Surely a wee bird box on an allotment is a good thing .. isn't it ?

I am thinking of putting a bird box, perhaps fastened to a tall post on my allotment. Wee birds, tits and the like eat grubs and aphids don't they and would not really be interested in my new veg.

Am I right ?

Is there any downside to having a box on the plot ?

 

sounds a good idea and yes they will help to sort out the insects etc , only downside if to exposed that the birds may be scared off with to many people in the area, sheltered spot out of the way is best

Spruce

 

Good idea, but they might not like it being so exposed on a post. Have you got a shed there?

 

If siting a bird box on a shed make sure you stuff some scrunched up chicken wire into the guttering outlet + put a cover over the water butt/tank below to keep the fledglings away from a watery grave.


P.S. If I put a box on a tall post at my plot it would get Red Kites, Hen Harriers (saw first this autumn at plot last week) and Buzzards perching on it.

 

Something I found out a few years ago when birds were completely ignoring a feeder I put up, is that they case out what they're interested in first, checking for ambush possibilities. They're not daft. I'd put a feeder too close to an overhanging shed roof that was just right for a cat to strike while they were on it, so they left it alone. I moved it to somewhere where an ambush would be more difficult and more or less immediately they started using it.

 

If you're lucky enough to attract a blackbird it will reward you by eating loads of slugs, so don't use slug pellets

 

Blackbirds :-)
I have six visiting and feeding, usually seeds and fat balls
On Thursday I was working with my compost heap and within I have a carpet cover,
I removed this and the underside was covered in slugs and slaters
I placed this upside where I usually put the bird feed, and retired back to the house
Every bird visited ignored the slugs and hopped to the fat balls
So I removed the fat balls and they all left the garden

Stupid vegan blackbirds

Jack McH

 

I think nothing eats slugs except as a last resort, seen thrushes eating snails but other than crows, who then spend ages trying to get rid of the slime first, never slugs.

 

Only those of our hens who're actually laying (& need all the protein they can get) will eat slugs. Those who're 'retired' non-layers look at them in disgust,