Birdhouse

Aerohead

I built a birdhouse for what I hoped would be blue tits, to date despite having them eating at the feeders not one has showed any interest in moving in, would they be breeding yet or what have I done wrong, I built it according to the correct specs, have it mounted on the side of the shed pointing South East but its sheltered from direct sunlight, any tips.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

It's early yet, and some boxes can take a couple of years to become occupied, it would be much better north or north east facing.

jmkennedyie

Nesting and raising a brood is a huge investment so they will use the best location/facilities they can find.

No cat access. Shade from sun and wind so North facing best. No bird feeders nearby - avoids having to continually defend territory. A big one: lots of mature native tress and hedges nearby. These guys need serious supply of caterpillars to feed their brood so if it is a new housing estate etc it may take time before Blue Tits move in.

One local Blue Tit nest here has started construction only in last day or two so still early days

Alun

I have a blue tit nestbox that's been inhabited for the last 3 years, but was empty for 3 years after I put it up first.

There's a female blue tit doing the pecking thing at the entrance that they all seem to do before starting to build a nest, but no sign of nest building inside yet (I've got a camera in it).