'The earlier you get them put up, the better': How to encourage birds to use your nestboxes

As our feathered friends look for nesting places, Hannah Stephenson seeks some experts tips for welcoming them into your garden.

'Robins love it if boxes are on a shed or hidden in some ivy, anything with extra camouflage.' Picture: Alamy/PA

As nesting season approaches, many of us will be buying or building nestboxes to put up in our gardens, to encourage birds to set up home there.

“By putting up nestboxes, you are replacing habitat which is no longer there, replicating holes in trees, or nooks and crannies in old buildings, so it’s making vital space for birds,” says Helen Moffat of the RSPB.