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Welcome to the 2026 nesting season at Gwyllt Hollow!
Every year, I add more nesting spaces on my land and I cannot bear to put one in without a camera.... just in case I get something different! This year, I have my most ambitious nest box array to share and each will have its own YouTube playlist. With new recording technology in the form of a Hikvision Network Video Recorder (NVR) it is now easier for me to lift footage directly from this kit, to my YouTube Channel. I'm hoping that this will enable me to share updates and visitors as they appear. Many of these will live stream on the 'Live Cams' section of my website when / if they are occupied. Most activity will kick off late March, with the exception of owls, which may start earlier, if we are lucky. Prospecting boxes has already started so I will be adding clips to the playlists as it happens.
Most of these boxes are on my own land here in SW Wales. One tawny box is in Worcestershire, at a site I work at and there may be some other special ones appearing that I have helped set up.
Please like and subscribe to my YouTube Channel for alert as to the latest updates!
I built this nest box, with a Hikvision mini PTZ camera mounted inside. The box is lit by small LEDs that turn on during daylight hours.
It is mounted in a little woodland strip at the top of my quarry.
Blue tits have nested here in 2025 and I am hoping we will have another family raised here in 2026.
This Nestbox is painted in Protek Royal Exterior Forest Green, kindly supplied by Protek. It is an eco-friendly, non-toxic paint, perfect for protecting nest boxes like this. I chose this colour as I was pretty sure it would match the green areas on a blue tit..... I was right!
I built this nest box, with a Hikvision mini PTZ camera mounted inside. The box is lit by small LEDs that turn on during daylight hours.
It is a chunky, rustic nest box, mounted in a Hazel tree facing a beautiful wild flower meadow.
This Nestbox is painted in Protek Royal Exterior Forest Green, on the outside and Clouded Yellow on the inside, kindly supplied by Protek. It is an eco-friendly, non-toxic paint, perfect for protecting nest boxes like this. I chose this colour inside as I felt this colour was similar to the chests of both great tits and blue tits!
I like to create one special nest box each year and I spend silly amounts of time creating these! The space is decorated using 1/12 doll's house furniture. It is all securely glued down and does not endanger the birds.
It can provide some fabulous footage and attract a new audience to learn more about British wildlife.
I built this nest box, with a Hikvision mini PTZ camera mounted inside. The box is lit by small LEDs that turn on during daylight hours.
I like to create one special nest box each year and I spend silly amounts of time creating these! The space is decorated using 1/12 doll's house furniture. It is all securely glued down and does not endanger the birds.
It can provide some fabulous footage and attract a new audience to learn more about British wildlife.
I built this nest box, with a Hikvision mini PTZ camera mounted inside. The box is lit by small LEDs that turn on during daylight hours.
This box was a challenge to fit a camera to! It is a hollowed Birch log with very little space inside. I mounted the camera and the lights inside a box which was glued to the top of the box after the lid had been removed.
In previous years, the great tits have liked this box and raised their families here.
This standard nest box had the option of removing the middle section, with the entrance hole, so I mounted the Hikvision mini dome PTZ in the top section, with some tiny lights and lined the box with natural materials.
It is mounted in a hidden, sheltered spots, behind a Yew tree on the back of my workshop.
In 2025 there was very little interest, but this Spring a robin has been visiting every day.
Will they take up residency? I really hope so!
I am very keen to get tawny owls to nest here at Gwyllt Hollow and I hear them regularly on my land. I built this nest box and used a lovely natural entrance hole. I mounted it on a tree at the top of my quarry with a lovely clear aspect and flight path in.
In 2025, a pair of tawnies regularly checked out the box, but did not breed here. In 2026, they are back and are showing promising signs that they may choose it this year.
A bit of a curve ball...... I was very surprised to see barn owls also show interest!
It's going to be interesting!
I am very keen to get tawny owls to nest here at Gwyllt Hollow and this recycled plastic box was the first I put up. Unfortunately, there tree I had mounted it on fell down in Storm Darrah! Luckily, it was not damaged. Undeterred, I mounted a little further back on this oak tree.
I lined the box as I was not keen on the plastic look on camera.
The tawny owls have checked it out, but I hope they choose the quarry box.
After the surprise visit by a pair of barn owls, to my Quarry tawny box, I felt I needed to give them another option. I had no idea that barn owls were around and they were obviously prospecting.
I set to work! I built a large barn owl box and installed it on a sweet chestnut that over looks a lovely meadow with wild edges, perfect for hunting.
I hope they spot it in the coming months and pop in for a look around.
It would be a dream come true to have both tawnies and barn owls breeding on my land!
This nest box is at my site at Yew View in Worcestershire. I have been working there for over a decade, installing wildlife cameras , habitat and nest boxes.
We have filmed many owlets raised in this nest box and we are hoping for the same this year!
Last year, the male (Strix) bought a new female to the box. The previous female (Aluco), must have been at least 7 years old. This new female (2Aluco) had one owlet last year.
She is often in the box at present and the cam lives streams on my live cams page.
This is a very exciting nest box!
In 2024, Sean came to Gwyllt Hollow as we had discussed building a box for some parakeets that were visiting his London balcony. I already had a box that ~I thought might be suitable so we worked together to convert it and create something we thought might meet all their requirements. I rigged it out with cameras, lighting and set Sean up with everything he needed to be able to monitor these birds.
We are delighted to announce that sit looks like we have tenants this year! Shrek and Fiona have paid a deposit and are making it their own!
More soon!
Coming Soon!
