Valentines day sees the launch of National Nest Box Week. Sometimes it feels like each day of the year is allocated to some cause, but we are of course happy to advertise this annual event.
Tradition has it that the 14th February is when wild British birds start pairing up before preparing for their nests and offspring. Although, in my garden I have already witnessed some eager early starters!
The nesting season runs from March till September with some birds having more than one brood. Professionally we advise and are keen to stop all hedge cutting by this date and commence again in the autumn.
Nest sites may be difficult to find in our neat and tidy gardens. Understandably not many of us will tolerate decaying trees in our gardens, and so the answer may well be to introduce artificial habitats for the wildlife to shelter in.
CAR Gardens are selling these boxes for £7.50. We can also offer advice and locate them successfully for you.
And why should we help the wildlife? Well if you enjoy the buzz of nature in the garden you will already have a reason, but there is also a much more practical reason that we advocate for a healthy and well balanced garden.
Wild birds are constantly after food. This will comprise of insects including aphids, midges and ground level bugs such as slugs, snails and ants. In an organic garden this natural pest control is vital for success.
So as part of CAR Gardens commitment to organic gardening and environmentally friendly landscaping we are incorporating wildlife habitats into our garden designs.
We would also love to see each of our regular maintenance projects to home these habitats, and so we have asked Haylands Farm – a local MENCAP project– to start making bird, bat and bug boxes for us. The timber used is Island wood and untreated (so as not to harm any occupants with fumes and leaching of chemicals). A generous percentage of any profits from these sales goes directly to the sustainability of the farm.
These bird boxes have been designed so that the lids are easily removed for annual cleaning and the front panel unscrews to give the option of a open nest box, depending upon which birds you would like to attract.
