It's National Nest Box Week

Looking out for bird types that can be spotted in a Chiswick garden

One of the nest boxes in Acton Green. Picture: Jon Perry

National Nest Box Week has begun. This has been taking place from 14–21 February for 19 years. February is the ideal time of year to put up nest boxes. Even though it is still winter, the days are getting longer and you’ll have noticed garden birds beginning to sing to attract mates, establish their nesting territories and starting to look for suitable places to nest.

All our garden birds are getting into their breeding plumage now – male great tits in their prime have particularly broad, glossy, black bands down their chests, male blackbirds are looking shiny with bright yellow beaks and bluetits are looking particularly colourful. You may already have been seeing two robins in your garden that have paired up early. Robins are very territorial and the only time of year you’ll see two happily together is during the breeding season.

Catherine Day pointing to a nest box on Acton Green. Picture: Jon Perry

If you took part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch a fortnight ago, you may have been surprised to discover how many species a small Chiswick garden can hold. Catherine Day, our local RSPB Swift and Urban Nature Volunteer, recorded these in her garden:

“Start 10:30am Robin hops into the ground feeding cage for the sunflower seeds I have scattered on the ground inside it. There are a few chopped nuts there, too.
10.31: It’s all gone quiet.
10:36 A female blackbird appears on the garden wall and a robin is singing in my little rowan tree.
10:44 am: A wren flits in for a quick drink at the birdbath. Great tit and robin arrive while the blackbird looks on.
10:45 Wren has a bath. Lots of splashing. A second great tit arrives and perches on the hanging seed feeder.
10:46 Two light-and-dark-grey feral pigeons lumber in and start hoovering up a few sunflower seeds I spilt by the back door.
10:47 The agile one balances on top of the hanging wooden ‘bird-house feeder’, but can’t get into it.
10:49 All quiet. I pour another cup of tea!
10:58 A squirrel runs along the fence.
11:04 Two feral pigeons clatter in and out and scare two goldfinches off the two mini nyger-seed feeders. I got those at the Barnes Wetland Centre. Brilliant for putting small amounts of food out so that it doesn’t go stale.
11:06 A magpie lands. Blackbird gives a single alarm call and disappears. Magpie hurriedly takes a couple of stray sunflower seeds from the ground and hops off over the wall.
11:07 Male blackbird comes back.
11:11 Great tit back. No bluetits today? Come one, where are you?
11:13 All quiet. Seven bird species so far… and a squirrel. (Mustn’t forget to count the other wildlife, too.)
11:15 Hooray – the sun comes out for a few seconds! It’s looking good for the Chiswick Timeline Unveiling Party at lunchtime!
11:17 A dunnock arrives. One great tit comes back.
11:19 I know I have a pair of robins around. They aren’t showing themselves together this morning. Maybe I shall only be able to record one for this year’s bird count if the other doesn’t show up at the same time to confirm the pair, as robin males and females are identical.
11:24 Wood pigeon arrives.
11:24-and-a-half Another ‘woody’ lands!
11:26 One of the robins is back and perches on the seed feeder for a short snack.
11:27 I make more toast while keeping an eye on the garden.
11:28 Robin starts singing exuberantly.
11:30 SIX goldfinches arrive!! There are eight feeding-perches on the nyger and sunflower-seed feeders, but they still squabble for places. They drop a few seeds and the male and female blackbird are straight here to clean these up.
11:31 The hour’s up! 10 species of wildlife –nine bird species and one mammal. Not bad for a tiny urban garden with a small rowan tree, a bay tree and two or three shrubs. A shame the blue tit didn’t show up to make it a full complement of my regulars!”

Catherine explains that urban gardens are a vitally important habitat for our songbirds. Nestboxes are readily available for all species of our garden bird, and most houses – and gardens (and other suitable buildings) – can accommodate one or two. The RSPB website has advice about which type to get for your favourite birds, (or how to make one very simply, if you are into DIY), and where and how high put them: visit the site and click on the tab ‘How you can help birds’ then ‘Nestboxes’.

You may have noticed that nestboxes have been up on Acton Green and Acton Green Common. This has been thanks to residents and local councillors agreeing to buy some out of Southfield Ward Forum funds and the support of Ealing Council’s Parks department who put the boxes up. Catherine says that this will help even further the good work already done to increase the biodiversity of Acton Green and has contributed to it keeping its Green Flag status this year.

So, for national Nest Box Week, can you put up a nest box and try to encourage a family of songbirds, or perhaps support the Chiswick Swift Project by putting up a pair of swift nestboxes? Right now swifts will be in central and southern Africa. To read more about the project save our remaining W4 swifts, have a look at the links to our swift articles last summer.

February 15, 2018