hello all you bird fanciers

can anyone tell me please , which way I should face a bird box to encourage birds to nest in it , should it be east , west , north or south ?
deecee

Would'nt thought it mattered to be honest.
I have one facing North and they use it fine.
Try and make it as descrete as possible, I.E under a canopy or tree trunk to limit the rain fall.
They will always find them.

ahh you have hit upon one of lifes many problems.

*Face it down and whilst it is easier for them to fly in the young birds easily fall out.

*Face it upwards and the eggs don't roll out and the young are quite safe but the rain tends to come in.

* Face it with the hole against the tree trunk and it is unusable.

* North facing and it gets less sunlight so the nest can go mouldy if it gets damp.

* South facing will make the bird box easier to sell and will attract a premium of around 5% on bird boxes on the other side of the tree.

So for maximum benefit and resellability I think - facing out, hole on the side and south facing and this is one circumstance where proximity to a bus route or decent school doesn't affect the value. In fact nearby schools decrease the bird boxes desireability as children do enjoy 'egging' and so you will limit your market by excluding young family birds.
Any problems phone Sarah Beeny.

I once read that north facing was reccommended so that the box isn't exposed to the full heat of the sun. Many birds nest before trees are in full leaf. Of course if the tree is one of several in a copse this isn't so bad.
I've put a box on our north-facing house wall and it's quite popular and with no obvious damp or mould either ( I do clean it out every Autumn to get rid of any mites, dead chicks etc)