Nesting Pods - Placement Guide
Pod Placement
Direction:
In Europe and the US, we recommend facing your nesting pods between north and east, as this will provide natural protection from direct sunlight, wind and rain. Always pick a spot that doesn't have constant direct sunlight, as the pod may become too hot for the eggs or hatchlings inside. For this reason, we never recommend placing a nest pod in a directly south-facing position or on a south-facing wall, unless the location is well shaded.
Environment:
As shown in the top illustration, whether mounting on a tree or a wall, we recommend placing the Nester pod within close proximity to natural cover such as pod-shading tree branches and established shrubs. However, it is important to make sure that there are no branches or other physical obstructions in the area directly in front of the Nester pod entrance. Birds prefer a direct flight path to the entrance of their nesting site, because once their eggs hatch, they will be feeding the hatchlings constantly and will require the fastest possible way to and from their nesting pod.
When using our Variety pod for an open-fronted nest site, make sure that it's tucked well into foliage, such as an established vining wall or other established vegetation. Placing a Variety pod between several Trellis pods with established plants can create an excellent bird habitat. The primary goal when placing a Variety pod as an open-fronted nest option is to make sure it is not obvious to predators, especially predatory birds such as magpies.
Height:
For the Nester pod, we recommend a minimum placement height of 2 meters from the ground, but you may see even better results by placing the pod 3-4 meters from the ground.
We recommend a minimum placement height of 2 meters above the ground for open-fronted (Variety pod) nest pods. For Where you site nest boxes in your garden is important both to the likelihood of the box being used by birds, and the health and welfare of the birds once in it.
Entry Size:
The Nester pod comes with four stainless steel entry guards to help you attract specific bird types, while also providing greater protection to the nesting birds. To help you choose the right size, please refer to our Illustrated Bird Guide page.
When to place a bird nest box
There is never a bad time to place nesting pods in your garden, but autumn or early winter is when many bird species will begin actively looking for a nest site. Although this is several months before most birds begin nest building, many will spend a month or more investigating a suitable nest site before deciding, so having your Nester or Variety pods in place early helps make sure they are considered.
Also, a nest pod placed in your garden prior to cold weather provides a needed shelter for roosting birds. Even if the pods aren’t adopted by breeding pairs in the coming months (it sometimes takes more than one season before pods are used for nesting) they may very well serve as a safe, dry roosting place to help your native bird species get through the long cold nights of winter.
Attracting birds to your nesting box
Birds are noticeably present - or absent - from your garden depending on how well your garden supports their needs. Before worrying about how to attract birds to a specific nesting box, first take a look at how well your garden is attracting (and keeping) native birds in the area.
Just like humans, birds are looking for three key things for their survival - food, water and shelter. The more of these things that your local native birds find in both your and surrounding neighbors' gardens, the more likely they'll be to take up residence close by. When it comes to attracting birds to your garden, here are 4 key things to consider:
1. Provide water year-round
Birds use water for both drinking and bathing, so having water available year-round is a great way to get their attention. Since a pond or natural water feature is not usual found in most gardens, providing a simple birdbath is a great alternative. We recommend changing the water every 2-3 days in summer and using an approved heater in the winter to prevent icing. Be sure to place the birdbath about 10 feet from dense shrubs or other cover that predators may use.
2. Install native plants - and remove invasive plants
Planting a variety of native plants is an excellent way to offer year-round food in the form of seeds, berries, nuts, and nectar. This is also a better - and lower maintenance - alternative to using feeders, which creates an artificial food source that birds may come to rely to heavily upon. Introducing native plants helps to reinforce the natural ecosystem native to your area. For this same reason, we recommend removing as many invasive (non-native) plants as possible, which out-compete the native species favored by birds and many of their insect food sources.
3. Eliminate insecticides in your yard
Put simply, when you kill insects, you destroy a critical part of the natural web of life that wildlife and other animals need to survive. Insects are the primary source of food for many bird species and are a critical source of protein and fats for hatchlings and juvenile birds.
4. Keep your garden as natural as possible
Dead trees provide cavity-dwelling shelter for birds and also offer a wide variety of insects in their daily diet. Cut lawns have little value to birds or other wildlife, and lawns contaminated with fertilizers and insecticides are essentially a lifeless wasteland when it comes to the insects birds feed on. Allowing some natural chaos to exist in your garden - including uncut grasses and brush piles - is an easy and highly effective way top rebuild the insect ecology that local birds rely on.
Time required before birds nest
Even when perfectly placed in a garden brimming with life, a new nest pod may not be used for nesting in the first season. And yes, it's more common than you might think. If this happens, take a deep breath, remember that patience is a key ingredient top enjoying nature, and then leave it for the following breeding season. (But do check the pod to make sure everything is in good order before the next season.)
If the pod hasn’t been used after two seasons, consider moving it to a new location.
Cleaning a nest box
Once a nesting pod has been used, it’s essential that the old nest material is removed. If not, many common species (such as Blue Tit and Great Tit) won’t use the nest site again. Thankfully, the Nester pod was designed with this in mind, so cleaning it is as easy as removing the front face and replacing the old Nester pod insert with a new one.
When cleaning a Variety pod that's been used as an open-face nesting site, simply remove the front face of the pod and clean out the old nesting material, then snap the front face back into position.
The best time of year to clean the nest pods is early autumn - though we recommended observing all nest pods closely to make sure they're empty before starting the process. The old Nester pod insert and nesting material can be discarded or simply placed in your compost pile.