Maintain Bird Boxes

Take them down now and give them a clean so they’re ready for next year’s youngsters

- Julian Rollins

Do you have a bird box in your garden? If so, now’s the time for its annual check-up. Closed-front nest boxes work so well because they look like a hole in a tree to birds, the natural nest site of choice for lots of species.

The real thing is relatively hard to find in modern Britain. The natural decay that results in cavities forming in trees happens as they go from maturity to old age, and these veterans are a rarity in most suburban streets.