Over the winter in the UK several home made nesting boxes appeared on the trees just over the fence behind our neighbours' garden. They are all slightly different but all painted a nice dark green. The neighbours have also built a hedgehog house (but we only get a glimpse of that from a bedroom window so have no idea how successful it has been).
Having a wood at the back of our house is a mixed blessing, but mostly good. We enjoy watching the antics of the birds and squirrels but they do make a hell of a racket! The dawn chorus now starts at close to 3.30 am !! And the pigeons make a lot of mess. But it is mostly a real delight to have all this entertainment just over the fence.
Sitting on the patio the other day we heard a tapping noise. At first we thought it was Woody the woodpecker tapping the bark nearby but realised it was too slow and irregular for him. Then we noticed a bird repeatedly visiting one of the neighbour's bird boxes. A great tit was doing a bit of DIY, taking moss into the box and tapping against the wood inside to make a bed. We await the results !!
Blue and Great Tits do it every year in ours and there are several suggested reasons why but nobody really knows. Your neighbours bird boxes shouldn't have that ped in them it endangers the occupants. Our Woodpecker pecked the front of our nest box out to get at the chicks so keep a watch for it doing that. Enjoy the sun.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I'll keep an eye on it. I had no idea that woodpeckers ate baby birds, although I've seen the magpies circling the nesting boxes.
DeleteAdorable!
ReplyDeleteI am always glad to see people assisting birds.
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