How Essential?

JohnM20 replied on 04/03/2023 08:57

JohnM20

Posted on 04/03/2023 08:57

Our house has a south facing roof and for several years, sparrows have nested under the tiles. Each year they take in grass and other nest building materials which I would like them to stop. To this end I have made a multi-compartment nest box which I am / was going to put up under the eaves, adjacent to where they nest. The advice seems to be don't put boxes on a south facing wall, presumably because of the heat but the sparrows themselves build on this south side of the house so the heat can't bother them that much as they have several broods each year.

So the question is, should I be OK with my proposed position. The box will be slightly shaded from direct sun, being under the eaves and the timber used is 20mm thick, so quite a good insulator. I could mount it on the east side of the house but the sparrows never seem to go down that side of the house. Just as a point of interest, my neighbour put a robin box on the south side of his house and blackbirds used it twice last year. Any comments anyone?

24 replies

Rocky 2 buckets replied on 04/03/2023 17:08

Rocky 2 buckets

Posted on 04/03/2023 15:23 by Takethedogalong

Collared doves and Wood Pigeons abound here. I am not fond of either, but they are tolerated. We do well for Goldfinches, LT Tits, and the occasional Gold Crest as well. Arboreal Warfare between Squirrels, Magpies and Jackdaws😂 Love them all though.

Posted on 04/03/2023 17:08

Are you enjoying your stove?. I struggle with not lighting it as soon as I get up unless we are out then I just set it for our return👍🏻. I will miss winter when it’s finally done, a stove so makes winter bearable.

1 person likes this

mickysf replied on 04/03/2023 22:24

Member

mickysf

Motorhomer

Posted on 04/03/2023 08:57 by JohnM20

Our house has a south facing roof and for several years, sparrows have nested under the tiles. Each year they take in grass and other nest building materials which I would like them to stop. To this end I have made a multi-compartment nest box which I am / was going to put up under the eaves, adjacent to where they nest. The advice seems to be don't put boxes on a south facing wall, presumably because of the heat but the sparrows themselves build on this south side of the house so the heat can't bother them that much as they have several broods each year.

So the question is, should I be OK with my proposed position. The box will be slightly shaded from direct sun, being under the eaves and the timber used is 20mm thick, so quite a good insulator. I could mount it on the east side of the house but the sparrows never seem to go down that side of the house. Just as a point of interest, my neighbour put a robin box on the south side of his house and blackbirds used it twice last year. Any comments anyone?

Posted on 04/03/2023 22:24

Interested to know what is the reason for wanting to stop the under eave nesting, is it hazardous in any way, John? We tried to encourage swifts to do similar but failed in our attempts, even the sparrow didn’t take up residency, don’t know why.

Takethedogalong replied on 04/03/2023 22:44

Member

Takethedogalong

Posted on 04/03/2023 17:08 by Rocky 2 buckets

Are you enjoying your stove?. I struggle with not lighting it as soon as I get up unless we are out then I just set it for our return👍🏻. I will miss winter when it’s finally done, a stove so makes winter bearable.

Posted on 04/03/2023 22:44

We love it, but then I was brought up in a home with open fires, and we only did a year in this house without an open fire. 38 years this month in this, our only house. We had a big Spanish basket in our big open hearth for 27 years, we could burn some big logs on there, but we always let it go out overnight for safety, and used a fire Screen as well. When OH retired, we forked out for a big stove, had chimney lined and got into the wood burn groove properly. We are fortunate to have some big trees in our garden and neighbour gardens, so are seldom short of wood to burn, got a great collect, cut, store/dry system in place. We have taken to picking up a couple of supermarket bag for life stick collections most dog walks in our local woods, as there is just so much wood lying around, and it’s ready to burn after a week or so drying in greenhouse. Big logs are thrown into Jeep as well🤣 We actually enjoy cutting and storing it, the exercise and effort does us good. I love thwacking at stuff with a big axe, but haven’t used chain saw yet. We burn smokeless as well just to get a good ash bed, but it doesn’t cost much and warms most of house. I know what you mean about lighting it in day, soon gets things warm. I only put heating on for an hour before heading up to bed, and it’s on for an hour in morning as well at the moment. Wouldn’t be without it, so cosy😁

Rocky 2 buckets replied on 04/03/2023 23:07

Rocky 2 buckets

Posted on 04/03/2023 22:44 by Takethedogalong

We love it, but then I was brought up in a home with open fires, and we only did a year in this house without an open fire. 38 years this month in this, our only house. We had a big Spanish basket in our big open hearth for 27 years, we could burn some big logs on there, but we always let it go out overnight for safety, and used a fire Screen as well. When OH retired, we forked out for a big stove, had chimney lined and got into the wood burn groove properly. We are fortunate to have some big trees in our garden and neighbour gardens, so are seldom short of wood to burn, got a great collect, cut, store/dry system in place. We have taken to picking up a couple of supermarket bag for life stick collections most dog walks in our local woods, as there is just so much wood lying around, and it’s ready to burn after a week or so drying in greenhouse. Big logs are thrown into Jeep as well🤣 We actually enjoy cutting and storing it, the exercise and effort does us good. I love thwacking at stuff with a big axe, but haven’t used chain saw yet. We burn smokeless as well just to get a good ash bed, but it doesn’t cost much and warms most of house. I know what you mean about lighting it in day, soon gets things warm. I only put heating on for an hour before heading up to bed, and it’s on for an hour in morning as well at the moment. Wouldn’t be without it, so cosy😁

Posted on 04/03/2023 23:07

I changed out my old stove that could take 18” logs for a DEFRA approved smaller one with the recyc technology to cut the particulates down to a minimum. It needs a kind of MOT every year by a HETAS engineer. It has a big old sheet of glass that looks very nice showcasing dancing flames. It also has a choice of burning speeds, it’s canny for sure as I’ve got a little over 50% wood still in the stores🤷🏻‍♂️. It has helped with the energy costs too, we got £200 back from the energy company which threw me until I did my research😂.

brue replied on 05/03/2023 08:57

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brue

Motorhomer

Posted on 04/03/2023 22:24 by mickysf

Interested to know what is the reason for wanting to stop the under eave nesting, is it hazardous in any way, John? We tried to encourage swifts to do similar but failed in our attempts, even the sparrow didn’t take up residency, don’t know why.

Posted on 05/03/2023 08:57

We're not lucky enough to have Swifts and Swallows either but neighbours have them. Some of the new houses in our village were built with overhangs on their roofs and the Swallows have returned year after year when previously they used the modern barns which were demolished for the new housing. Forward thinking at it's best.

Good to hear so many have plenty of birds.

JohnM20 replied on 05/03/2023 09:11

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JohnM20

Caravanner

Posted on 04/03/2023 22:24 by mickysf

Interested to know what is the reason for wanting to stop the under eave nesting, is it hazardous in any way, John? We tried to encourage swifts to do similar but failed in our attempts, even the sparrow didn’t take up residency, don’t know why.

Posted on 05/03/2023 09:11

Not exactly hazardous Micky but it is surprising how much potential nesting material that they have flown up with that gets left in the gutter with the potential of blocking the drainage. I'm getting too old to be shimmying up and down ladders on a regular basis to check / clear the gutter. They nest not actually under the eaves but under the roof tiles. This has encouraged flies to enter the loft space especially if one of the chicks doesn't make it for some reason. Last year we had quite a swarm of flies in the loft. Was this the heat that killed one or more of the young birds? I'll never know as I can't get to the area where their nest is due to the roof being very a very shallow pitch compared to most roofs.

brue replied on 05/03/2023 09:24

Member

brue

Motorhomer

Posted on 05/03/2023 09:24

We had a similar problem with field mice last year, we got them out with humane traps and relocated them back to the fields. We were able to reduce the gaps that let them in...quite a palaver up in the loft every day.

Rocky 2 buckets replied on 05/03/2023 09:32

Rocky 2 buckets

Posted on 05/03/2023 09:11 by JohnM20

Not exactly hazardous Micky but it is surprising how much potential nesting material that they have flown up with that gets left in the gutter with the potential of blocking the drainage. I'm getting too old to be shimmying up and down ladders on a regular basis to check / clear the gutter. They nest not actually under the eaves but under the roof tiles. This has encouraged flies to enter the loft space especially if one of the chicks doesn't make it for some reason. Last year we had quite a swarm of flies in the loft. Was this the heat that killed one or more of the young birds? I'll never know as I can't get to the area where their nest is due to the roof being very a very shallow pitch compared to most roofs.

Posted on 05/03/2023 09:32

jM20, I’ve had it put to me it is hazardous(the years of nesting material build up). I admit it isn’t my thinking but it was put to me by a building inspector(insurance) that to allow birds unfettered access to homes under roofs is classed as a fire hazard. I can understand from an insurance perspective for sure. When I put my Mesh up after cleaning away decades of nests that amounted to 4 reusable supermarket bags rammed with nesting material I accepted what the insurance guy said as he has the experience but I’ve never heard of nest fires happening🤷🏻‍♂️

JohnM20 replied on 05/03/2023 09:55

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JohnM20

Caravanner

Posted on 05/03/2023 09:24 by brue

We had a similar problem with field mice last year, we got them out with humane traps and relocated them back to the fields. We were able to reduce the gaps that let them in...quite a palaver up in the loft every day.

Posted on 05/03/2023 09:55

I suspected that we had mice in the loft last year. We had heard scratching. I put my trail cam up there and sure enough it was mice. They just paraded in front of the camera. What I want to know is what were they eating whilst up there?