Nest Boxes for All Sorts of Birds

BirdNote^®
Nest Boxes for All Sorts of Birds
Written by Conor Gearin

This is BirdNote.

    [Eastern Bluebird song]

You might be familiar with the classic bluebird nest box. In the ’60s and ’70s, people across North America installed bluebird boxes, and that helped reverse the decline of Eastern Bluebirds — a conservation success story.

But there are many more species that need our help. Birds that historically nested in the cavities of dead trees are finding natural nest holes harder to come by. Many of these species will make use of a nest box in parks or near people’s homes.

    [Eastern Screech Owl song]

Screech owls — tiny, adorable owls — will happily raise their little ones in a nest box designed for them. It’s slightly bigger than a bluebird box, and it’s best to install it a bit higher on a tree.

    [Wood Duck calls]

Or you could build a house for Wood Ducks and mount it on a pole. If Wood Ducks do move in, be prepared for as many as 16 chicks to follow their mother out of the nest!

    [Wood Duck calling and splashing down]

BirdNote is on a mission to inspire a million people to take action to help birds over the next three years. For information on building all kinds of nest boxes and to learn more about what you can do to make a difference for birds, visit BirdNote.org. I’m Michael Stein.

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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin

Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Eastern Bluebird ML534348 and Eastern Screech Owl  ML100707 recorded by Wil Hershberger, and Wood Duck ML136505 recorded by Mike Andersen.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.

© 2024 BirdNote January 2024
Narrator: Michael Stein

ID# actions-03-2024-01-10    actions-03