Making Bird Houses

Making bird houses is a great activity for the entire family. It provides birds with additional nesting opportunities and gives you unparalleled bird watching opportunities. 

There are a tremendous variety of nest boxes designs. They come in all sizes and materials. 

But let's think a minute about why we want to build a bird house and what we hope to accomplish.

Reasons for Building a Bird House

• Increase Potential Breeding Sites for Cavity Nesting Species
• Attract Target Species to Your Property
• Educational Opportunity
• Photography

Goals for Improving a Nest Box

• Improve Nest Box Occupation by Target Species
• Improve Fledging Success of Nestlings
• Reduce or Eliminate Problems from Predators
• Reduce or Eliminate Nesting Attempts by House Sparrows or Starlings
• Improve Longevity of the Nestbox
• Improve access for Monitoring and Cleaning of the Nest Box

How To Build a Bird House Video

Making Bird Houses - Construction Tips:

Size of Nest Box Matters

Some believe that larger boxes help the birds exercise more, so they are more capable of flying when they fledge.

If the box is too large, the birds may not use it because it is too vulnerable to predators or it may attract too much attention or be difficult to support.

Bird House Roof

It appears that in most cases (there are lots of nest box designs) that 1 inch overlap on the sides and 2 inch overlap in the front is adequate for protecting the occupants from the elements (rain) and increasing the boxes longevity by keeping the box dry.

Another main function of the roof is to provide shade for nest boxes that are exposed to the Sun, especially in warm climates.

So the roof should be sloped to help water runoff (as close to 45 degrees as possible), and it should be overlapped to let water drip away from the box and to provide more shade.

If you plan to place your box in the open (bluebirds for example) in a warm area, you should consider a double roof to keep the box cooler.  The two roofs should be spaced to allow air to circulate between them.  It has also been suggested that a second side wall be added to also shade the west side of the box.

Front of Nest Box
Most nest box plans have a perpendicular face, but recently, several designs have a sloping front.  The advantages are several.  1 - easier for young to escape from the box and 2 - protects entrance holes better from wind and rain.

Disadvantages are also several. 1 difficult to mark and cut and 2 - increases scrap wood.

What kind of Hole for the Nest Box?  Round, Oval or Slot? One hole or two?
Believe it or not, several bird house designs have more than one hole.

Advantages? Both adults can feed young at the same time - one adult doesn't have to waste energy & time flying around.

A second hole may prevent the strongest chick from dominating access at the entrance hole.

Also, if predators or house sparrows get in the nest, at least the adults have a chance to escape through the second hole.

If ventilation is an issue, the second hole also acts as a big vent.  Well, at least I have convinced myself... the next box I build or modify will have two entrance holes.

Disadvantages - May allow easier access by predators and weather (rain).

Some of the research seems to indicate that Bluebirds are attracted to the oval hole (more than the Peterson box shape).

There are conflicting data about the slot hole design and access for house sparrows.   Some say the slot entrance discourages house sparrows and others have found that house sparrows readily use them.

Bird House Building Materials

Nest boxes can also be made from PVC pipe or plastic buckets, but those are different plans to be covered later.

What kind of wood?
If you have access to redwood or cypress or even cedar, that's great.  Those types of wood will last a long time, but they can be expensive.  Hardwoods will last longer than soft woods, but they can also be expensive.

Treated or untreated wood for Nest Boxes?
Treated wood (softwood) will last longer.  But is treated wood safe to use for bird houses?  The EPA website says treated wood is safe to use in vegetable gardens and on picnic tables, but it is not safe to use on cutting boards, counter tops or bee hives.

CCA treated (Wolmanized). This material was stopped from use in residential construction in 2003, Canada.

US EPA Fact Sheet

I have seen web sites that claim treated wood releases "dangerous fumes" and should not be used when making bird houses.  They do not cite the source of this information.

Another website says that only untreated wood should be used in case the birds "gnaw" on the wood.  Except for parrots, birds are not generally known for gnawing, but they do peck at the wood (That is how woodpeckers and chickadees excavate their nest cavities).

The Purple Martin Conservation Organization recommends: "Only untreated wood (no pressure-treated wood, no chemically-treated wood, etc.)" when making bird houses.

Since birds are well known to be very sensitive to environmental pollutants (remember the canary in the coal mine?), let's not take any chances.  Only use untreated wood.

Nest Boxes can be made from solid wood stock, plywood, bark slabs or solid logs
Many of the nest boxes I built in the past were made of plywood, because I always had scraps of plywood handy.

Many plans recommend using plywood (exterior grade plywood) and some even preserve the wood with spar varnish. 

Nest boxes can also be built by using exterior slabs (slab lumber) that still have the outside tree bark when the tree is sawn up to make lumber.

Solid logs can also be hollowed when making bird houses.  I have done this by first splitting the log, then hollowing out each side, drilling an entrance hole, then joining the two halves back together with wood glue and screws.

Thick or thin wood stock for Nest Box?
When making bird houses, the thickness of the stock determines the thermal insulation of the next box.  It can get cold in the Spring and always gets hot in the Summer sun. 

A one inch thick box will protect eggs and young from temperature extremes more than a half-inch thick box.  This doesn't mean that a half-inch box is useless (I have a half-inch thick blue-bird box that fledges 3 or 4 tree swallows most seasons).

Thicker stock is also heavier and more expensive than thinner stock, but it will also create a sturdier box if constructed properly.

Any stock thickness between one-half in up to one inch should be acceptable for a nest box.  If your area is notorious for cold nights in the Spring or if your nest box is to be placed in full sun (with no shade), you may want to go with thicker stock or to provide more shade, use two layers of thin stock with spacers between them for roof and west side.

Smooth or Rough Wood for Nest Box?

Perch or no Perch on Nest Box?

Other Construction Tips when Making Bird Houses:

• Use large wood shavings or chips but no straw or sawdust.
• American Kestrels will use nest boxes, but do not build a nest.  They will scrape together the loose material in the bottom of a cavity.
• Rough up or score the wood inside the hole so the chicks can scramble out.
• Why let another breeding season go by and you still haven't built a box. 

Free Bird House Plans

What Species of Bird do you want to attract to your nest box?

Here is a Bird House Dimensions Chart for 34 species.

We will be expanding our "Making Bird Houses" page as we further our research as well adding pages for specific bird house plans.

Making Bird Houses How To Books from Amazon: Enjoy making bird houses and the birds that make them their home!

Choose the appropriate link below for specific bird house plans:

All Bird House Plans

Bluebird House Plans

Purple Martin Bird House Plans

Gourd Birdhouses

Phoebe and Robin Bird House Plans   

American Kestrel Nest Box Plans

Bird House Designs

Wren House Plans

Wooden Bird Houses

Bird House Dimensions Chart

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Free Bird House Plans

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