[Netnews-action] 14-21 Feb: national nest box week

[Manchester Campaigns]

National Nest Box Week 2006

National Nest Box Week is launched every year on St Valentine’s Day
(February 14th) and is now an established part of the ornithological
calendar. It is organised by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO),
Britain’s leading bird research charity whose work primarily involves
studying the populations of our common and garden birds, and is
sponsored by Jacobi Jayne & Co, Britain’s nest box specialists.

The aim of National Nest Box Week is to encourage as many people as
possible to put up
nest boxes in order to help our breeding birds and other wildlife. The
natural nest sites on
which many of our bird species depend, such as holes in trees and
buildings, are fast
disappearing as gardens and woods are ‘tidied’ and old houses are
repaired. Since National
Nest Box Week was launched in 1997 thousands of enthusiastic naturalists
across the UK
have put up boxes to compensate for this loss and it is estimated that
there are now 5-6
million boxes in gardens across the UK.

So whether you’re a family with space for a box in your garden, or
you’re a teacher, a
member of a local wildlife group or you belong to a bird club and could
organise a work
party, National Nest Box Week gives you the chance to give a brood a
home. Not only will
you be helping the conservation effort in the UK, but you will also have
the pleasure of
observing any breeding birds that you attract to your garden as they
work to raise their young.

The BTO Nestbox Guide – the Official Handbook of National Nest Box Week

The BTO Nestbox Guide – the Official Handbook of National Nest Box Week.
If you’d like to have a go at building your own nest box, the new BTO
Nestbox Guide provides an excellent starting point for the beginner and
also outlines details of more specialist designs aimed at attracting
species such as Marsh Tit and House Martin.

The guide is written by Chris du Feu, an experienced ornithologist and
box-builder who has been running his own nest box scheme in
Nottinghamshire since 1979. Chris believes that a good box design
and use of the correct materials is essential if breeding performance is
to be maximised: “Sadly, you often see boxes which are damaging to
birds’ breeding prospects – I have attempted to show what makes a good
box”.

The BTO Nestbox Guide covers over 20 species, from tits and sparrows to
swifts and owls, giving detailed cutting diagrams and step-by-step
instructions for the construction of each type of box.
The guide also contains a range of hints and tips about box
construction, siting, care and maintenance as well as a wealth of
information about the breeding biology of each species. 

To buy a copy of this beautifully illustrated, full colour book please
send a cheque for £8.99 (£7.99 plus £1 p&p) payable to Jacobi Jayne & Co
to NNBW, FREEPOST 1155, Herne Bay, Kent, CT6 7BR or telephone
0800-072-0130.

Alternatively buy online at: 

http://www.jacobijayne.co.uk

By putting up a nest box during National Nest Box Week you will stand a
very good chance of having a nesting pair of birds in your garden by
spring. This can be a very exciting time knowing you have provided a
home for a wild bird. Many people like to keep notes of the birds
movements and breeding progress during the nesting period.Provided you
approach quietly and carefully, it is perfectly safe to look into the
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 on BTO Nest Record Cards (see the leaflet that
you received with this pack). The information recorded on these cards is
highly valued by the BTO and is used to monitor breeding performance
from year to year. If you would like more information about the Nest
Record Scheme, please contact the Nest Records Officer, BTO, The
Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU, or e-mail nest.records at bto.org 

Free information leaflet

Request your FREE Information Leaflet for National Nest Box Week 2006:
Packed with practical information, tips and ideas, this handy leaflet
offers simple answers to the most commonly-asked questions about
building and putting up nest boxes in any garden. Phone the FREE order
line on 0800-072-0130 or order online at http://www.jacobijayne.co.uk


This simple-to-buid hole nesting box is taken from the BTO Nestbox Guide
- just one of many different types of bird box you can build yourself.
Click on the link below to learn how to build your own nest box using
the step-by-step cutting diaagram.


The previously published nestbox guide (1993 BTO Guide 23 Nestboxes),
which includes information on all the other species not found in the
latest guide, can be downloaded from this web page. The text is
more-or-less the same as in the 1993 guide with only minor amendments.
Some diagrams have been redrawn. The format of the species notes has
been modified to make it easier to find the dimensions of boxes. To see
a list of all species that use nestboxesclick here.