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If birds breed in your own garden, the conditions for nest building are ideal and there is sufficient food available. The breeding season for some birds begins around March.

In a nutshell

  • depending on the infrastructure of the garden, it offers a nesting place for different species
  • Species can be promoted by specifically offering nesting sites
  • Species that lose their nesting sites, for example due to intensive agriculture, need help in particular
  • under favorable conditions, birds can start breeding as early as early spring
  • breeding for all species is usually completed in late summer or early autumn

Leave undisturbed

During the breeding season of birds, the animals must be completely undisturbed. For this reason, during the breeding season, which begins around March and ends in August at the latest with the last brood of the wren. Young birds that hatch after August usually have no chance of surviving the winter, but it occasionally happens that birds hatch in September. This is usually the case when conditions are very good and the birds try to breed well into the autumn.
Around 40 - 60 species are very common here and, if the conditions are right, they also settle in home gardens. The easiest way to distinguish the birds is by their breeding behavior or where they build their nests.

ground breeders

Ground breeders build their nests on the ground. The eggs themselves are usually camouflage colored so that they are not easily spotted by predators. However, ground-breeders have had a difficult time for years, because their clutches are often destroyed as a result of intensive cultivation of fields and meadows. Nevertheless, you can make the edges of your garden palatable to some ground breeders if you offer them suitable breeding places.

Tip: Ground breeders don't like tidy gardens. You need hollows in the ground, heaps of stones or matted turf, which can easily arise if you keep the edge areas free of emerging trees, but otherwise allow them to overgrow.

Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus):

  • popular hunted bird
  • limited flight capability
  • Males are polygamous
  • Distribution: Europe, North America, partly South America, Central Asia
  • Breeding season: late April - early June
  • Incubation period: 23 days
  • Nest: hollows in the ground, hardly padded
  • 8 - 12 eggs, brown to green-grey

Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus):

  • Distribution: Central and Northern Europe, Asia
  • Breeding season: March
  • Incubation period: 21 - 28 days
  • Nest: Nest hollows in short grass
  • 4 eggs, beige in color with brown spots

Lark (Alauda arvensis):

Source: Neil Smith, Skylark (Alauda arvensis) by Neil Smith, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Distribution: Europe, Asia (up to about the level of India), North Africa
  • Breeding season: mid-March - mid-August
  • Incubation period: 11 - 12 days
  • Nest: Hollows in the ground lined with fine plant matter
  • 2 - 6 eggs, white to light brown with gray to brown spots

freebreeder

Species that build their nests in hedges or trees are called free breeders. Free breeders also occasionally accept suitable nesting aids. In general, however, they are not choosy and can also settle in areas such as on or in buildings.

Blackbird (Turdus merula):

  • common garden bird
  • feeds on pests such as cockchafers, aphids or snails
  • Distribution: Europe, isolated in Asia
  • Breeding season: late February - late August
  • Incubation period: 10 - 19 days
  • Nest: made of moss and lichen in evergreen shrubs or trees
  • 4 - 5 eggs, greenish with many brown speckles

Bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula):

  • lives mainly in coniferous forests
  • Distribution: Europe, Near East and East Asia
  • Breeding season: April - August
  • Incubation period: 13 - 14 days
  • Nest: ring-shaped made of spruce branches
  • 4 - 6 eggs, light blue to blue-green ground with brown to black speckles

Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio):

  • requires thorn bushes (sloes, hawthorn, dog rose) in its breeding areas
  • Different hunting techniques (ambush, flight hunt)
  • Prey is impaled in thorn bushes (storage)
  • Distribution: Europe
  • Breeding season: May
  • Incubation period: 14 - 15 days
  • Nest: cup-shaped, made of coarse twigs with padding of moss, straw, feathers or hair
  • 5 - 6 eggs, whitish with brown speckles on top

Song Thrush (Turdus philomelos):

  • strikingly melodious singing
  • develops into a culture follower
  • Distribution: Europe, North Africa, parts of Asia
  • Breeding season: April - July
  • Incubation period: 12 - 14 days
  • Nest: in forked branches of moist material glued together and padded with grass and leaves
  • 4 - 5 eggs, sky blue

Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes):

  • Distribution: Europe, North Africa, Asia (except South Asia), North America
  • Breeding season: late April - July
  • Incubation period: 14 - 18 days
  • Nest: Spherical made of moss, leaves, small twigs and stems
  • 5 - 8 eggs, white with pink speckles

Notice: The wren's nests are particularly endangered by nest robbers, because the females are not fed during the breeding season and have to leave the clutch again and again to look for food.

cave breeders

Most of the native species are cave breeders. They need naturally occurring cavities such as in old trees or in crevices in rocks. Some species also carve out their burrows themselves, such as woodpeckers.

Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus):

  • all tit species are cave breeders
  • gladly accept nest boxes
  • Distribution: Europe, isolated in North Africa and Asia
  • Breeding season: from mid-January
  • Incubation period: 12 - 17 days
  • Nest: Cave is padded with moss and straw
  • 6-12 eggs, white with reddish to brown speckles

Great spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major):

  • requires dead trees in which to hew the nest holes
  • Distribution: Europe, North and East Asia, occasionally Africa
  • Breeding season: April - June
  • Incubation period: 11 - 13 days
  • Nest: Cave is padded with moss, leaves and stalks
  • 4 -7 eggs, white

Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus):

  • culture follower
  • Distribution: Europe, Asia
  • Breeding season: from mid-April
  • Incubation period: 11 - 14 days
  • Nest: Cave is padded with moss, stalks, leaves and stems
  • 6 -12 eggs, pale gray ground with some large brown spots

Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus):

Source: Mandes Rupp, Redstart-male-1, edited from Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • The entrance to the brood cavity must be large so that the clutch is illuminated a little
  • Distribution: Europe, Asia
  • Breeding season: late April - early June
  • Incubation period: 12 - 14 days
  • Nest: Substructure made of grass, straw or leaves, padded with soft material such as lichen or pussy willow
  • 6 -7 eggs, green-blue ground, rarely with red-brown spots

Nuthatch (Sitta europaea):

  • seals openings of brood caves to adjust them to its body size
  • jerky climbing movements
  • Distribution: Europe, Asia, North Africa
  • Breeding season: April - May
  • Incubation period: 14 - 18 days
  • Nest: Cave is lined with pieces of bark, feathers, moss or hair
  • 5 - 9 eggs, milky white with rust-red spots

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris):

Source: Kathy Büscher from Rinteln, Germany, Star (6) (34887774781), edited by Plantopedia, CC BY 2.0
  • Distribution: Europe, Asia, North Africa, North America (including parts of Canada)
  • Breeding season: mid-April
  • Incubation period: 11 - 13 days
  • Nest: Caves appear irregular and unstructured and are padded with stalks, straw, wool or feathers
  • 4 - 8 eggs, light green to light blue

crown breeder

Crown breeders build their nests high in the treetops. In comparison to free breeders, which also build their nests well above the ground, crown breeders nest at a height of several meters, often even in the uppermost part of the trees.

Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs):

  • requires extensive territories
  • prefers deciduous forests
  • Distribution: Europe, North Africa, West Asia
  • Breeding season: late March - early June
  • Incubation period: 13 - 14 days
  • Nest: thick-walled, built with feathers, hair, straw, moss and lichen
  • 4 - 6 eggs, light brown to blue-white with dark brown individual spots

Rook (Corvus frugilegus):

  • Distribution: Europe, Asia
  • Breeding season: early March
  • Incubation period: 16 - 19 days
  • Nest: compact nest padded with available soft material; Material theft is common for construction
  • 3 - 9 eggs, grey-green to darker uneven spots

Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus):

  • regulates the number of pigeons in urban areas
  • Distribution: Europe, North Africa, Asia
  • Breeding season: early April
  • Incubation period: 33 - 35 days
  • Nest: large clumps of twigs, preferably in coniferous trees
  • 4 - 6 eggs, white with brown irregular spots

niche breeders

Compared to cave breeders, niche breeders only need small niches in which to build their nests. As a result, they are usually more flexible than cave breeders, but are sometimes not averse to a cave as safe accommodation.

Wagtail (Motacilla alba):

  • declining population due to intensive agriculture
  • Distribution: Europe, Asia
  • Breeding season: early April
  • Incubation period: up to 17 days
  • Nest: niches with a good all-round view
  • 5 - 6 eggs, white to light gray ground with dark brown speckles

Notice: There are geographical variations of the wagtail and the plumage can vary regionally. Regional variations are listed as a separate subspecies.

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata):

Source: Luchsvet, Muscicapa striata. Серая мухоловка в гнезде на дереве, edited by Plantopedia, CC BY-SA 4.0
  • Distribution: Europe, Asia, Africa
  • Breeding season: May - early August
  • Incubation period: 11 - 15 days
  • Nest: cup-shaped, made of moss or straw and lined with feathers, hair or wool
  • 4 - 5 eggs, light green to beige ground with brown or gray spots

Robin (Erithacus rubecula):

  • Distribution: Europe, North Africa, parts of Asia
  • Breeding season: mid-March - August
  • Incubation period: 13 - 15 days
  • Nest: Niches are padded with leaves, moss and fine roots
  • 5 - 7 eggs, reddish with darker red speckles

frequently asked Questions

Why are nest boxes inhabited by different species?

Which species can use a nesting box usually depends on the size of the entrance hole. Occasionally, nesting boxes are used not only by cave breeders, but also by free breeders as emergency accommodation.

Should nesting material be provided for birds?

A natural garden offers sufficient nesting material for different bird species. An additional offer of nesting material is not necessary compared to nesting aids.

What do I do if I find a young bird on the ground?

Young birds often land on the ground, especially during their first flight attempts. These should not be picked up and protected as much as possible from enemies such as cats or dogs. The parent birds are usually nearby and continue to care for the young birds.

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Category:

Animals in the garden