Sparrow terraces and open-fronted nest boxes

The nest box guide covers the classic small-hole box: hole sizes, height on a tree, direction and timing. Two other designs work differently and are sited differently. A sparrow terrace is several nest chambers in one box, made for a bird that likes neighbours. An open-fronted box has no hole at all, just a low front panel, and it relies on being hidden rather than being hard to get into.

The siting advice below is from the RSPB’s Create a sparrow street page and the BTO’s putting up a nest box page, both opened on 14 November 2026.

House sparrows and terraces

House sparrows are social. In a garden you often see a group rather than a pair, and they nest close to each other where they can. That is the idea behind a terrace: several chambers side by side, each with its own entrance, so more than one pair can use the same spot on a wall.

The RSPB’s sparrow page gives these siting points for a sparrow box:

• High. At least 3 m (10 feet) from the ground.
• On the house. Ideally under the eaves, or high on a wall.
• North or east. Facing north or east so it does not get too hot or wet, and out of direct sunlight.
• Not over a doorway or a busy path.
• With permission. Make sure you have the homeowner’s permission before putting up a box, which matters if you rent.

The BTO’s putting-up page adds that a box with the larger small-bird hole on a house wall could be used by house sparrows. The exact hole size, and why it differs from a blue tit box, is in the nest box guide, so we do not repeat it here. We have not opened a terrace maker’s page, so there are no chamber dimensions on this page.

Sparrows also need food and cover close by. Dense hedges and shrubs are where a flock waits between visits to a feeder, and a garden with some of both, as described in a wildlife-friendly garden, gives a terrace a better chance.

Open-fronted boxes for robins and similar birds

An open-fronted box is the design shops sell for robins, and often for wrens and other birds that nest in a hollow rather than a hole. The BTO page we opened talks about robins, so the placement advice below is theirs for robins. For other species, check the BTO’s nest box pages before you rely on the same rule.

The BTO’s point is concealment. An open-fronted box should be hidden, attached to a wall or fence with shrubs and climbers growing against it, so it is out of view. A box in plain sight with an open front is easy for a predator to look into.

They also note timing: robins with an open-fronted box can begin nest building as early as February or March. So a box for a robin is best up and settled well before then.

Cats, cover and the feeder

Cover helps a nest and can also help a cat, so the aim is a box that is hidden from view but out of reach. The BTO says make sure cats cannot get into the box. Cats Protection’s outdoor advice says position nest boxes where cats cannot reach them. In practice that means looking at the box from a cat’s point of view: a fence top, a shed roof, a branch it can walk along.

Keep the box well away from the feeder. The BTO says high levels of activity from visiting birds could disturb a nesting pair. A feeder next to a sparrow terrace is a crowd outside the front door.

If you share the garden with a pet cat, cats and garden birds covers collars, timing and placement in more detail.

An active nest is off limits

Once birds are building or using a nest, leave it alone. Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it an offence, in England and Wales, to take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird while that nest is in use or being built. The Scottish text adds “or otherwise interferes with”. Northern Ireland has its own law, which we have not opened. The RSPB’s birds in the roof page puts it plainly: wait for the chicks to leave.

That has practical consequences for both designs:

• Do not move a box, take it down or open it for a look while it is in use.
• Do not trim the climber or shrub that hides an open-fronted box while birds are nesting. The cover is part of the nest site.
• Do not put up a camera, or fix a terrace to a wall, by working around a nest that is already active. Wait.

The BTO does say that a quiet, careful look into a box is safe. We would still not open an open-fronted box that is already well hidden; there is little to gain and the cover is easy to disturb.

Cleaning, and when

The BTO says bird protection law permits cleaning out nests between 1 September and 31 January, and that nests of species with second or third broods, which they say includes sparrows, should be left until sometime in the autumn. A terrace has several chambers, so check each one is empty. The full method, and the wording of the law, is in when you may clean a nest box.

How high should a sparrow terrace go?

The RSPB’s sparrow page says at least 3 m from the ground, ideally under the eaves or high on a wall, facing north or east and out of direct sun.

Where do I put an open-fronted robin box?

The BTO says hide it: on a wall or fence with shrubs and climbers growing against it, so it is out of view, and somewhere a cat cannot get into it.

Can I move a box if birds have just started building?

No. Once a nest is being built or in use, the law protects it. Leave the box where it is until the young have gone, then follow the cleaning dates in the cleaning guide.