The best way to tell if your nestbox is being used is to keep a watchful eye from as far away as possible. If you’re standing too close, the parent birds won’t want to give away the location of their nest to a potential predator (i.e. you!), so they won’t fly in. If you open the nestbox there’s a risk that the adults will abandon it – this can happen during nest construction, egg incubation and even chick raising, so don’t risk it! You should never take down a nestbox during the breeding season (i.e. start March – end September) as there may be birds using it without you knowing!
There are a variety of nestbox cameras on the market which allow you to see whats happening in your nestbox without disturbing the birds. See the BirdWatch Ireland shop here for some nextbox cameras.
