Our least favourite, but very important, task in Jubilee Wood is cleaning out the bird nesting boxes. We do this annually to ensure the boxes are ready for spring, and it also allows us to track which boxes were used last year. Due to the pests, especially mites, which persist in the nests we clean them out then spray them with a specialist disinfectant. We also must wear PPE to ensure we are not infected by the mites.
In February 2025 we cleaned 25 boxes, and this is what we found:
- 18 had been used
- 7 were empty
- A robin box used for the first time
- 1 used as a roost
- 1 had 2 abandoned eggs
What we also noticed is the increase of plastic in the nesting material. One unmistakable fabric is that from tennis balls. We often find lost balls when litter picking and it seems the birds are pecking the loose material from the balls and using it to help line the nests.
Equally worrying is the presence of dog hairs in the nests. Due to modern pet flea treatments, which use pesticides, traces of these chemicals are present on the hair when we brush our dogs. Well-meaning dog owners are leaving these hairs in their gardens for the birds to use, and we’ve seen evidence of dog owners brushing their dogs in Jubilee Wood and leaving the fur there too, we guess again for the birds to use. Unwittingly, they are killing our songbirds.
If you’re a dog owner, please don’t leave your dogs’ hair outside for the birds. You can find out more at the link below.
Songbirds being killed by pesticides found in pet fur flea treatments – The Guardian
