Management of farm buildings to promote wild birds
Farm buildings such as granaries, barns, or silo tops shelter useful bird species, especially in cereal plains.
Objectives and expected benefits
It is possible to increase the presence of certain species such as swallows, common kestrels, barn owls, tits, or bats by creating specific adaptations.
It is recommended to install nest boxes in the buildings or on trees present on the farm site. Indeed, the installation of well-positioned nest boxes will facilitate the long-term presence of a breeding pair. Like insect beneficial insects, these species provide ecosystem services that benefit the entire agricultural ecosystem.
Encouraging these species is a means of preventive control against crop pests.
Note
A pair of barn owls consumes approximately 4000 prey (mice, lizards...) annually. A bat consumes up to 600 mosquitoes per night, which represents 60,000 individuals over the 3 summer months.
How to implement this practice on my farm?
Naturally, these species settle in farm buildings. Before installing new nest boxes, it is more relevant to maintain and improve existing ones. That means preserving entrances in the buildings so these species can continue to reproduce there.
Exposure is the essential element to consider when installing a nest box. Relatively easy to place, the entrances of the nest boxes should be positioned sheltered from the prevailing wind and bad weather. It is therefore preferable to install them facing east or south.
Barn owl
Inside a fertilizer or equipment storage building with one open side, at least 5 m high. The nest box must have an internal wall to place the eggs in total darkness. It is a bird active at night.
Little owl
On an isolated tree between 4 and 5 m high. As with the barn owl, the nest box must have a system to block direct light on the chicks.
Common kestrel
The nest box should preferably be installed outside on a high point (minimum 5 to 6 m). It can be installed on the exterior cladding of a building, on an I-beam post, or on the roof of a storage silo if it is well sealed.
Advice
"Operation Nest Boxes at the Farm" campaign by the Association Hommes et Territoires
Methodology for installing barn owl nest boxes by the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO)
Methodology for installing little owl nest boxes by the Ligue pour la Protection des Oiseaux (LPO)
Further information
Installing perches in areas infested with micromammals, in addition to nest boxes, can facilitate the work of these raptors in controlling mice.
Nest boxes for passerines:
| Species | Entrance hole
diameter |
Internal
floor |
Internal
height |
Distance between the
entrance hole and the bottom of the nest box |
Installation
height |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coal tit | 25-27 | 10 x 10 cm | 17 cm | 11 cm | 2 to 4 m |
| Blue tit | 26-28 | 13 x 13 cm | 23 cm | 17 cm | 2 to 5 m |
| Great tit | 32 | 14 x 14 cm | 23 cm | 17 cm | 2 to 6 m |
| Common redstart
white-fronted |
Oval 32 mm wide
and 46 mm high |
14 x 14 cm | 23 cm | 17 cm | 1.5 to 4 m |
| Eurasian nuthatch | 46-50 | 18 x 18 cm | 28 cm | 21 cm | 4 to 12 m |
For wild pollinators
To build a wild bee nest box, it is possible to use a 1-liter plastic bottle (minimum length 17 to 18 cm) with the neck removed, inside which 32 cardboard tubes are placed. This nest box is then placed 1 m high on a wooden stake. It will then be very easy to determine the presence/absence of pollinators in the nest box. If the 7 mm diameter cardboard tubes are blocked, it means a female has laid her eggs there for the winter.
Agricultural Biodiversity Observatory (OAB) - Vigienature
At the OAB, wild bees are observed in full tube - Vigienature
Limitations
It is necessary to conduct a precise observation of the species frequenting the farm to then identify favorable locations for installing nest boxes. It would not necessarily be relevant to install 5 nest boxes for the different species presented above. Moreover, nest boxes and the presence of useful birds are not a guarantee against pests. Thus, in years of high pressure, these species can be overwhelmed by the explosion in the number of their prey. In this case, human intervention will be necessary to restore balance.
Sources
Annexes
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