Niab's nestboxes in 2026

There are 11 bird nestboxes situated around the offices at Niab’s Park Farm Campus and on the trial grounds that stretch between Histon and Cambridge.

These vary from small boxes suitable for Blue Tits to big boxes on telegraph poles primarily for owls, but other species such as Kestrels and doves use them too. With the help of several other staff members, since 2023 I’ve been monitoring these boxes and ringing any chicks found, adding data to the British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) Nest Record and Ringing Schemes. So what did 2026 bring?

I first peered into the small boxes around the offices in towards the end of April, and all seemed rosy. No matter how many times I do it, it’s always exciting to lift the lid on a nestbox. Especially at the start of the season when I just don’t know which species I will find! Back in April I found either eggs or adults sat tight on nests in seven of the eight boxes around the offices. A good start.

Blue tit eggs in one of Niab's nestboxes.

Sadly, the next time I looked, it was a different story. Cast your mind back, and you may recall the scorching temperatures of late May. However, the early bank holiday was the opposite. Having just about got my first cricket game of the season finished on the Saturday, the rain began to fall and continued over the rest of the weekend. It was cold too - not a good combination for tiny, just hatched chicks, with no feathers.

By the time I checked the boxes on the Tuesday, sadly four of the nests had failed, with the chicks dying. All of these were Blue Tits, while the three remaining Great Tit nests all contained chicks big enough to ring. The smaller Blue Tits, being just that little bit behind the Great Tits in timing their breeding, were just too small, got too cold and the rain simply washed their caterpillar food away.

It’s sad, but that’s the reality of nest checking – not every nest succeeds, even in a good year. And we only know about these failures because I have the privilege of checking these nests. Still, in 2025 I ringed 30 Blue Tit chicks, so fingers crossed they can bounce back next year. The Great Tits were more successful this year, fledging 16 chicks from their three nests.

Great tit chicks

It is all interesting data, and both these species at Niab are breeding slightly earlier than the average for the UK and Ireland. It is only four years’ worth of data, so I won’t draw any conclusions just yet. However, this small scheme does feed into something bigger as my data is added to all other nest recorders and ringers in the UK and Ireland, so the BTO can see the whole picture.

So, no Blue Tits this year, but 16 Great Tits. Could the owl boxes deliver in 2026, after their own disappointing season in 2025? Well, initial visits were not exactly pointing towards a better year. In fact, there were no signs of any owls at all! Back in 2024 the boxes harboured seven Barn Owl chicks, but none since.

Checking one of Niab's owl boxes

By the end of May though, the tide was beginning to turn and my positivity was returning. The owls didn’t, but Stock Doves did. Having ringed one chick last year, I had hopes for more this year, if the owls didn’t materialise. Stock Doves are essentially smaller versions of the ubiquitous Woodpigeon, which make farmland and woodland their home. They regularly use owl boxes and are amber-listed (the middle level) for conservation concern in the UK. However, in Eastern England they are increasing – which is what we found at Niab this year!

From May to October, we recorded 17 stock dove chicks successfully fledging the nest, from nine breeding attempts. A good effort from only three boxes! There really was no let-up – every time I climbed up a ladder and opened the nestbox door, I was met with glistening eggs or fluffy chicks. Of these 17, I was able to ring 15 chicks – two early chicks fledged before I could ring them, thanks to my busy day job.

This likely makes the Niab trial grounds Cambridgeshire’s best site for Stock Dove chick ringing. Only 11 (one of which was at Niab) were ringed in the whole county in 2025 and before that you need to go back to 2019 to see more ringed than our 15. Although, 2026’s data is not available yet.

All in all, it was quite a successful season on the HQ trial grounds for birds, despite the early setback for the smaller birds. Our record-breaking haul of Stock Dove chicks was certainly a bit of excitement during the long, hot summer. For now the ladder is safely stowed, until I clean the boxes and look forward to what 2027 will bring.

Niab trials team taking a break from drilling to see one of the 15 Stock Dove chicks ringed on the HQ trial grounds in 2026

All ringing and nestbox monitoring is carried out under licence from the BTO.