Keep South Carolina Wild
As trees are being cut down at increasing rates, especially trees with hollow parts, these birds have a harder time finding suitable nesting habitats.
You can help support cavity-nesting birds by putting up a nest box. Different species of birds need different sizes of boxes, and different sizes of entrance holes. When selecting a nest box, be sure you know what species of bird the box will attract.
SCWF has three types of nest boxes for sale that will provide nesting sites and shelter for common backyard birds in South Carolina: Eastern bluebird, Carolina chickadee, tufted titmouse, brown-headed nuthatch, Eastern screech owl, and wood duck.
Boxes are built with the proper ventilation needed for our hotter days in South Carolina. The boxes, which are a stained pine, should last close to 10 years in our climate.
Bluebird boxes come with restrictor plates which keep out mammals that could enlarge the holes. Restrictor plates for bluebirds and brown-headed nuthatch are also sold separately for any existing nest boxes you may already have installed on your property.
A predator guard should be installed underneath any nest box to ensure that only birds can enter it. You should also install the box approximately 10 feet from the nearest tree so squirrels cannot reach it.
SCWF’s boxes were built by students at Heyward Technology & Career Center in South Carolina’s Richland School District 1.
For more tips on nest box care, placement, and additional useful information, please visit the link below:
Adding a nesting box provides shelter and a place for birds to raise their young, two of the essential elements needed in a Certified Wildlife Habitat. Learn about other habitat essentials for wildlife gardening and how to certify your space as a Certified Wildlife Habitat® at the link below.
In 2019, SCWF launched Project Prothonotary, a state-wide conservation effort to install nest boxes for a beloved, yet declining bird species known as the Prothonotary Warbler. As habitat specialists, these birds seek out existing cavities in trees to build nests and raise their young. However, habitat destruction has led to fewer and fewer trees available for nesting, and that’s where nest boxes come in.
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