Will I cause the birds to leave if I look inside?
Recent scientific studies have shown that, provided care is taken when collecting data, regular visits do not reduce the likelihood of a nesting attempt being successful. Disturbance of breeding birds should be kept to a minimum. Provided you approach quietly and carefully, it is perfectly safe to look into a nest box from time to time to see how things are progressing once the birds are incubating their eggs. Most birds will sit very tight on their nest if you just peek in, though an early morning visit may find the bird off her nest in search of a quick meal before nest duties call her back. This is a good time to count the number of eggs in the nest and to record this information as part of Nest Box Challenge.

Should I clean out the box?
When the breeding season is over, old nests can be removed and the box cleaned out. Bird Protection Law permits the cleaning out of nests between 1 August and 31 January. Any dead eggs must be destroyed promptly and cannot be kept or sold. Some hole-nesting species, including sparrows, may have second or third broods in the same nest. The nests of these species should be left until sometime during the autumn when it is certain that they are no longer in use.

My nest box has never been used. Should I move my box?
While we can increase the probability of a box being used by choosing a suitable location, there are lots of factors that we don’t know about, such as the number of pairs of birds in the area, the presence of natural nest cavities nearby and the location of territory boundaries. While some boxes may be taken up immediately, others may remain vacant, often for no apparent reason. If a box is not used for several years in succession it may be worth resiting it.

Do you have plans for a sparrow terrace, owl box etc?
See the BTO Nest Box Guide, available from Jacobi Jayne online >click here at £7.99 plus £2.00 p&p.