How to install a nest box to provide additional habitat for birds?

The nesting season begins for birds. To compensate for the lack of natural cavities to accommodate their brood, you can help them reproduce by installing nest boxes.

Adapt your nest box according to the cavity-dwelling and semi-cavitating species

Some birds, such as tits, need darkness to nest (they are cavitolous), others prefer a little light (semi-cavitol). This preference will guide the shape and size of the flight hole you choose for your nest box. You can place several near each other if they are intended for different species. If they concern the same species, it is better to keep them at least 60 meters apart to preserve territorial limits.

Orientation, height… choose the location of the nest box carefully

Nest boxes must be empty and fixed at a height of between 2 and 5 meters above the ground. Orient the flight hole towards the rising sun, in the east. You can surround it with a metal plate which will prevent predators like woodpeckers or squirrels from enlarging it and destroying the nest. Do not hesitate to surround the tree with a fence or spikes to prevent stray cats from climbing and coming to enjoy it.

Leave the birds alone once installed in the nest box

Has your mini real estate found a buyer? Well done! All you have to do is observe through binoculars the comings and goings of your hosts busy feeding their young with various insects. Leave them alone and don’t try to see the chicks. Some wooden nest boxes open from the top, but this is to allow cleaning, which is essential in the fall once the chicks have fledged.

Sources: Gilles Leblais, LPO.