THIS year’s Trust for Ornithology (BTO) National Nest Box Week starts on February 14 when people in the Crediton area are urged to put up nest boxes for declining garden birds like house sparrows and starlings.

To support homeowners in doing this, the Trust has produced a new "essential guide"

which is full of useful information on what to look for when buying a nest box, box placement and looking after a box longer term.

The simple act of putting up a nest box can make a real difference for our birds, providing them with the space they need to raise a family.??A growing proportion of the global human population now lives in towns and cities, with the United Nations predicting that by 2050 two-thirds of us will live within such urbanised landscapes.

Urbanisation is considered to be one of the greatest threats facing birds, resulting in the loss of natural habitats and the feeding and nesting opportunities associated with them.??Newly urbanised landscapes often lack the mature trees that provide nesting cavities for small birds, such as blue tit and great tit, while other cavity-nesting species - such as starling, swift and house sparrow - have seen changes in building regulations reducing nesting opportunities that once existed under the roof tiles of our houses. The loss of such sites may have played an important role in the significant declines seen in the breeding populations of these species since the early 1990s (starling - 74 per cent, house sparrow - 35 per cent, swift - 51 per cent).??Rob Jaques, part of the BTO’s Garden Ecology Team, said: "Homeowners can provide new nesting opportunities for birds by putting up suitable nest boxes and now is the ideal time to do this.

"You can either purchase a nest box or build your own, and there is plenty of information in our free guide, from cutting plans through to information on where to place nest boxes.’"

The free guide is available from: [email protected]" TARGET="_blank">[email protected] or by calling the BTO’s Garden Ecology Team on 01842 750050.