How to Build Your Own Bird House without a Plan

How to Build a Bird House or Nest Box for Garden Birds

Bird House Design

The first thing you need to when you decide that you want to build a bird house or nest box, which you hope a pair of the wild birds in your yard will use in the nesting season, is the make a bird house plan and incorporate the design and style of the birdhouse you want.

Your personal preferences and consideration of the style that will best match the location and décor of your garden will be important factors in this process. You can go with really elaborate or just plain and simple. The birds will not really mind.

However, you must take into consideration the needs of the birds when designing any bird house.

Most important to the birds will be their safety both in the location of the nest box and within the bird house. They do care about the internal dimensions and these must be correct for a particular species to even consider taking up residence. They are also picky about the entrance hole diameter and how high the bird house is situated above the ground, so take care when putting the box in it’s final location.

So be accurate when choosing the height, width and depth of any nest box you are going to construct. However do not be surprised if you get a bird in the box that is not the one you designed it for. Birds will probably have other criteria for choosing a nesting site which we do not even know about.

For recommended dimensions, hole size diameters and nest box placement heights please lookat the bird house dimensions table at the end of this article.

Build it right and you have a great chance of seeing the bird you want nesting in it, but build it wrong and you run the risk of no occupants at all.

Also please bear in mind that there are many other factors which you really must take into consideration if you are going to build a bird house which will work for the birds.

These include adequate box ventilation, good drainage, and how susceptible the nest box might be to bird predators such as hawks. One final thing to think about is how easy it will be for you to maintain the bird house and how you will clean it out every year ready for the next season one well after the current years brood of fledglings have left the nest.

Entrance Hole Extras and Rules

Site the entrance hole to the box on the front panel towards the top. Remember that this is used for both entering and exiting the box and that both the parents and nestlings will benefit from something that aids their grip around the entrance hole.

A roughened surface around the entrance hole both on the inside and outside of the box will make it easier for adults to get in to the box and, when the time comes, easier for nestlings to climb out when they fledge. However remember one very important point.

Never put a perch near the entrance hole!

Perches could allow other birds, even small ones, which are a threat to the baby birds inside to get access to the entrance hole, which would not be possible without a perch.

Starlings and other predatory birds could benefit from a perch and easily attack the youngsters inside. If you give them a perch you will be giving them lunch!

A couple of grooves just below the entrance hole will be all the adult birds require. On the inside do the same or add a couple of cleats or fix a twig flat against the inside panel.

Most cavity nesting birds do not share their bird house and prefer their own individual nesting space so no duplexes or multi-storey creations are not allowed. Also birds prefer a single nest hole. Two holes is too many!

Purple martins are the exception to this rule and do like to nest together so if you are designing a bird house for them then a multi-apartment property is preferred.

The only other birds that will use a condo type bird house design are starlings and house sparrows.

Bird Box Ventilation Requirements

Birds can easily over heat and bay birds are no exception. If your new bird house design does not incorporate adequate ventilation facilities then it could turn into a fiery furnace that will quickly kill any young birds inside.

Leaving gaps between the sides of the nest box and the roof is a very good idea or if this is too difficult just drill a few ¼ inch holes in the sides of the box just below the roof.

In addition you may want to add a few 1/8 inch holes drilled in the base or floor of the bird house to provide more internal ventilation, but keep these around the edges of the floor.

One in each corner would probably be enough. This will also help with drainage if water gets into the box. If you don’t have a drill then just cut a very small piece off each corner of the floor for the same effect.

Provide Proper Drainage

If water gets in to a birdhouse it can become a real problem if the birds are already nesting and if is wet to start with the birds will not use it.

Therefore it is always a good idea to provide a sloping roof with a good overhang to provide good runoff and protection from rain in stronger winds. The more overhang the better especially in the area above the entrance hole.

Entrance holes are difficult to protect from driving rain so when you hang the box in it’s final location make sure it is not facing into the prevailing wind.

Also make sure that the edges of the floor of the box are inside the sides of the box so that any rain on the sides of the bird house can not seep in but runs straight off.

Inspect Your Bird House

If you want to make sure you get the birds you want in your bird house then you must watch out for your prospective tenants. Check your bird houses every week and if necessary evict any unwanted occupants such as rodents, snakes, and insects.

Always be very careful when you go to inspect your bird boxes because you could easily find something other than a bird on the inside. If you have a large box you could even have squirrels in residence but you are more likely to find something smaller such as a mouse or a snake and of course a variety of different insects.

Always make sure you check for fleas and mites, various larvae and possibly lice at the bottom of the box. These are not good for the birds and should be evicted.

Do not use the nearest insect repellant to hand but always find something that is safe for birds. Most easily bought insecticides are harmful to birds so make the extra effort to find something that is OK.

How to Check a Nest Box for Occupation

Take a careful approach to monitoring and checking a bird house nest box.

Don’t just rush in but take time and watch the nest box for a while. If you don’t see any birds around or visiting the box then approach the box quietly and tap lightly on the box a couple of times and then wait.

If you hear nothing do the same again and if still nothing then tap a little harder and wait again. If nothing happens then the box is probably unoccupied by birds.

If an adult bird flies out then you know that the box is occupied. Similarly if you hear the squeaking sounds of bay bird nestlings then you also know it is occupied.

If it is occupied then do not open the box, but move away quietly and leave the birds in peace.

If there is no bird occupying your bird house you’re a re good to go ahead and open the box to see what is in side it.

Make Your Box Accessible (to you!)

Your need to make sure that your bird houses are all easily accessible so that you can see how your birds are doing and when it is time you will need to be able to clean out the house.

Most bird house designs can be opened either from the top, the side and the front or more unusually from the beneath. The best design is a box that opens from the top or the front because these provide for the easiest access.

A box that opens from the top is less likely to disturb any nesting birds inside. And nestlings are the main reason that openings on the side or underneath are really are not practical although they do make cleaning easier.

You should clean out your nest boxes after the brood has fledged but onlyafeteer monitoring the box for a couple of days to make sure that it is no longer in use.

In the fall and after they have been cleaned out you may wish to bring the boxes inside for storage if you think they need protection for the harsh winter weather.

This is especially true for gourds and pottery which will last a lot longer if you take them in every winter. Purple martin houses can be left out but make sure you block up the entrance holes to stop starlings and house sparrows taking up residence.

If your bird houses are made of sturdier material such as wood or concrete then these houses and nest boxes could be left out to provide shelter for other birds, flying squirrels, and other types of animal during the winter months.

Do not forget that when spring arrives you must clean out all bird houses and nest boxes you left out during the winter.

Stopping Predators

A correctly designed nest box with the proper dimensions, entrance hole diameter and placement height location will ensure the best protection against predators, such as cats, raccoons, red squirrels and opossums.

All designs should use a ¾ inch wall thickness if made of wood to give better protection.

However, to make sure that the box has the best protection against a pet cat or determined raccoon, which will try a get its arm in through the entrance hole you will also need to fit a predator guard of another ¾ inch wood block to double the depth of the entrance hole.

Nest Box Dimensions for Wild Birds

Note: Use a nesting shelf platform with three sides and an open front for American Rodins, Phoebes and Barn Swallows