BIRD HABITATS 

Birds live in a variety of habitats, including bird boxes, shrubs, trees, and hedges. You can put these in your garden to encourage bird populations. 

Bird boxes: 

Bird boxes provide safety for breeding birds. 

Commonly used bird boxes:

• • Traditional: rectangular boxes with small round entrance holes. Suitable for small birds eg Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits, and Sparrows. Be careful as different species need slightly different-sized holes, for example, a Great Tit needs an 18mm hole, whereas a Blue, Coal, or Marsh Tit needs 25mm. 
  • Open-fronted nest boxes: larger entrance hole or an open front, suitable for birds that enjoy a more exposed nesting site eg Robins, Wrens, Kestrels, and Blackbirds. 
  • Swift nest boxes: swifts are migratory birds that nest in buildings and are declining in numbers. These boxes are designed to mimic their nesting sites, usually placed on the sides of buildings. Have a narrow entrance slot. 

Bird boxes are best placed away from direct sunlight, 2-4m above the ground. You should avoid placing them too close to a feeder so the nesting birds have some privacy and quiet!

Shrubs for birds:

Shrubs provide food shelter and nesting sites. Examples of particularly good ones:

• • Hawthorn: Dense, thorny branches that provide good protection. 
  • Guelder Rose: Dense shrub growth provides nesting sites and cover
  • Elder. This shrub has dense foliage, providing great nesting and cover sites.
  • Blackberry. These bushes have thorny thickets, providing shelter. 
  • Cotoneaster. This shrub has a really dense growth pattern to provide shelter. 

Trees: 

Trees are often great habitats for birds, and different types of trees will attract varying species of birds, for example:

• • Oak: Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, and Owls enjoy oak trees specifically for habitats, however insects that tend to live near oak trees also attract Blue Tits, Great Tits, and Warblers. 
  • Hawthorn: offers dense foliage and thorny branches. Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, and Finches enjoy this. 
  • Willow: Warblers, Finches, and Tits favour this tree.