As humans continue to build and take over more and more of the countryside, a rising number of birds are losing their own homes as a result.  This major habitat loss means that food and water are harder for them to find, and it is becoming increasingly hard for them to breed and survive, resulting in losses in numbers and possibly somewhere down the line – complete extinction in some cases! Can you imagine a world without our cheery robins? Or beautiful owls? We have allowed some parts of our site to stay as natural as possible, to encourage birds to visit, feed, and nest.  We have created various different habitats for them – ponds and boggy wetlands, fields, and wooded areas. A habitat includes all four necessities for survival – food, water, shelter and nesting areas.

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As well as keeping certain areas as natural as possible, to maintain and create habitats for wild birds and other animals to use, we have also created many nesting areas for them around the sanctuary.  The natural nest sites on which many of our wild bird species depend, such as holes in trees and buildings, are fast disappearing as trees are cut down in gardens and woods, and old buildings are repaired (or in most cases, demolished).  

Therefore providing adequate nesting areas for birds is extremely important to us in order to ensure that our wild birds can thrive and increase in numbers, at a time when we are seeing a great decline in many of our native species.

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If you look carefully, you will notice lots of different-sized nesting boxes around the site! Keep your eyes peeled, we have already had success with birds nesting and breeding in our boxes!  Please try to ensure that you don't disturb any of these boxes, and of course, please do let us know if you see any of them being used during your visit! Over 60 species are known to have used nest boxes.  Regular residents include blue, great and coal tits, nuthatches, house and tree sparrows, starlings, spotted and pied flycatchers, robins, house martins, kestrels and tawny owls!