Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: mark smyth on March 29, 2007, 08:36:48 AM
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hi all
Some birds have young already while some are still thinking about it. I bought some birch log nest boxes this week that look great. So cheep at only £5. They arrive by return post so if you have thought about it but never acted it's not too late. Available from CJ Wildfood
http://www.birdfood.co.uk/product_details.php?area_id=2&group_id=10&nav_id=140&prd_id=385 (http://www.birdfood.co.uk/product_details.php?area_id=2&group_id=10&nav_id=140&prd_id=385)
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Another nest box arrived today for our garden friends
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Another nest box arrived today for our garden friends
Mark and all others,
the company Schwegler offers all kind of nest boxes. Also for bats...
http://http://www.schwegler-nature.com/
brgds
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I have three Schwegler nest boxes on my house, one friend has four and another has one
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I have three Schwegler nest boxes on my house, one friend has four and another has one
Mark, it seems you are very familiar with. Not much to add.
I built my next boxes by my own using wood boards. In the past I also made some out of wood sharings and concrete. But to pour them in form makes a lot of efforts. But they are more long lasting and robust compared to wood board ones.
I've 10 around my house & garden. Regularly breeders are sparrows, country sparrows, starlings, great tits, blue tits and house redstarts.
Now sparrows and redstarts are extremely busy defending each territories. Males swarming around, hunting females... ::) It's a great pleasure to observe what's going on. ;D
brgds
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I should have added that they are for Common Swifts Apus apus.
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I'm familiar with them all except country sparrows and house redstarts
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I'll make a guess at "country sparrows" being tree sparrows. :)
We don't get any Redstarts in this part ofthe country :(
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I thought along the same lines. The house redstart may be the black redstart phoenicurus ochruros
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That's the problem with trying to fit English names to species.
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Once in Germany we were asked if we had seen the 'Eise Vogle'(Ice Bird). After much discusion this turned out to be a Kingfisher!
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That's fair enough, and names are often applied to similar birds in different countries where they are "divided by a common language". I showed a Robin to a visitor from New York and he just gasped at how small it was (in NY a Robin is a large 'thrush' whereas in the UK it is a small 'chat' - a point lost on the makers of the film "Mary Poppins", but then poor Cruella de Ville wasn't to know there would be Skunks and Racoons in dear old England when she signed up for '101 Dalmations'); in Jamaica a Robin is a small green bird with a red breast, the Jamaican Tody (Todus todus), and sometimes called "Robin Redbreast", according to James Bond in his book "Birds of the West Indies" (Collins, 1960). And why not?
The problem lies when names are translated. Looking up the two Redstarts found in the UK (as migrants), the Black Redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) seems to prefer holes in walls whereas the Redstart (P. phoenicurus) prefers holes in trees, hence 'House Redstart'(?). Both will use nest boxes. The Black Redstart doesn't breed north of the midlands but, during the summer, is found up the east coast as far as Aberdeenshire. The Redstart is found right up to the north of Scotland as a breeding bird, but not on the east coast north of Dundee and, curiously, not Ireland at all (AA/RSPB "The Complete Book of British Birds" 1994).
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The Tody is sooooo cute http://www.kingsnake.com/westindian/todustodus3.JPG (http://www.kingsnake.com/westindian/todustodus3.JPG)
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Went to RSPB site to find out more about assorted Redstarts !
Found these maps which I pinched from here: http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/guide/index.asp
Redstart, only a summer visitor
[attach=1]
Black Redstart, fewer than 100 breeding pairs in the UK
[attach=2]
coloured areas show where bird is found as a resident ( very rare), as a summer or winter visitor or in passage.....point is, lots of white, ie, no redstarts, near me! Perhaps they'll get here eventually!
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My mistake, the Black redstart is a winter visitor to Scotland. [http://blx1.bto.org/atlases/BX-atlas.html]. My book doesn't distinguish between summer and winter migrants.
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Maggi, Mark, Anthony, David,
this lesson teached me not to trust anymore "online dictionaries" :o. I'll use the latin names from next time. They're more distinctive.
Please read: "Regular breeders are Passer domesticus, Passer montanus, Sturnus vulgaris, Parus major, Parus caeruleus and Phoenicurus ochruros."
I'm glad my wrong translation has caused so much smile in your faces, comments and interest. ;D
For all those of you who want to improve their German bird name knowledge:
Passer domesticus = Haussperling
Passer montanus = Feldsperling
Sturnus vulgaris = Star
Parus major = Kohlmeise
Parus caeruleus = Blaumeise
Phoenicurus ochruros = Hausrotschwänzchen
Phoenicurus phoenicurus = Gartenrotschwanz
Alcedo atthis = Eisvogel (David ;))
Apus apus = Mauersegler (Mark ;))
At last, thanks for the detailed distribution area of Redstarts in the UK.
Redstarts in Germany are rare due to distroyed enviroment (agriculture) and missing breeding possibilities. Only on country side with many cattles & hourses you have some chance to see one. Black Redstarts are much more often to see and willingly utilize half-open nest boxes when offered.
To hang up nest boxes is an good investment not only in bird protection. By eating aphids and other destructive insects they help us in our garden works throughout the year. Good topic Mark!
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those going to the Czech conference will hopefully see Redstarts but I cant remmeber if they are black or red. I did when I was there. One pair was using a hole but not in a building or tree well kind of tree. One of these naturally very thick conifers looking like clipped Leylandii
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My parents had a redstart nest in a gutter in their (former) house in Blairdrummond (7 miles from here) a few years ago, but a downpour washed it away. :(
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does anyone know of bumble bees using a nest box to breed in? No interest in mine so far even though I followed an online suggestion to get some soiled mouse bedding from a pet shop. And also following an online suggestion today I caught a queen been and have now imprisioned her in the box. Two days they say.
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I know they like living in mouse holes in the ground
Also the fox sometimes digs them up for the honey and/or young grubs
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We have had bumble bees colonise a nest box in the past... but they did it of their own accord. Most of ours live in the hedge roots where they can get easy access in the leaf litter to a cosy home for the baby bumblers! The cavitities in drystone walls are popular, too.
We've got too many mice in our mouseholes to leave room for bumble bees!
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Sometimes bumble bees make their homes in a clay bank here. Some years ago, they did this among plants which I was establishing on the bank, helichrysums and other dry-loving plants. I didn't know the bees were there and watered the plants while they were new. A couple of weeks later when weeding among them, I dug into the nest and found they had all drowned. I still feel terrible about it.
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I can now confirm that sticking a bee in prison doesnt work. I let my Queen out today and without orientating herself flew out to feed in the garden and then flew off over the house. What I will now do is get some conduit and bury in in the ground and have the other end in the box. That should fool 'em
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Mark, I couldn't find a specific next box for bumble bees but a nice insect house for wild bees.
Maybe an idea for your garden (if you haven't yet any)? Wild bees are good polinators...
For all those who are a bit skilled... some plans for self-made next boxes. Good luck!
http://http://www.bsh-umweltladen.de/bsh/nistk.htm (scroll down to bottom of this page, nest box for Redstart and others)
Notes: all dimensions in cm except nest box for bats which is in mm.
Bat box: The surface of the inner board has to be rough so that bats can hang on.
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A warning about nest boxes at this time of year. Keep a safe distance away. Not for the birds but the fleas that sit at the entrance waiting for something warm to come close. I just had dozens of them jump on to me. Lucklily my sweat shirt is pale grey!