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There is a letter in the Telegraph today about a chap who lined a nest box in his garden with shredded paper only to have it removed by Blue Tits. I had the same thing happen two years ago with bits of my shredded documents finding their way all over the village. Last year I adopted a different material, finely teased fibrefill from an old cushion, only to have the same thing happen. This was to the advantage of many other species which picked up the fibrefill from my lawn, shrubs and hedges for their nests.
This year I will leave the boxes empty, after clearing out the earwigs, and spread the fibrefill around the garden myself!
Incidently, when cleaning them out last autumn, one box had two nests in it - one on top of the other. On examination I found the lower nest to contain two dead (and skeletal) fledglings. I know the upper nest had a successful fledging of at least four young because I watched them leave but earlier in the year I had found a dead fledgling on the lawn under the nest. I assume that either a disease or predator had decimated the first brood but I find it surprising that a pair, having lost one brood in a nest would build again on top of the old. Or could it be another pair of blue tits?
On the matter of nesting material I often see Jackdaws plucking fur from the backs of grazing cattle in spring for nesting (see photo album). The cattle don't seem to notice. Has anybody seem similar happenings with other species?
Regards
David
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