House renovations, for the birds

I slept soundly and pretty solidly, and yet still woke at a respectable time, thanks to the clocks falling back last night (“spring forward, fall back”, I learned). I wish it could always feel like that!

It was sunny again this morning, so I was highly motivated to get up and outside. Nina and I had hoped to chat today, and the morning worked best for us, so once I was ready we started to chat for most of the rest of the morning. She has been in Sardinia since Friday, and therefore an hour ahead of me. It was good to talk, as always, and she managed to assuage some of my worries about our trip to Central America this winter. I've still not made my mind up about how long to go for.

The Sun had been lost to the clouds by the time we finished, but I was enjoying being outside, as usual. So I decided to spend the rest of the daylight hours, as few as they are now, tackling a few more of the garden jobs that I'd like to get done before winter.

High on the list were various jobs concerning my nest boxes for birds.

First, I relocated a nest box that had been in a sub-optimal place above the compost bin. Although I had put it up at the end of last winter, no birds had nested in it. I moved it to a higher-up place on a different fence, further towards the back of the garden where there will be less foot-traffic, and where there is a clearer run for the birds to get to/from the entrance of the box. Fingers crossed.

When moving the box, I checked to see if anything had been going on inside, and was delighted to find the floor covered with maybe 20 or 30 individual droppings, presumably from a bird using the nest box as its overnight roost. I was really pleased that the nest box had been providing some utility to the wildlife! I just hope that whatever bird had been roosting in there either had already moved on, or will be able to find the nest box in its new location (which is only about three metres away, thankfully).

I also erected a new nest box that I'd bought recently. I replaced its metal plate, which came with a 30mm hole, with a metal plate that has a 25mm hole, which is more suitable for the blue tits and coal tits that I intend to accommodate.

Finally, I took down an open-fronted nest box that was in, I now realise, a very poor location, and which does not seem to have performed any useful service to any birds this year. And I don't think it would ever have any success in that spot.

I have an opened front nest box elsewhere in the garden, nestled inside a conifer tree, that I do have some hope for, so it will stay. Robins and potentially wrens use open-fronted nest boxes.

In fact, a pair of wrens did nest in the garden this year, the only successful nest in the garden that I'm aware of this year. But they eschewed the many nest boxes, and instead chose an awkward location, tucked among some disintegrating fence panels that I was temporarily storing on the patio, leaning against the fence. I let the beautiful wrens finish raising their brood, but come the summer, I sadly could not keep those dodgy fence panels where they were. (And they would have fallen down themselves come the first storm, anyway.) I therefore moved the panels, and removed the intricate nest that the wrens had built, and put it in the shed for safekeeping.

Nevertheless, I thought it would be kind to the wrens to offer them alternative, more permanent, accommodation, close to the spot that they had chosen for themselves. (Wouldn't it be great if the authorities would do this for young renters?) Something about that location worked for them, so why not try my best to support them in returning next year. What's more, wrens often re-use their old nests.

I therefore decided to repurpose the open-fronted nest box for this future wren-home. However, I thought that the existing design would have been too exposed, what with its wide-open front leaving the nest vulnerable to other birds such as crows or magpies coming along and simply eating the defenceless eggs or young birds inside. Open-fronted nest boxes are better suited to a location with more natural cover, such as shrubbery or spiky brambles.

Earlier in the year, I had spotted an attractive and clever-looking nest box for an American species of wren online, and so I decided to convert this open-fronted nest box into something resembling that design. The result (without the paint that I added later) is shown in today's photo. I removed the half-open front, and replaced it with a solid front, but opened up a slit in the side for the wrens to enter and exit. It's a bit of an experiment. I guessed the proportions for the slit, and it may well be too wide or too narrow. And the wrens may simply not like the design. Time will tell.

I filled the nest box with the old wren's nest, to give the birds a leg-up next season.

I will add a few more coats of paint before placing the nest box by the patio, at a location only about 30 centimetres from where the wrens naturally nested this summer. I'm hoping that they (or rather, the male of the pair) find the nest box at some point, and find the old nest inside, and decide to spruce it up and make it ready for another brood. Let's see.

I then came in, and wrote my Blip entries for the last three days. I'm now up to date again!