It’s Spring and Birds are Nesting
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Posted by Rosemary Drisdelle Mar 26, 2008 |
For the past few days, I’ve observed a pair of nuthatches showing considerable interest in one of my nesting boxes. I’m delighted: I hung the box in the fall of 2006, and to my knowledge no bird has given it a passing glance, let alone looked inside, until now. I’m also worried: we have red squirrels and they have certainly checked out the box, travelling through the tree at regular intervals. I’ve read, however, that nuthatches have ways of dealing with squirrels , so I’ll wait to see what happens.
The interest shown by the nuthatches does seem to confirm some nesting box wisdom. First, a nesting box may need to weather a bit and become part of the landscape before birds will use it. Second, attention to design and location pays off. Third, a nesting box may well attract a bird species it wasn’t originally meant for (I was aiming for chickadees). And finally, by the time spring is officially here, nesting boxes should be ready outside, even if the temperature is still below zero and there’s snow in the forecast.
Interested in encouraging birds to nest on your property? Here are some articles that might be of interest:
Build Mourning Dove Nest Baskets