You’ve put up a nest box in your garden, and you’re looking forward to the day when a pair of birds decides to move in and raise their chicks. But what if that day never comes?
An empty nest box can be frustrating, but don’t worry – there are several reasons why birds might not use your box, and most of them are fixable.
Only certain bird species are cavity-nesters and will use a bird box. These species naturally nest in tree holes, crevices, or other sheltered spaces, so providing a suitable nest box in your garden can encourage them to settle. In the UK, blue tits and coal tits are the most frequent visitors to nest boxes, but other species may take up residence if the conditions are right.
Blue tits and coal tits prefer small entrance holes that provide safety from predators and larger birds. A hole size of 25mm is ideal for these species.
Great tits, being slightly larger, require a hole size of 28mm to enter the box comfortably.
House sparrows like communal nesting, so opt for a terrace-style box with multiple compartments to accommodate several pairs.
Robins and blackbirds prefer open-fronted nest boxes rather than the traditional hole entrance. These boxes should be positioned low to the ground, in dense vegetation or shrubs, to mimic the natural cover they seek for nesting.
Woodpeckers require a deeper box with a larger hole size of 45mm. Add a layer of wood chippings inside, as woodpeckers will naturally excavate to prepare their nest.
Starlings sometimes use nest boxes and need a hole size of around 45mm
A sloping roof is an essential feature for a bird box as it helps to keep rainwater out, providing a dry and safe environment for nesting birds. To further protect the interior, the box should include small drainage holes at the bottom, allowing any water that does enter to escape and preventing the nest from becoming waterlogged.
The appearance of the box also plays a role in attracting birds. Brightly painted boxes may deter birds or attract predators, so it’s best to opt for natural, untreated wood or use subtle, muted colours that blend into the surroundings. If you do decide to paint or treat the box, ensure the materials used are water-based and non-toxic to avoid harming the birds.
Birds are more likely to investigate a garden that offers a steady food supply. Place feeders near your nest box to start with, using peanuts or sunflower hearts for tits, suet for woodpeckers and nuthatches, and mealworms for robins, wrens, and thrushes. Once birds begin exploring, move the feeders further from the box to avoid disturbing nesting birds.
To attract birds to your nest box, you need to create an environment that feels safe and inviting. One of the best ways to encourage birds to visit is by providing a steady and reliable food supply. Birds will naturally be drawn to gardens that offer an abundance of nutritious food sources, especially during colder months when food is scarce. Start by placing bird feeders near your nest box to capture their attention.
Different species are attracted to specific types of food, so catering to their preferences will increase the chances of attracting a variety of birds. For example, tits are particularly fond of peanuts or sunflower hearts, while woodpeckers and nuthatches prefer suet. Robins, wrens, and thrushes are drawn to mealworms, which mimic some of the insects they would naturally forage for. Including a mix of food types can help make your garden a hotspot for multiple bird species.
As birds begin to explore your garden and take notice of the nest box, it’s important to consider the placement of the feeders. While having feeders nearby initially helps draw attention to the box, leaving them too close during nesting season can disturb the birds or make the area feel less secure. High levels of activity around the feeders can deter birds from using the box. Gradually move the feeders farther away to create a quieter, area around the nest box to ensure birds feel safe enough to consider it as a potential nesting site.
Providing water sources such as a bird bath and planting native shrubs or hedges for cover can make your garden even more appealing. The more inviting and bird-friendly your outdoor space is, the more likely it is that birds will choose your nest box as a safe place to raise their young.
Putting your nest box in the right place is vital. Many people make the mistake of positioning bird boxes too high, but garden birds often prefer to nest closer to the ground, in locations that mimic their natural habitats, like shrubs and bushes. Here’s how to choose the ideal spot:
Height: Place the box between 1.5 and 3 metres above the ground.
Safety: Birds won’t nest in areas exposed to predators like cats, squirrels, or rodents. Install baffles or other deterrents, and position the box away from easy access points for predators.
Entrance protection: Use nest box plates to reinforce the entry hole, preventing predators from enlarging it to access eggs or chicks. Avoid boxes with perches, as they provide predators with easy landing spots.
Orientation: Face the box away from prevailing winds and direct sunlight; north or east-facing positions are ideal.
Birds value a clean and safe nesting environment. Here’s how to maintain your bird box:
Cleaning: Old nests and debris can harbour parasites and disease. Clean out your nest boxes at the end of each breeding season, between 1st September and 31st January in England and Wales (or 1st August to 31st January in Scotland), as required by the General Licence.
Repairs: Check for damage and make necessary repairs during the winter months to ensure the box remains secure.
Paint and treatment: Most bird boxes don’t need to be treated, but if you want to paint or weatherproof them, use water-based, non-toxic products. Avoid bright colours, as these can attract predators and deter birds.
Birds start looking for nesting sites well before spring, so if you wait until March or April to put up a nest box, it’s likely too late. Install new boxes during autumn or winter, giving birds time to find and familiarise themselves with their new home. Keeping the box up all year round also provides valuable shelter in cold weather.
It’s important to monitor the activity inside your nest box with care to avoid stressing the birds or causing them to abandon their nest. During breeding season, birds are highly sensitive to disturbances, so checking your nest box should be done sparingly and only when absolutely necessary. Unnecessary interference can lead to eggs not hatching or chicks being deserted, as parent birds may feel the site is unsafe.
If you need to check a nest box, follow these guidelines to minimise disruption:
Only check during daylight hours and in good weather. Avoid checking the box early in the morning or late in the evening, as this is when parent birds are most likely to be incubating eggs or brooding young chicks.
Limit any checks to just a few seconds and avoid touching the box. Prolonged checks can stress the birds and expose eggs or chicks to the elements or predators.
If you want to monitor nesting activity closely without causing disturbance, consider using a camera-equipped bird box. Modern options include Wi-Fi-enabled cameras that provide live feeds directly to your phone, computer, or Smart TV, allowing you to observe every stage of the nesting process without ever approaching the box.
Watch for external signs that birds are using your bird box. For example, frequent visits by adult birds carrying food or nesting materials are clear indicators that the box is occupied.
Remember, it is illegal to disturb nesting birds under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Any monitoring or checks must comply with these regulations to protect birds and their young.
It might take a season or two for birds to use your nest box, so patience is key. Once birds recognise your box as a safe and suitable place to raise their young, they’ll likely return year after year.
By following these tips, you’ll increase the chances of turning your garden into a thriving bird haven, where birds can raise their chicks in safety, and where you can enjoy watching their charming antics throughout the seasons.
24 Responses
I have had problems with rats on my feeders we love to see the birds on the feeders but at the same time hate the rats any ideas
We have 3 identical boxes for tits. One used every year by blue tits. We enjoy watching them fledge annually. Box faces south west.
The back garden box is on a birch. I hear the chicks, wnen I am pottering. Both parents flying in with food for them.
2 front garden boxes both facing east. One never had occupants and is in an old cherry tree.
This year for the first time wrens have started nest building in the second box which is on a mature wedding cake tree (Cornus,)
Noisy blighters and so busy.
My suggestion is to have a bird bath in the vicinity of the boxes. I see birds bathe and drink then fly on to the 2 inhabited boxes. Blue tits tap the wooden rim of the hole every year so I would avoid metal rims on nest boxes incase it puts them off.
Happy bird watching.
Morning. Built a bird box last week end at the bottom of the garden, and already I have a pair of great tits interested, they have been popping in and out of the box all week, there’s a bird breeder probably five feet away from it.
I put ip a new bird box last year as previous one was old wood. Blue tits were in and out when I looked in they had been using it as a toilet. The same thing has happened this year.
I put out two wooden bird boxes about 2.5 M above ground level, positioned in some 10 M cedar trees. I bought small wood chips as used in BBQ to make the area soft. I have some nesting material that I could use this year. I did not inspect the boxes last fall as I was in hospital but went down today and found them immaculate – never been used! There are lost of squirrels that run up and down the four cedars but I did not see them as predatory. Am I wrong? Can you gave me any ideas? (This was my very first attempt at doing bird boxes. I have four feeders that some 100 to 150 birds come to eat.
Never put nesting material inside a bird box , they’ll spend hours taking it out.
Leave clipped dog fur or sheep wool out nearby for them to use. They make their own nests
God bless for trying to help them, they do love a clean new box.
Chris
Many years back my garden was over run by all types of birds and nests fir whatever reason ( untidy and rather wild) so after the nesting period was well and truly over ( at least several different families eating all the blossom off my Apple tree and flying in and out of the kitchen window where my dog would alert me of the tiniest sitting on the Teapot just in time before I could fill it with hotwater!! Etc…
I then went searching for nests: and found an absolute beauty with weaved BLONDE Hair from my worst client (a boy) to send off to the History museum as I’d never seen anything so incredibly woven all over and perfectly formed into a golden cloth and left without a smudge: as if it hadn’t been used!!
I couldn’t find any other like it and think they must have used all his hair cuttings just fir the beauty of it!! ❤️❤️????????
Reminds me of when I thought I was being kind and shredded up newspaper, mixed it with wood shavings and made a cosy cushion for the best. WRONG! Poor sparrows pulled every scrap of newspaper out along with the wood shavings so I was vacuuming my front porch every time I stepped outside. Sorry sparrows! Always leave well alone now and they return every year
Squirrels will eat bird eggs and kill and eat fledglings.
I have 2 boxes, birds nest every year , we don’t touch them , perhaps they don’t like them cleaned out , ours are proof
My bird box with camera was occupied less than 24 hours after I positioned it. It is natural wood with a blue-tit-size metal entrance reinforcer. The entrance hole is six and a half feet above the ground. It is screwed to the back of a covered “bower” seat with a ridged roof which is sited at a 45 degree angle in the back corner of the garden with a sprawling bush covering one six foot fence, the other fence providing a direct flight path. The camera cable connects via a hole in the back of the seat enclosure. The female did all the nest building and now sits on eleven eggs. The male provides food regularly and sometimes arrives to find she’s off out presumably also foraging or to find a drink! I’m expecting to see hatching next week. (Lancashire, England).
Further to my previous comment, when we cleaned it as we realised the birds were no longer visiting, there was only the skeleton, beak and feathers left, and a few maggots ?
Our nesting box had bluetits last year. They pecked very noticeably around the hole as described, unfortunately the chick died in the nest. We cleaned it out (too early I now realise), and this year nothing. Is it the markings around the hole putting other birds off?
Eastern bluebirds used my birdhouse last year. A pair seen interested this year. They even were there for several days. But no bird if using it. Why?
We successfully had a pair next in our birdbox and now the fledglings have all left. My question is do we clean it out now, in case something else may want to use it or wait until October time.
I’ve had the same, shop bought blue tit box up for 12 years. The male tit will come with a female, do all the rituals associated with, “what about this for a nest?” He flies off a short distance. She flies in, flies out, flies off.
Have tried it in various places in the garden and at different heights and habitats. Always the same thing. The inside is clean.
Baffled.
I have bluetits nesting in a new box I made over winter, I’m concerned that my gardening activity will put them off.
How tolerant are they of human activity?
Thanks in advance.
Iain.
We’ve had sparrows nesting for several years in one of our boxes which is near to our gate from front to back garden. They soon get used to the activity & continue to feed their chicks even when we’re walking thru the gate.
This year we’ve put a new box up on the side of the garage which is over our heads on the same path & it’s been occupied & they’re now feeding their chicks again with no problem.
Good luck with your nesting box.
I had a successful visit by Bluebirds last year. I was able to see two fledglings learns to fly. This year they came back. I saw the male taking nest material into the box and the pair used to fly around and even perched on my back door handle. Then suddenly they disappeared. After a while I found broken eggs at the bottom off the tree. There was a lot of yolk so I guess they had been abandoned. I don’t know why. Could it have been squirrels?(I have a family in the tree) Or magpies? I am so sorry to have lost them. Will they try again next year?
I’ve got three bird boxes and little bues are going in and out two of them don’t know if there just hiding food for winter as here in Scotland just outside Glasgow it cold or there late nesters
I live in Ontario Canada
I had three bird nest boxes up for a few years unpainted with household shingle on roofs that were always occupied every year without fail.
I had also removed the small peg at the entrances to deter predators.
Last Spring I cleaned them out for the first time and painted them black & had no visitors last year.
I repainted them white just a few days ago and await visitors as to date I’ve had none this year so far.
Birds see white as a colour that means danger and are unlikely to nest in white box
My extinct old nest box had a nest every year for many years. The replacement, bought from RSPB 5 years ago has not had a bird anywhere near it. I’m really puzzled, nothing has changed except the box. Any ideas please?
Thanks for helpful article. A nest box in our quiet garden, with only rare cat visitors, has remained unused for 2 years, but we’re hoping for visitors this Spring. It’s a box for tits, 2.5 metres above the ground on a tree trunk and NE facing. The unpainted box is clearly visible before new leaves form, and there’s a clear flight path to the hole and nearby branches. Lots of tits and other small birds visit our bird feeders, which are approximately 10 metres from the box. Do you have any suggestions for improving the chances of the box being used? Regards.