Now in spring the breeding season for many birds begins. But especially in the city, it is often difficult for Meise and Co to find suitable nesting places for the rearing of their boys. We can help you with nesting boxes. How should such breeding sites be created? How do you best hang the boxes? And who is moving in at all?
The very first nesting boxes were not yet intended to protect birds: from the 16th century, people used so -called “star gaps” to cook the soup from the young animals caught in this way. It was only in the early 19th century that the Austrian pastor Johann Babtist Hofinger made the first nesting boxes that did not serve the cuisine, but should serve the insect pest control. The brooding birds should eat insects around fruit trees to keep the fruit from damage. Today, nesting boxes are primarily used to protect the birds, since natural nesting opportunities for birds such as tree caves or dead wood are lost with the landscapes, which is strongly characterized by humans and in humans.
Which birds use nesting boxes?
Nesting boxes are used by bird species that usually breed in tree caves. In addition to stars, this includes, for example, title, masker, house sparrow and robin. In forests, these songbirds often also use old brood caves of woodpeckers. If the woodpecker has only recently left its breeding ground and the entry hole is even small, smaller songbirds such as Meisen and Kleiber use the cave. If the wood flush over time and the hole gets bigger, larger residents such as jackdaws and chew also come to the train. But dormouse or tree martens also like to live in old woodpeckers.
However, nesting boxes are not the same as nesting box: As in nature, various types of birds prefer certain box shapes and entry hole sizes in the man -made “bird children”. For Meisen, the entry hole should be between 26 and 28 millimeters in size, house sparrows are in midfield with 32 to 34 millimeters. On the other hand, maskers need larger entry holes with 32 to 45 millimeters in diameter. But the shape of the nesting box also affects who moves in there: Hausperlings like to live in society. There are “apartment buildings” especially for them – a long nesting box with walls that divide it into several smaller breeding sites. Nesting boxes for semi -cave breeders such as the robin should have a half -open front instead of an entry hole.
Place nest boxes correctly
It is also important to place a nesting box correctly, this applies to both the location and time. For most bird species in Germany, the breeding season begins in early March, at the latest then the nesting box should actually be attached. After mid -March, the chances decrease that birds will move into the box. But even now it is not too late: migratory birds such as the mourning stepper, which can only be found in Germany again in April, also benefit from a nesting box that was only attached late. And even in autumn and winter, the breeding grounds can serve as protection against cold weather. After the end of the brood season, however, it is advisable to clean the box.
The nesting box should be protected from rain and overheating. Therefore, it is advisable to align it to the east to southeast, because then it warms up in the morning, but hangs in the shade in the midday heat and does not overheat. The box should also hang a little forward so that it cannot rain in. Few cave breeders such as Stare or Wall Sailers rely on a nesting box at a high level. A hanging height of two to three meters is sufficient for other bird species. For species that also use buildings rather than breeding sites, such as the wall sailor, house red-tailed and house sparrow, the nesting boxes should not be attached to trees, but on house or apartment walls.
Bought versus yourself
There are nesting boxes for different bird species in hardware stores, but they are not always suitable for them. “Some cheap models are much too small to offer a crowd of up to ten or more boys enough space. A base area of twelve times twelve times twelve times should be the minimum even in the smallest boxes,” explains the environmental organization NABU. “Instead, we sometimes find tiny boxes on offer with huge holes in the middle of the front wall that hardly any bird will ever use.” Also, often in front of the entry hole, pecking rods are more likely to harm as a benefit: they make it easier to access the boys.
If you want to build a nesting box yourself, you should fall back on solid wood from pine, larch, oak or robinia. Plywood, pressing plates or even plastic are unsuitable. Instead of using wood preservatives that can harm the birds, outer walls can be painted with linseed oil or environmentally friendly colors or paints to protect the wood from moisture and fungal attack. For moisture in the nesting box itself, it is advisable to drill a few holes into the ground. There are many instructions on the Internet to build a nesting box for your own garden.
In addition, the new feathered garden inhabitants benefit from a natural garden with flowers and local shrubs. In the vicinity of these plants there are insects that the birds need to raise their brood.