Press Releases - January/February 2008
Item 6

No. 2008/02/05
February 2008

Nosy neighbours needed!

Sometimes having nosy neighbours can actually be a good thing! Over 12,500 nest boxes were registered for Nest Box challenge in 2007, an unprecedented response that allowed the British Trust For Ornithology to keep a close eye on the birds breeding in our gardens. The BTO has just launched Nest Box Challenge 2008, again in partnership with BBC Breathing Places, and is appealing for even more people to take part.

Paul Stancliffe of the BTO comments, “We are extremely grateful to those people who took part in Nest Box Challenge last year and we hope that even more will get involved this spring. Since the launch of Nest Box Challenge 2008 on 14 February, already an additional 600 new nest boxes have been registered.” Paul adds, “When it comes to monitoring birds, it really is a case of ‘the more the better’, so please help us to make this figure 6000 by 14 March.”

While taking part in Nest Box Challenge can provide hours of entertainment for those of us watching our birds rear their brood, it is also incredibly important scientifically, as Dr Dave Leech, Head of the Nest Record Scheme, explains: “As the countryside becomes more developed, so our gardens become increasingly important havens for wildlife. It is, therefore, vital that we find out just how well they provide for our breeding birds – do they lay as many eggs or fledge as many chicks as those nesting in natural habitats? By taking part in Nest Box Challenge, you can help to provide the answers that we are looking for.”

With spring only just around the corner, the BTO is already receiving reports of birds visiting nest boxes. Most are of birds prospecting, but in one nest box in Essex, a pair of Robins have already laid eggs and with reports of Blackbirds nest building in the latest warm spell, the time to get that nest box up is now!

Constant Effort Sites ringing data showed that last year was the worst breeding season ever for Blue Tits. As the appalling May, June and July weather took its toll, the number of young Blue Tits leaving the nest was down by almost half. We hope this year will be much better and we can find out how Blue Tits and Great Tits cope in a ‘normal’ summer.

Register for Nest Box Challenge and help make it the biggest survey of its kind in the world. If you have a nest box in your garden and haven’t yet registered it for the Challenge, visit www.bto.org and register it now. It’s not just new boxes for which we want information about; old boxes count too.

For information on the different types of nest boxes, or on how to build your own, visit www.bto.org/nnbw

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Notes for Editors

1. National Nest Box Week was launched on 14 February, traditionally the date that birds pair up prior to nesting. It is organised by BTO and sponsored by Jacobi Jayne.
2. BTO Nest Box Challenge. People are being asked to take up the Nest Box Challenge and register the nest boxes in their gardens, then follow the fortunes of their feathered neighbours. This is being run in conjunction with the BBC’s Breathing Places campaign - for further information on the Challenge visit www.bto.org
3. People who register their nest boxes on the BTO web pages, as part of the Nest Box Challenge, will be asked to provide simple information about their gardens and nest boxes. Then, as the season progresses, each observer will be able to report on which species move in and whether their birds breed successfully. This will provide important information on whether boxes are more successful in different types of gardens, whether different species use nest boxes in different areas of the country, how much later nest building starts in the north of Britain than in the south. We’ll also be able to compare this year’s summer with last year’s wash out.
4. More than 60 species of birds have been recorded using nest boxes. Most commonly, Blue and Great Tits, House Sparrows and Starlings will use the typical round hole design, while Robins, Blackbirds and Spotted Flycatchers prefer open-fronted boxes.
5. Copies of the The BTO Nestbox Guide can be obtained for £7.99 (plus £3.95 p&p) from the BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU. Telephone 01842 750050
6. Breathing Places aims to inspire millions of people to get involved with nature, through hands on participation. The campaign aims to build an ‘active’ community via a series of simple and high impact programme-led outreach activities. Everything from exploring and enjoying nature, to planting trees and putting up nest boxes, to transforming the places where you live (for people & wildlife). See www.bbc.co.uk/breathingplaces.
7. Constant Effort Sites (CES) ringing data showed that seven of our 25 commonest songbirds had their worst breeding season ever in 2007. CES is funded by a partnership of the British Trust for Ornithology and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (on behalf of Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales, and also on behalf of the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland). For more information see, http://www.bto.org/news/news2007/nov-dec/count_cost_awfulsummer.htm
8. Recent scientific studies have shown that, provided care is taken, it is perfectly safe to look into a nest box from time to time. Please see guidance notes on the BTO website – www.bto.org/nnbw - questions and answers section.
9. Bird photographs are available for use with this news release. Contact for electronic versions. Please quote 2008/02/05.
10. The BTO has an ISDN line available for radio interviews.

For further information please contact:

Paul Stancliffe on 01842 750050 or e-mail: (during office hours)
or mobile 07845 900559 (anytime)

Dr Dave Leech on 01842 750050 or e-mail: