Animal homes

The search for land has taken me on a journey of discovery over the last few months. Although we've spent only a few hours actually looking at land I've spent days thinking and planning for the future.

Most of my thoughts have been about trees and plants and what we could grow to attract wildlife. I've also decided that the (first?) book I shall attempt to write will be a sort of diary / account of the creation of a nature reserve from scratch. Not that the land we'll buy at this stage is likely to be turned into a nature reserve, but we shall use it as a sort of trial to see what does and doesn't work - particularly regarding habitat creation.

Recently I've been thinking about artificial habitats - homes for animals that can be erected immediately and don't require time for trees or undergrowth to establish. Obviously bird boxes spring to mind, but there are all sorts of others out there on the internet and in garden centres. Ian is keen on the idea of making them - a fun hobby and also a response to how much they cost.

dormouse box



hedgehog house



bat box



There's an enormous range of specialised bird boxes these days:

tawny owl box



Treecreeper box



barn owl box



duck box



and a floating duck house.