Kirkleatham's nestbox havens are home tweet home

This past week has been National Nestbox Week – an event which takes place every year to encourage people to help provide a home for nesting birds.

Nestbox created for the resident blue tits

It has been a busy week for us. Last year, we launched the Kirkleatham Nestbox Project and our aim was to place 50 nestboxes around the Kirkleatham estate, which we did. We thought this year we would aim for 50 more and we are pleased to say we have just put up box number 100 – in fact, we are up to box number 102.

One of the nestboxes built for robins

We have also encouraged other residents of Kirkleatham to take part and we have provided nestboxes to individual residents, the school and the almshouses, so if you are a blue tit anywhere in Kirkleatham, the housing options are endless.

Last year, our boxes were used by multiple pairs of blue tits and great tits and we were especially pleased with a nest of seven baby nuthatch chicks. We also had two pairs of blackbirds that built their nests on top of the nestboxes.

Barn owl nestbox that attracted grey squirrels rather than owls

Two boxes that didn’t get used were our barn owl and tawny owl boxes – well, they did get used, just not by owls – the grey squirrels took them over. The squirrels packed them full of leaves to make their dreys, but now they have left, we have cleaned the boxes out and, fingers crossed, an owl may actually use them this year.