For birds nesting in tree holes (e.g. tits and starlings), we can build a nest box. However, we must not forget about the safety of its future dwellers. It has to be put in a place which is out of reach for both cats and malicious people. Moreover, it must be constructed in a way which makes it difficult for martens to get access to eggs and chicks. Martens are mammal predators specialized in robbing nests and they may be found almost everywhere, even in big cities. We often do not realize, that they live nearby, because martens are very shy and hunt almost only by night. To prevent martens from reaching the eggs in the nest box, the distance between the entrance and the floor of the box cannot be smaller than 21 cm. Moreover, the entrance to the box should be a 6 cm long circular corridor – in order to make such a corridor, one has to attach a wooden block to the front wall of the box, and then cut a hole in it.

The diameter of the entry hole for small birds should be 3.3 cm, while the entrance for starlings should reach 4.7 cm in diameter. Attention! Some nest boxes sold in the supermarkets and shops with gardening equipment are too flat, with big entry holes. They may rather serve as a feeding table for martens, while for birds they are deadly traps.

Tree holes are far better then nesting boxes, so an old apple tree in our garden, which is of no use to us, may appear a wonderful gift for birds.

Birds also like to place their nests in thick bushes. Thus, by planting shrubs in our allotment or around our houses, we provide birds with great opportunities to get settled. Birds will also take advantage of a hedge, and sometimes of a bush of currants. The more varied are the bushes and shrubs we have planted in our garden, the more bird species we may expect  to nest in it, as they will not disturb one another.

The best thing we can do for birds dwelling in our gardens is desisting from, or limiting the usage of pesticides. Chicks are fed on insects, mostly soft larvae. If poisoned with pesticides they usually are deadly for young birds. Moreover by killing the majority of insects and their larvae in the vicinity of the nest, we sentence birds to dying of hunger. Insects, which are bad for our crops are quickly and eagerly eaten by birds living in the vicinity. Thus, birds nesting in our gardens (if the number of them is big enough) may protect our crops.

While furnishing our gardens or allotments, we may also think about birds, which shall visit them in autumn and winter in search for food. For them we may plant some bushes which have fruit up to winter, e.g. hawthorn and common sea buckthorn.