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It's spring here in the Northwoods again! There are many reasons to love spring: warmer weather, outdoor activities, flowers blooming, and….baby season!!! If you love seeing baby animals and want to help some of our local wildlife, putting up a nest box is the perfect activity.  My husband and I put up 2 new nest boxes this year after seeing eastern bluebirds on our property last year - we wanted them to hang around our yard more, so why not put up a couple of boxes?

 

Both of us enjoyed the romantic idea of getting the materials ourselves, finding blueprints, and building our own nest boxes, but between planting the garden, re-building our deck, and other spring projects, we decided to hit the easy button and buy these Audubon™  bluebird houses/nest boxes to put up in our yard.  These were a very convenient, and relatively low-cost (~$15-$20) option, but there were still a few things to think about:

 

Location: Bluebirds nest in more open areas, which are pretty abundant on our property, so we placed our nest boxes where we had seen the bluebirds last year, and where we could easily see any activity from our house.  While considering habitat is very important, it's also important to consider which way the opening faces - bluebirds like an east-facing opening.

 

Height: Different birds nest at different heights.  We put our nest boxes at just over 5' tall, which is great for bluebirds which prefer their nest boxes at between 4'-6' off the ground. 

 

Spacing: I learned that you can pair bluebird nest boxes if you want! If you want to have two in an area, place them 15'-20' apart.  Place different pairs about 300' apart.  We spaced our 2 nest boxes well over 300' apart.

 

One of our nest box set-ups in open woodland on our property

 

If you do decide to build your own birdhouse/nest box (which could be a GREAT family activity), there's even more to think about:

• Building Material - only untreated, unpainted wood; cedar, pine, or cypress is recommended.  Use galvanized screws to fasten pieces, not nails (which can loosen over time).

• Rain accommodations - a great birdhouse will have a sloped roof with overhangs, and drainage holes in the floor to allow as little water as possible inside.

• Predator control - perches might seem like a good idea, but they can actually help predators get inside.  Cages and collars around the pole below the birdhouse can help keep predators at bay.

• Target species - different sized boxes and different sized holes will accommodate different birds (as will putting boxes in different habitats).  Make sure you do your research to find which size hole is right for the birds you want!

 

Ok, so I'll admit it: We really didn't put a lot of thought into where and how tall to put our next boxes. We had bluebirds last year, these boxes were built FOR bluebirds, so of course the birds will just find them and live in them, right?  Well, that lack of forethought is probably why we have…CHICKADEES(!) nesting in each box! We found the nests less than a week after we put the boxes up, and found eggs in mid-May.  On a routine nest check, we found hatchlings in late May (photos below). 

 

These chicks are (at most) 2 weeks old. Eggs were documented May 17th, and this photo was taken June 1st.

 

We put this box out a week or so after the first one (above), so these chicks are a little younger (which you can tell by the lack of feathers).

 

I thought that opening the box to check on the nest was a no-no, but I learned that it's actually OK! Checks allow you to monitor who is using the box (if an unwanted species, you can clean out their nest before eggs are laid to make room for desired species), and you can contribute data to citizen science. Project NestWatch is a nation-wide project that allows you to submit your data which is then used by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Keep the following in mind though:

• Time of Day - try to aim for afternoon when its warmer and momma or poppa bird are less likely to be on the nest.  Avoid dawn and dusk (when adults are most likely to be present)

• Approach - make some noise like rustling branches, or even tapping on the side of the box so that any adult birds on the box will leave while you do your check.  Surprised birds that flee can knock over chicks and eggs and could hurt them.  Even then, stand off to the side of the box while opening it (that lesson was learned the hard way!)

• Handling birds - NEVER handle birds during your monitoring visits!

• Frequency - It's ok and recommended to visit the nest every 3-4 days. 

• Predators - avoid using the same path to walk towards and away from the nest box (i.e. a "dead end" trail). This could help attract predators to your nest box.

 

I'm a little disappointed that the chickadees beat out the bluebirds this year, but they need homes to nest in too. While we didn't help the birds we set out to help, we are still helping birds and that feels good. It's also fun to watch the parents bring food back to the box, and see the nesting progress every now and then on our nest checks! 

 

If you're interested in putting up nest boxes, a fantastic resource is The Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project NestWatch page, https://nestwatch.org/learn/all-about-birdhouses/ which has free blueprints for birdhouses for different species. 

 

Happy Birding!!!

 

by Kim Feller, TFT Environmental Education Manager