Simon King

2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity and people all over the world are being encouraged to look at ways to safeguard the variety of plants and animals on their doorstep. So why not take part in this year's National Nest Box Week and lend a hand to nesting birds in your garden or local green space? National Nest Box Week, which is organised by the British Trust for Ornithology and founding sponsor Jacobi Jayne & Company, runs from 14th to 21st February and is this year being promoted by Simon King.

Simon King is delighted to be associated with National Nest Box Week, which combines his interest in conservation with the ‘get involved’ message:

“If you’ve never built a nest box before, why not give it a go this year? Or, if you haven’t got the time, it’s easy to buy a good one. Go on, take part for Britain’s birds.”

To support National Nest Box Week, Simon King has worked with BTO scientists and Jacobi Jayne to produce an information booklet, which tells you how to make a warm, dry home for the birds that share your garden and lifts the lid on what happens inside your box between March and June.

Download a copy hear.

Further copies are available from:
Jacobi Jayne & Co
Freepost 1155
Herne Bay
Kent
CT6 7BR

or call Freephone 0800 0720130

A Valentine’s Day Gift that can last for decades – www.bto.org/nnbw/building.htm

“Roses may wilt and chocolates are soon gone but a home-made nest box could be home to 150 chicks over the next twenty years. Nest boxes are incredibly easy to build or buy and can make a huge difference to the lives of our garden birds. Blue Tits love them but you could get all manner of species moving in”, says Jeff Baker, the BTO’s organiser of National Nest Box Week.

Ten tips to celebrate National Nest Box Week and the International Year of Biodiveristy.

Viv Greenough , the BTO’s nesting expert, hopes that this is going to be a good summer. Here are her ten tips to help breeding birds:

1. Put up a nest box during National Nest Box Week.
2. If you already have a box for Blue Tits, then why not make or buy an open-fronted box for a pair of Spotted Flycatchers or Robins?
3. Providing high-energy foods (such as peanuts and fat balls) at feeding stations can help adult birds boost their breeding performance.
4. Change your bird bath water regularly so that birds can keep their feathers in prime condition.
5. Avoid using garden chemicals as chicks and juvenile birds feed mostly on insects and caterpillars.
6. Think natural – plant a variety of native species to enhance and promote biodiversity, an insect-rich garden will also benefit birds.
7. Grow climbers against walls and fences to provide shelter, roosting and nesting sites for birds.
8. Think about birds that don’t use boxes (such as Blackbird and Dunnock) – keep your shrubs and hedges thick and avoid hedge-trimming and pruning from March to August, inclusive.
9. Dead wood is great for biodiversity (especially insects); dying shrubs and plants are best left to decompose naturally.
10. Help the BTO find out more about our breeding birds by monitoring your nest box for Nest Box Challenge (www.bto.org/nbc)