National Nest Box Week
National Nest Box Week (NNBW) is from 14 – 21 February and Northumberland Wildlife Trust is encouraging everybody to give a brood a home.
NNBW takes place each year, and is now an established part of the ornithological calendar.
Starting on St Valentine’s Day, it’s the time when the charity likes to remind everybody to provide homes for dozens of species of birds, as the natural nest sites on which many depend, such as holes in trees and buildings, are fast disappearing as gardens and woods are ‘tidied’ and old houses are repaired.
The wildlife charity is so passionate about birds that two years ago, the demolition of its burnt out visitor centre on its Hauxley reserve at Druridge Bay was delayed due to a pair of barn owls which had nested in the old building and happily produced three chicks.
So, whether you’re a family with space for a box in your garden, a teacher with class full of curious pupils, a member of a local wildlife group, or you belong to a bird club and could organise a work party, National Nest Box Week gives you the chance to contribute to the conservation effort in the UK whilst giving you the pleasure of observing any breeding birds which a nest box will attract. For a free information pack, log on at:
www.bto.org/about-birds/nnbw/information-pack
Steve Lowe, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Head of Conservation and Northumberland Bird Club Committee Member says “If you’ve never built a nest box before, why not give it a go this year? Or if you haven’t got the time, you can buy them fairly reasonably from most supermarkets, garden centres and hardware shops – go on, do your bit for Britain’s birds.”
