Foresters of the State Forest Enterprise invite you to welcome the birds returning with spring – On 7 March, a traditional incubator raising celebration "Birds are coming home" will take place across Lithuania. The idea to build nesting boxes for the returning winged birds was invented more than a century ago by Prof. Tadas Ivanauskas, and today this tradition is upheld by foresters, naturalists, schoolchildren and bird lovers. All the nesting boxes, which will become a home for this year's returning birds, are made by the hands of foresters.

How to make and raise a nesting box correctly?

To ensure that nest boxes become safe homes for nesting birds, it is important that they are made and raised correctly. Nest boxes should be made from natural materials. The most suitable materials are unvarnished, unpainted boards, which make it easier for the chicks to get a foothold. Once a suitable nest box has been made, it is a good idea to raise it facing east or south – nest boxes facing in this direction are better occupied. A very common mistake – attaching the anvil to the nesting land. The anvil is thought to be necessary and allows the birds to perch comfortably. On the contrary, the anvil is only convenient for predators – pigs, cats, which can more easily reach the nest box, whereas birds do not need it at all.

Other birds, in this case – woodpeckers, can also become a problem. These winged birds, nicknamed "forest sanitarians", can widen the nesting holes, which can endanger the birds that live and breed in them. To avoid this risk, foresters recommend reinforcing the nesting box opening with an additional tin guard, which the woodpecker's beak will not be able to pierce.

It is important to note that the nest box must be stable, not swaying in the wind, and should preferably be placed in a more open position, at a height of about 3-4 metres, rather than in the thicket of tree branches, to ensure good bird access.

Where are nest boxes placed?

It is common to build nest boxes for small winged birds such as starlings, kingfishers, flycatchers and red-breasted nuthatches, but some rare species also make their homes in nest boxes. Special nest boxes are built and raised for owls, cuckoos, brass bats and even mammals such as dormice and bats.

Foresters are quick to reassure – if a nesting box built in spring is still empty after a while, you shouldn't hang your nose. Once the nest box is up, it will not necessarily be immediately occupied by a winged warbler, but it may be occupied the following year, or even several years later. For this reason, it is recommended to put up nest boxes all year round, not just in spring. A nest box can provide an excellent shelter for nesting warblers, a roosting place for birds, a home for insects and a place to store supplies for sleeping birds.

On 7 March, more than 8 thousand nest boxes will be put up across Lithuania during the "Birds are coming back home" campaign, all of them made by foresters from VMU Kretinga, Raseiniai and Tauragė regional units. We invite all nature-loving and bird-loving citizens to come, get acquainted and together with the foresters put up the nesting boxes that will become a home for the forest songbirds!