Nesting Boxes for Native Birds and other animals

It seems a little odd to be building nesting boxes for native birds, after all they should be able to cope without them right?
Well sort of right, as we change the landscape, remove old dead trees and scrub we also remove natural nesting places for a range of birds and other animals. We plant lots of flowers and shrubs and these provide nectar and lots of mice etc for owls to feed on, but we just don't make trees with hollows in them, so nesting boxes can be a good idea.

And why are we talking about nesting boxes on a gardening web site ? Well birds are a gardeners best friend, they add interest and joy to the garden and the birds eat insects as well. Not to sure that possums need much encouragement, but thats up to you, maybe a nesting box will entice them away from your roof....

Materials

Make sure you use non treated timber, you might go for waterproof marine ply, but really any hardwood builing material is fine, old floor boards are usually made of mountain ash anyway.

Do not paint the inside of a nesting box, the paint is toxic to birds. Some holes in the floor to allow water to get away, make sure the nesting box is well away from dogs and cats. Different size boxes for different birds, Owls will like a bigger sized box that smaller birds. Add some straw and keep away.