How to help birds thrive for National Nestbox Week

National Nestbox Week takes place from February 14th – 21st and it is a fantastic opportunity to give our garden birds a helping hand as they prepare for the breeding season. With Britain a nation of bird lovers, the week highlights how we can help our feathered friends who are becoming increasingly short of nesting holes in an urban environment. The team at British Garden Centres has put together a guide on how to choose a nest box in-store to help our feathered friends in the garden thrive.

Engaging with nature and helping the birds in your garden live healthy lives is an important aspect of our living environment. Introducing a nest box to your garden can significantly improve a bird's quality of life and is just as essential as a feeder or bird bath in your outdoor space. With the loss of trees, natural borders, and traditional nesting sites, it's more important than ever to support our feathered visitors.

How to choose your nestbox

Nestboxes generally fall into two categories: those with an entrance hole, which provides a degree of protection from predators, and open-fronted boxes.

Look for nestboxes with holes if you want to attract smaller birds to your garden, such as the tit family, nuthatches, redstarts, tree and house sparrows. It's important to choose a box with the appropriate hole size for the birds you want to attract. A 25-28mm hole is ideal for tits and tree sparrows, while a larger 45mm hole is better suited for larger birds like starlings, doves, jackdaws and blackbirds to make their home in. Open-fronted boxes, on the other hand, are favoured by birds that prefer nesting in the undergrowth, such as robins, wrens, wagtails and song thrushes.

We recommend looking for a nestbox that is made from insulating material like wood to combat the unpredictable UK climate and one with walls at least 15mm thick. Our nestbox range all have an internal floor of a minimum of 130 square centimetres (or 20 square inches) to provide ample space for nesting and raising baby birds. Choose a bird box that has drainage holes in the bottom and a sloped roof which help keep the box dry.

Where to place and hang your nestbox

Bird boxes should be mounted high up in your garden or outdoor space, away from predators like cats, ideally on walls, tree trunks, fences and pergola posts. Boxes with holes are best placed around 3 metres high in trees, ideally camouflaged by foliage, while open-fronted boxes can be positioned closer to head height on walls or fences.

Avoid placing bird boxes in direct sunlight, as the excessive heat can be detrimental to the birds and their young. We recommend hanging your nestbox, so it faces either north or east, offering natural protection from the elements. It's also important to space out multiple bird boxes, as clustering them together can lead to territorial disputes, particularly during the nesting season and you don’t want unhappy avian visitors!

When and to clean your nestbox

Cleaning bird boxes at the end of each nesting season is crucial for preventing the spread of any diseases and maintaining the health of your local garden birds. October or November, after the nesting season has finished is the ideal time to give your nestbox a good clean and refresh for the winter months.

When choosing your nestbox, look for ones with an accessible roof or side hatch so you can easily access and remove the old nesting material from the birds and clean thoroughly. Always wear rubber gloves, use boiling water for cleaning and dispose of your cleaning brush immediately afterwards. Old nesting materials can be composted. Inspect your bird boxes for any damage and make necessary repairs or replace them if needed.

Amy Stubbs, Project & Development Manager at British Garden Centres said: “From selecting the right type of nestbox and the perfect location to offering expert advice on placement and maintenance, your local British Garden Centre is your one-stop shop for all things you need to make your garden an attractive space for garden birds. Join us in celebrating National Nest Box Week and help us provide safe and comfortable homes for our feathered friends.”

About British Garden Centres

British Garden Centres (BGC) is the UK’s largest family-owned garden centre group with 70 centres around the country. The group is owned and led by The Stubbs family, who also own and operate Woodthorpe Leisure Park in Lincolnshire. BGC was launched in 1987 with the opening of Woodthorpe Garden Centre by brothers Charles and Robert Stubbs. Since 2018 it has expanded rapidly with the acquisition of 50 garden centres allowing it to grow from its heartland to the business it is now with 70 garden centres spread from Carmarthen to Ramsgate, Wimborne to East Durham.

The group has a team of 3000 colleagues working across the garden centres, restaurants, growing nurseries, distribution centres, Woodthorpe Leisure Park, and Woody’s Restaurant & Bar.