28mm. This one also stayed empty.
Box 6
This one is identical to box 5 and is in a new position for this
year. In it's previous South facing position it did have a Blue Tit roosting over Winter, but I
decided to move it as the South facing aspect was not ideal. It's
now West facing at about 7 feet. I don't really expect any takers for this one
this year, but next year when the clematis has grown round the trellis and
hopefully over the box it may have a better chance.
Box 7
This is the 3-in-1 box sold as a Sparrow terrace. Although
we've had Sparrows nesting in the garden, they've never shown any interest in
this box. We have, however, had Blue Tits nesting in the centre section
(picture), but nothing else.
It's North facing at about 10ft with 32mm holes. Our second pair of Blue Tits
again successfully nested here this year.