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Wetheral Parish Council is taking part in National Nest Box Week this February, to provide nesting sites for small native birds ahead of the breeding season. The Groundsman at Ashgate Lane Cemetery will be placing ten wooden nest boxes and ten reed nesting pockets in the woodland burial ground, in the hope it will appeal to species such as robins, wrens, finches, bearded tits, nuthatches and goldcrests.

Natural nest sites for birds, such as holes in trees or old buildings, are disappearing fast as gardens are 'tidied' and old houses are repaired. National Nest Box Week is an established part of the ornithological calendar. Running for a week from 14 February each year, National Nest Box Week provides a welcome focus on nesting birds and encourages everyone to put up nest boxes in their local area in order to support the conservation of our breeding birds. National Nest Box Week was established and developed by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Britain's leading bird care specialist, Jacobi Jayne. It takes place at a time when small birds pair up ahead of the breeding season

Whether you're a resident with space for a box in your garden, a teacher, a member of a local wildlife group, or you belong to a bird club and could organise a work party, National Nest Box Week gives you the chance to contribute to the conservation effort in the UK whilst giving you the pleasure of observing any breeding birds that you attract to your garden.

The BTO is asking you to put a nest box up from 14 to 21 February to celebrate National Nest Box Week, but you can put up a nest box at any time of the year.

Taking part in NNBW gives you the chance to contribute to bird conservation whilst giving you the enjoyment of observing any birds that you attract to your nest box.

For information on where best to place a nest box, or  to download a step-by-step guide to building your own, visit the BTO's website: https://www.bto.org/about-birds/nnbw