Bird nesting box in back garden?

[coldpenguin]

We used to have a large hawthorn tree over the back of our garden, but unfortunately recently someone tried to take it down, and managed to destroy part of our fence.
This is not a major problem, we were in the process of replacing of replacing the fence anyway.
It will be 6' tall.
Previously blue-tits and starlings were nesting in the tree.
We have a neighbourhood cat which likes to walk along the back fence. (can jump straight up to that height without problems)
Is there any point in putting up a nesting box on the fence/posts, or would the smell of the cat scare away the birds? If not scared away, does anyone have any advice as to what birds are likely to prefer?

 

[ChrisH]

No point in sticking a bird box on a fence post it will be too close to the ground.

I have one on the back of the house high up. I never do anything with it but get at least 1 set of chicks each year sometimes 2.

 

[coldpenguin]

No point in sticking a bird box on a fence post it will be too close to the ground.

I have one on the back of the house high up. I never do anything with it but get at least 1 set of chicks each year sometimes 2.

Hmm, darn. Unforutunately I don't have anywhere visible or accessable that I could add one to the house. Without putting it on the front that is, which would annoy the neighbours.

I guess at the top of an 8' pole would still be too low? If I don't chop off the poles for the fence as I put it in, that should be 8' up.

I almost got the wife to say yes to a dovecot, however, the requirements were that there were to be no pigeons in it (doves are pigeons it seems)

 

[ChrisH]

Why not make yourself a mini dovecote. Make the holes for the birds tiny compared to a full size one. You may get sparrows or bluebirds nesting. It would be fun to make and as long as each little windows had a seperate box inside for each pair of birds it could work.