Bird nest boxes suitable for bungalows

Lucid

Hi everyone, in our previous house we had a starling nest in the roof eaves at the front, and a sparrow nest in the roof eaves at the back. We've recently moved to a bungalow and are getting some building works done soon, including an extension with a pitched roof. I was just curious if there are any other bungalow owners who find birds nesting in the roof eaves or is a bungalow too low for birds to take up residence? If there is a chance that birds will want to nest should we make sure there's access points to the eaves for birds when we get the extension built? And would nest boxes work in a lower position on the bungalow walls?

Thanks for any help and input.

Lucid

nick615

We have two home made boxes screwed to the wall just below eaves level, and both are well used by sparrows.  Another factor for you to consider is that the 'building works' you are about to have done will almost certainly meet modern standards/styles for the eaves area of your new home.  'Building Regs' are fairly tightly defined and, having had this type of work done 12 years ago, our eaves have been inaccessible since because 'soffits' now block off the undersides of our eaves.  This renders the whole roof/loft area a no-go area for nesting birds.  Check with your builder?

Butterfly66

I vaguely remember seeing a programme which talked about bricks and soffits which were designed to be bird nest friendly. Might be worth researching and seeing if they would work for your project.

AnniD

Some information here about wildlife friendly roofs.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/makeahomeforwildlife/advice/helpingbirdstest/nestboxes/naturalnests/

Lucid

Thanks for your replies @nick615, @Butterfly66 and @AnniD, and I'm sorry for my delayed reply. That's good to know that nestboxes could still be used by sparrows on the lower height eaves. I will research the information on bird friendly roofs and see if we can come up with something. 

Lucid