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Nest Boxes for
Birds
The
large numbers of hole nesting birds that visit Mount Moreland to feed
have very little opportunity to find suitable holes in trees to breed
in. You can make a considerable contribution to the
breeding success of Black Tits, Grey Headed Sparrows, Black Bellied
Starlings, Violet Backed Starlings, Cape Glossy Starlings, Crested
Barbets in the area by providing nesting opportunities for them
by simply erecting a nest box on a suitable tree or pole
Below are four examples of bird nest boxes that have worked well in my
own garden in Mount Moreland
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A young Violet -Backed Starling Cinnyricinclus
leucogaster also
known
as the Plum-Coloured and Amethyst Starling
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Presently occupied by Crested
Barbets
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Black
Tits have bred in this box for the last four years
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Black
bellied Starling have just reared a family of young in this nest box
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The
internal measurements should be 100mm x 100mm and 300 -
350 deep this makes it difficult for cats and monkeys to reach the
young in the nest. The inside of the front panel should be rough sawn
or saw marks made so as to allow the birds to easily get out again. The
boxes are made of pine of better still saligna wood 15-20mm
thick. They can be waterproofed by painting them with linseed oil or
painted with a colour that matches the tree they are to mounted on.
Just take a photo or a piece of bark to your local paint supplier and
they will match the colour for you.
I make two sizes of entrance
hole 25mm for the smaller birds and 32mm for the larger. The Nestbox
must be made so that the front can come off or hinge open for cleaning
once per year during winter. The boxes shown in the photos are too
large they are the sizes used in Europe where the birds need to line
the nest with far more material. As the result of me having measured
the internal dimensions of woodpeckers and barbets nests I now make
them much narrower and a little deeper which the birds prefer.
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