Churchyard Nature Note with Andrew Tompsett
January 2012
Come, gentle spring! ethereal mildness, come.
‘The seasons’ by James Thomson 1700-1748
(the author of ‘Rule Britannia’)
As the New Year dawns we eagerly look for signs of spring, and make preparations. One of our January churchyard jobs is to
check and reinstall the nest boxes needed for some of our most attractive and useful birds. Sparrows, blue tits, great tits and
robins will soon be checking out possible nesting places and these species are some of our most useful in helping to control the bugs which assail our summer crops. Being hole-nesters they are otherwise dependent on finding hollow trees which are less common these days. Perhaps you have a bird box that needs checking and cleaning out to provide a home for the tits that you
have fed in the garden this winter.
Most hole types boxes should be erected 2-3 metres high facing away from direct sun and rain with a clear flight path to the box
and also well clear of places where cats can snatch the inhabitants. Before putting up the churchyard boxes we need to check that they are sound because damaged or rotted boxes can give easy access to those bird or animal species which rob nests of their eggs and young. Worst amongst these are jays and greater spotted woodpeckers but squirrels are also nest raiders. These have sometimes raided our nest boxes in the churchyard and we now apply metal plates with the appropriate sized hole (available from most garden centres) which can be fitted to minimise the risk.
Recently we watched, fascinated, as a woodpecker set up home in a nearby electric pole and it was amazing how quickly the
hole was made. We will be interested to see whether or not this hole is used for nesting in the spring. When notified, an Electricity Board employee said that their poles are increasingly subject to woodpecker ‘attack’ and this is increasing their costs. Could this
suggest that, as with many hole-nesting birds, we do not have as many old, trees with holes in them as we used to. This is a matter we have raised before concerning churchyard trees, where safety issues inevitably have to take precedence in view of the number of children and families who walk through.
To reassure you, and for our protection, we have recently had another professional inspection carried out so that, as far as possible, we have no dangerous trees around our church. Fortunately, we have had a clean report with no tree judged to pose
a risk to anyone at present. The tree inspector will be back to repeat the job in two years time.
In the meantime nest boxes will suffice for those delightful bird species that need holes and hollows in which to nest.