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Saturday, December 3, 2011
What's the difference between roosting boxes and nesting boxes?
Why should I use a roosting box?
When should I use a roosting box?
What makes a good roosting box?
How and where should I mount my roosting boxes?
Nesting boxes or bird houses are meant for just that. Birds use them to house and raise their young in a protected and sheltered environment. This gives their babies a better chance to survive to fledge and start eating all those bugs and weed seeds we have in our yards and gardens!
Roosting boxes are meant to be used for sheltering birds during inclement, nasty weather. When it is frigid, birds huddle together for warmth. If they have a roosting box, more birds can enter and conserve their body heat in a protected area. Roosting boxes can protect our backyard birds from torrential rain storms, high winds and heavy snowfalls as well.
Nesting boxes have entrance holes more towards the top of the bird house. Roosting boxes' entrances are located near the bottom of the box because body heat rises up to where the internal perches are located. Cold air stays near the bottom and away from the birds that are trying to keep warm. A roosting box will have no ventilation slots near the roof. That would be counterproductive to keeping heat in.
In addition, a good roosting box will have several perches placed at different levels inside on which birds can gather comfortably. The back and sides should be rough inside so birds can cling to them as well. Sometimes the inside back will have a piece of hardware cloth attached to which woodpeckers can cling. There should also be a way to access the inside of the box for cleaning, that is very important. Usually the bottom can be opened by removing a screw or two, and then replaced once maintenance is completed.
Bird houses can be left out all winter to help shelter some birds from bad weather. However, they are not as efficient at keeping birds warm as the roosting boxes. Another problem is that rodents may choose to use the bird houses for raising their young after the birds are done with them. To stop this from happening, I cut a square from a small ¼" thick piece of scrap wood about an inch bigger than the size of the entrance hole of the bird house. I then use a small wood screw to secure one corner of the wood square over the entrance hole. I can then decide when to uncover that entrance hole for some protection from winter blizzards, and especially before nesting season begins in late winter or early spring. By then, any rodents should have found an alternate sheltering spot of their own away from the bird houses!
Where the roosting box is mounted makes a big difference. It should be in a protected area of your yard, preferably in a dense evergreen shrub or tree at least 8 feet off the ground. Make sure it is easily accessible to you, or you won't bother to maintain it.
Another good place would be under your house eaves on the non-prevailing wind side of your home. The area around your home makes its own micro-climate where some measure of warmth exists in all seasons. If the roosting box is placed where it will get the most sun exposure during the day, that would be best.
Your roosting box will be heavier than your bird houses as a rule. So make sure it is securely mounted to whatever place you decide. It wouldn't do to have it blow down during a blizzard! You can use a sturdy metal or wooden pole to support your roosting box as well. Adding a metal baffle below the box is an easy way to thwart would-be predators.
Once the bad weather season has passed and the breeding season begins, it is best to cover the hole on your roosting box to prevent uninvited guests from using the box as their home. You should clean out any debris left from the wintering birds before either storing your roost box or covering the hole.
Birds like to return to familiar structures year after year. That is why I choose to leave my roosting and nesting boxes in place and just cover the entrance holes after maintenance and cleaning, depending upon the season. This ensures my birds have a good place to raise their young year after year, or to survive all the bad stuff Mother Nature throws at them!
They show their appreciation by keeping my yard and gardens relatively free of bugs and bad insects as well as weed seeds. I also get to enjoy their beautiful and cheery songs and acrobatic antics. I show my appreciation by providing food and shelter year round. It's a good deal!
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/bird-watching-articles/why-use-roosting-boxes-for-backyard-birds-5166526.html
About the Author
Connie Smith is the expert author and has over 35 years of backyard birding experience. For more information about wild birds, visit her website at:
http://www.rusticbarnwoodbirdhouses.com
There you will also find many unique handcrafted wooden bird houses and bird feeders and roosting boxes.
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