Welcome to Keeds Wood birds and bats
Yesterday, Megan and I finally got around to putting up the bird and bat boxes we made in August with the help of local people during the summer holidays.
Megan regularly completes nesting bird surveys in Keeds Wood so was the perfect companion to help me sight the boxes. We had three bird boxes to put up. So we headed for an area of the wood Megan had seen marsh tits using.
Despite their name, marsh tits are most often found in broadleaf woodlands (like Keeds Wood) as well as parks and gardens. They are present all year round and do not migrate. They are very specialist and are struggling to adapt to the changing world around them. In fact numbers of have dropped by over 50% since the 1970's. They therefore have a red status which means they are the in the highest category for conservation priority. So it is brilliant that they are in Keeds Wood, but they may need a helping hand from us.
Marsh tits are very fussy about where they nest - they like secluded openings into cavities in trees. They also nest relatively low down. So if you see one of the boxes low down, don't think we have gone mad! The hope is that one of two things will happen:
1. The marsh tits like our low down box and move in (not that likely as the entrance is a bit too big and open for them)
2. Other tit species such as blue tits and great tits might decide to nest in the box as they are less fussy, meaning they are not competing with the marsh tits for nest sites which they would prefer.
Below is a picture of our low box in situ and an image of a marsh tit (RSPB image) so you know what to look out for.
We did however decide to pop the other two boxes up a bit higher. We were looking for spots facing out of the prevailing wind with a clear entrance way to allow birds to fly in and out freely.
The last challenge was to put up the bat boxes. Again we had three to put up. Bats tend to prefer boxes above 4m high with some sun on them. So we headed to the edge of the woodland to see if we could find the perfect location. We found a great location on Keeds Lane just before the entrance.
So as it is half term, why not head out and see if you can find the boxes, and spot any birds as they are busy feeding whilst they can before winter sets in. Bats will soon be hibernating too, though I am sure some will still be out foraging for insects at least up until Hallowe'en!
A huge thanks to Megan for all her help.
