DIY birdhouse - classic wooden version and its installation (95 photos). Choosing the right birdhouse sizes

Attracting birds to your local area is a pleasant and useful activity. After all, birds not only delight our ears with their trills, but also eat harmful insects.

How to make a birdhouse with your own hands - this is what our article is about.

Source materials

The starting material is exclusively wood. It is recommended to use only wood from deciduous trees, since coniferous trees emit resin, which can lead to the premature death of the feathered resident.

You cannot make birdhouses from plywood sheets, chipboard and OSB. The glue and special impregnation contained in such materials repel feathered guests.

As a result, assembly and fastening of workpieces should be carried out only with nails and self-tapping screws, without the use of adhesive.

Usually, to make a birdhouse from wood, unplaned boards with a thickness of at least 2 cm are used. This thickness allows you to maintain a constant temperature regime inside the bird house.

To prevent cracks from appearing on the boards when fastening, it is necessary to pre-drill holes for the screws.

How to choose the size of a birdhouse

The size of the birdhouse depends on what birds it is intended for. Different types of birdhouses differ in their proportions and the length of the entrance.

For example, for starlings the required dimensions are: 10 × 10 × 40 cm, the entrance hole is 5 cm. For tits and flycatchers, sparrows - 10 × 12 × 30 cm, the entrance hole is 3-3.5 cm. And the semi-dutch should be 10 × 8 × 20 cm with a taphole 3.3-5 cm high across the entire width of the wall.

Usually only the height of the birdhouse changes.

Half-loops can also attract squirrels.

Some birds prefer to live in nesting boxes made from part of a log using the hollowing method. The bottom and roof of such structures are made of boards.

To make the birdhouse habitable again, you need to remove the old nesting box from it and scald it with boiling water. An additional measure could be treatment with potassium permanganate.

How to make a birdhouse a safe place to live

To avoid the destruction of a birdhouse by cats and woodpeckers, you can take the following measures:

• Increase the roof overhang;
• Stick the roof with nails;
• Finish the taphole with a tin sheet;
• Drive nails around the tap hole;
• Attach a wooden overlay with horizontal fibers near the taphole;
• Make special protective belts from strips of tin or from “brooms”, and you must strictly adhere to the required distances between them.

Important: there should be no twigs, feeders or other possible supports between the protective belts and the birdhouse.

How to choose the right place for a birdhouse

Birdhouses should be hung on trees at a height of at least 3 m. It is not advisable for busy paths or benches to be located near these places.

Note!

When choosing a place on a tree, you need to take into account that there are no large branches near the entrance. The birdhouse should be installed facing south so that there is a slight tilt forward.

Making a birdhouse

It is necessary to take untreated hardwood boards with a thickness of at least 2 cm. You will also need gloves. Next, we take the birdhouse drawings and cut out the component parts. It is necessary to cut carefully and evenly, at an angle of 90°, so that there are no gaps in the future.

It is better to choose nails with a diameter of 1.5-2 mm and a length of no more than 40-50 mm. Let's start assembly. We apply the side parts to the facade at an angle of 90° and nail them. It is recommended to use 3-4 nails per each.

We turn it over, install the bottom, and nail it to the sides. Next, we insert the back wall and also secure it with nails with the bottom and sides.

Let's turn it over again. We fasten the bottom on the other side as well. We install the roof so that the overhang is at least 5 cm. Preferably 10 cm. We nail it down.

Note!

We inspect the resulting birdhouse and bend all the protruding nails.

Whether to install a perch is up to you.

Nowadays, on the Internet you can easily find a variety of ideas on how to make a birdhouse in the country or near your home.

Some of them are quite unusual. Therefore, feel free to make houses for birds.

After all, an original birdhouse can become a real decoration of your garden.

Note!

Photo of a birdhouse with your own hands

Any gardener will confirm to you that birds are not only living “decorations” of the site, delighting people with their sonorous singing. They also protect plants from pests (including some rodents) throughout the summer. But in order for birds to settle on your site, they should be provided with comfortable living conditions. Today we will talk about how to make a birdhouse with your own hands and where is the best place to hang it.

It is quite obvious that you need to use wood. Moreover, it is better to give preference to deciduous trees rather than needles, because they are too resinous. As for plywood and chipboard, you should not use them - birdhouses made from them will most likely be empty, and the odors of binders and glue are to blame. By the way, this is why the elements of the birdhouse should be connected with nails/screws, and not with glue.

In most cases, birdhouses are made from boards with a thickness of at least 20 mm (this thickness is enough to maintain a stable temperature inside, which is extremely important for breeding offspring). It is also important to use unplaned boards or, in extreme cases, those with a rough inner surface. Moreover, the front part under the entrance should be deliberately scratched - it will be convenient for birds to climb along such notches.

Note! When assembling the structure, holes for screws must be drilled in advance, otherwise there will be a risk that the wood will crack. As for the diameter of the holes, it should be somewhat smaller than the diameter of the screws themselves.

About the required sizes

As for the sizes, they depend, first of all, on the type of birds that should live in the birdhouse. After all, it is necessary that the birds receive the most familiar conditions for nesting. So, you can find out the recommended sizes from the table below.

Important! Having reviewed the information provided above, we conclude: the width in all cases remains almost the same, the changes concern only the height. It should also be remembered that the birdhouse should not be larger than the recommended size, as this will push the birds. As a result, they simply will not be able to feed more offspring and they, most likely, will not survive.

If we are talking about wagtails, then the birdhouse should be laid on its side. Its approximate dimensions are shown in the picture below. This kind of design features is explained by the weakness of the legs of wagtails, which is why they will not be able to climb a high wall. There should also be a small ladder (about 10 cm wide) in front of the entrance hole.

Poluduplyanka is a design that deserves special attention. Some birds settle in natural cavities (for example, between branches) instead of hollows, and therefore will not be able to settle in a closed nesting area. Also, do not forget that squirrels also sometimes settle in semi-dugs.

Go ahead. Duplyanka is a birdhouse made from part of a log. When calculating the height and diameter, in this case it is necessary to take into account the above dimensions for a simple design. The bottom and roof are made from pieces of boards.

Work rules and safety precautions

When working with wood, be careful - you can get injured even when creating a simple birdhouse. So be sure to follow a few simple carpentry rules.

1. Hide your hair under a hat and wear comfortable work clothes. Always use thick gloves to protect your hands from injuries and splinters.
2. The hammer must have a long enough handle. You can first practice using a hammer, hammer in a couple of nails, and only then, if everything goes well, start making a birdhouse.
3. Safety glasses are also recommended, if you have to drill/cut in the process.
4. When working with cutting tools, place them only with the blade down.
5. Electrical appliances must work properly; try not to get moisture on them.
6. When hanging the finished structure, use a ladder or stepladder. It is also recommended that you have someone help you with this.

Well, now you are familiar with the basic rules of work, and therefore you can proceed directly to the manufacturing process.

Design No. 1. Hinged lid option

To create this simple birdhouse, first acquire:

• pine slats (200x4.5x2 cm);
• loop 4x2 cm;
• round 1-centimeter strip 2 m long;
• 5 mm self-tapping screws (8 pieces);
• 15 mm self-tapping screws (4 pieces);
• boards (one – 200x9.5x2 cm, the second – 200x15x2 cm);
• wood glue;
• with a rag.

On a note! Equipment that will be used is a miter saw, an electric drill, a hammer, a Phillips screwdriver, a screwdriver, a ruler, a pair of clamps, a pencil, as well as drills (8 and 3 mm) and a wood router (45 mm).

First of all, cut the wood according to the required dimensions. Cut the main rail with a jigsaw and make a pole to mount the structure on the tree. Using a miter saw, cut the boards to make the bottom (140x95x200 mm) and four walls (200x95x200 mm). Then you need to take a wider board and cut out a roof from it (150x140x20 mm). It turns out that from a board 2 m long you can make 2 structures at once.

Make a hole on the front wall with a 45 mm cutter, and to install the perch (slightly lower) use an 8 mm drill.

Mark on the finished parts exactly where the screws will be screwed in (10 mm at the bottom, 20 mm at the sides). It is also necessary to cut a piece (15 cm) of a round lath, from which the pole will be made in the future.

Secure the future front wall with clamps.

Drill holes in it in the required places.

Step 4. Screw the first side of the future birdhouse.

Step 5. The parts need to be freed, and then a drill is used to make notches on the front wall (we have already described above why exactly).

Step 6. The second side is screwed in the same way.

Step 7 At the end the back wall is screwed on.

Step 8 The bottom of the future structure is screwed to the finished base.

Step 9 The places where the loop will be attached, which is necessary to close and open the lid, are marked. The marks are placed in the center.

The loop is applied to the lid, then you need to mark the points where the holes will be drilled.

Holes are made at these points.

The hinge is screwed to the lid using a Phillips screwdriver.

The places for screwing in the holes on the back wall are also marked.

After this, the screws are tightened there too.

The final stage is marking the attachment of the birdhouse to the tree. A straight line is drawn in the center of the back wall, after which an indent of 10 cm is made from below.

In this place the birdhouse will be fastened with 3-4 nails, for which you need to make the appropriate number of marks.

The fastener is clamped, holes are made in it according to the markings applied.

After this, the fastening is nailed to the structure.

The structure is ready, all that remains is to fix the perch. Glue is applied to one end, after which it is inserted into a smaller hole.

Wood glue usually takes a maximum of 15 minutes to dry. The birdhouse can be attached to a tree using, for example, wire.

Design No. 2. Option with gable roof

To make such a house for birds, prepare:

• pine boards 1 or 2 cm thick and 200, 160 and 120 mm wide;
• self-tapping screws (19 pieces);
• varnish (necessarily transparent);
• nails (8 pieces);
• pole stick (diameter 15 mm);
• sandpaper;
• paints (use acrylic);
• ruler;
• jigsaw, set of saws for it;
• pencil;
• brushes made of synthetic material;
• Phillips screwdriver;
• hammer;
• electric drill, a set of drills for it.

In this case, boards with a thickness of 20 mm are used. As noted earlier, it is preferable to use natural wood to make a birdhouse, but not plywood or chipboard.

A 16-centimeter board is taken and the front and back walls are marked on it. Everything needs to be done as shown in the diagram below.

A 12-centimeter board is taken and the sides (B) and bottom (C) are marked on it.

Step 4. Roof parts will be made from 20 cm boards. It is important that one part (in our example, K2) is longer by the thickness of the board, that is, 20 mm. Thanks to this, you will end up with identical slopes.

Step 5. All elements are cut out with an electric jigsaw; To make curved cuts, it is preferable to use a narrow saw.

Step 6. It is convenient to make decorative elements from scraps in order to save consumables.

Step 7 The edges are processed with sandpaper.

Step 8 Mounting holes are marked on the front and rear walls in accordance with the diagram. In front there is an additional notch (approximately 45-50 mm).

Step 9 On each side you need to mark one hole through which the bottom will be attached.

When marking the future roof, you need to act extremely carefully. The holes are drilled with a 4 mm drill.

A tap hole is cut out with a jigsaw, for which a hole is pre-drilled. The edges of the taphole should be sanded.

A pole is attached to the front.

The front wall is scratched from the inside, for which in our example a stationery knife is used.

All the walls of the future house are connected.

After this, the bottom is installed and fixed with self-tapping screws.

The roof parts are connected (the longer one is placed on top) and secured with self-tapping screws.

A decorative “chimney” is attached from the inside with a self-tapping screw.

Loops are screwed on the sides at the back, through which the structure will be installed on the tree trunk.

The roof is installed (it needs to be aligned with the back wall), 4 self-tapping screws are used to fix it.

The “fence” is nailed down with small nails. If desired, it can additionally be fixed with wood glue.

That's it, our birdhouse is ready, all that remains is to paint it with acrylic paints!

Design No. 3. Using a bottle gourd

You will be surprised, but for our purposes... dried bottle water is also ideal! To make such an original house, get:

• directly with pumpkin;
• a crown for an electric drill;
• latex paint (use the one intended for external work);
• brush;
• leather lacing;
• "sandpaper".

First of all, make a hole in the pumpkin using a crown. Remove all contents, which will require a long knife and spoon.

The surface of the pumpkin and the edges of the hole made are processed with sandpaper. If desired, you can use a homemade solution (water with bleach in a ratio of 9:1) to disinfect the pumpkin, but after processing it must be washed and dried.

Step 4. The pumpkin is painted. It is better to use a light shade of paint - this way it won’t be too hot for the birds in the house.

On a note! You need to make three small ventilation holes in the bottom of the pumpkin. There are two more holes on the top to make it convenient to hang the structure.

Thread leather lacing through the upper holes, thus making a kind of hanging belt, and then hang the birdhouse.

Video – Master class on making a birdhouse

Design No. 4. Classic bird house

This is another classic option for which you need to prepare in advance:

• untreated larch boards;
• nails at least 4 cm long;
• paint (it is important that it is odorless);
• equipment (electric jigsaw or handsaw, pliers, brush, pencil, tape measure and hammer).

The first stage is drawing up a drawing indicating all the required dimensions.

The scheme is transferred to wood. It is important that the dimensions match those indicated in the drawing.

A 1-centimeter perch 4 cm long is also prepared in advance. Having marked all the elements, you can finally get down to business. The design details are cut out in accordance with the markings. In this case, the boards are planed exclusively on the outside (they should remain rough on the inside for the reasons we described above).

Step 4. A hole is made for the tap hole with a diameter of no more than 50 mm.

Important! At the back you first need to attach a bar with which the house will be attached. The assembly procedure itself can be carried out in any available way; it is only necessary that the house is rigid and durable. Below is one possible option.

Step 5. The sides are connected to the front part. The structure is checked for strength and, if required, further strengthened with screws/nails.

Step 7 A removable lid is being prepared. It should go outside the house in order to protect it from rain.

In our example, the lid is made of two parts so that it holds better. The elements are adjusted to size and connected.

Step 8 Now you need to install the lid and perch. The design is ready!

Design No5. Simple nest

Here, completely free material is used for manufacturing, which is an undeniable advantage of the option. However, making a nest box is a more complex option than those described above, and now you will find out why.

First of all, you need to find a suitable log. It is better to use aspen, which begins to rot from the inside while its outside remains solid.

The bark is removed and the log is cut into logs of the required length. The core of one of the logs needs to be picked out with a chisel. This task can be made easier by making a through hole. You can also speed up the process by drilling several holes in advance with a drill, and then continuing to use the chisel.

Pieces of wood are broken off, and when the rotten core is removed, a hammer is additionally brought into the work.

The result should be walls 15-30 mm thick. It is convenient to make a taphole if there is a knot - in this case, the latter just needs to be hollowed out. If there is no knot, you will have to resort to using improvised means.

Step 4. The bottom is made of a 2-2.5 cm board. A piece of board is fastened with nails or self-tapping screws, after which the protruding parts are cut off as close to the walls as possible.

Step 5. To create a roof, you can use a slab or the same board. It is advisable to screw self-tapping screws into pre-made holes; If this is not done, the board can easily split.

Step 6. The nest box is almost ready, you just need to protect it from woodpeckers. All joints and knots that are found are coated with plasticine. An alternative option is to caulk using a flat-head screwdriver with hemp rope.

Video - Making a simple birdhouse yourself

Design No6. “Designer” house (wine corks)

Using wine corks, you can decorate a birdhouse. They can even be said to be ideal for this, because:

• have porosity, but are quite durable (hence, good protection against moisture);
• retain heat well;
• are durable;
• they are easy to process.

What is required in this case? The list is not that big:

• required number of wine corks;
• wooden twigs;
• heat gun;
• prefabricated structural frame.

Table. Step-by-step manufacturing instructions.

Design No7. Birdhouse out of the box

If there are no suitable materials to create a house, you can use a juice or milk box with a volume of at least a liter. The container itself must be thoroughly washed and dried before starting work. Then you just need to cut out the entrance, reinforce the bottom with thick cardboard and make holes on top, thanks to which the feeder will be tied to the branch with wire.

How to hang a birdhouse correctly

1. It is recommended to install it around mid-April.
2. The structure should not be exposed to direct sunlight (especially at midday).
3. It is important to provide free access to the house in order to be able to clean it every year.
4. There should be no branches near the house - this way it will be more protected from various types of predators (for example, from cats).
5. The recommended installation height is 9-10 m (in urban areas) and 3-4 m (in rural areas).
6. Finally, the structure should be positioned strictly vertically. A slight tilt forward is allowed, but not backward.

Video - Rules for installing a birdhouse

Video - Making a birdhouse step by step

Every time birds settle in a house you built, you feel proud that someone else needs it. It turns out that you are not living in vain!

I have long been interested in the question: why are there a dime a dozen great tits in the city, but only one or two in the country outside the city? The secret was revealed quite suddenly, during another conversation with ornithologist Alexei Murashov. It turned out that in the city the doors of numerous dwellings are always open for tits, while in the forests and gardens there are fewer and fewer old hollow trees. Guess where these cute birds live? I would never have found out on my own, even with all my professional powers of observation! It turned out to be in lampposts.

A narrow crack at the top near the lamp is enough for the bird to get inside the “pipe”, and there, dropping several meters down, it builds a nest on a “twist” of wires. Can you imagine WHAT an insufficiently “illuminated” village is losing, what invaluable helpers! Remember the picture from old school textbooks, at one glance at which even an inveterate poor student could understand the benefits of just one titmouse over the summer.

Like now, I see this simple composition: the feathered helper sits modestly on one side of the scale, and on the other there is a huge pile of midges, caterpillars, bugs, larvae and other pests, many times more than the useful bird’s own weight. For greater clarity, I would add a third element to this equation: baskets with a harvest that could be gobbled up and spoiled by all these creeping and flying reptiles caught by the great tit. Birds bring special joy to children, because what is so understandable and natural for us is a sensational discovery for kids. Not far from our dacha lives a buzzard, a large predator that looks like an eagle. My little son has happily recognized him for several years since the first days of his arrival and calls him nothing more than “our familiar buzzard.”

Last spring, a gray flycatcher built a nest above the door of our terrace and the whole family had to wait until the mother fed the chicks before going to the table and eating their cold lunch. Since then, I prefer to hang flycatcher houses myself and will be happy to tell you how this can be done on your site.

Looking ahead, I’ll explain what “combined houses” means. The fact is that a birdhouse or titmouse is just an artificial hollow. Instead, you can use an ordinary nest - a solid piece of round wood with a hollowed out core, but technologically this is quite difficult (you need to have a special tool). However, it is not necessary to make a completely round nest; it is enough to make just one side of an ordinary rectangular box. If, instead of a flat front wall, you use a semicircular slab with bark, in which you drill a hole for the entrance hole, then the birds will prefer such a dwelling in the first place. This is a combined house.

Now the question arises: what diameter should the inlet hole be? The answer is simple and concrete: depending on which bird you would like to see inside. If a starling, then 4.5-5 cm in diameter, if a tit or flycatcher, then 3 cm (for small tits it can be even smaller - 2.7 cm). An ordinary tree sparrow can also live in the houses described above. However, do not be upset, firstly, this will only happen if the tit is not happy with the apartment (driving out a sparrow is not a big problem for her), and secondly, anything is better than the silent emptiness of an empty apartment.

The classic wagtail is very similar to a birdhouse that is simply laid on its side. The main feature is that the boards serving as the floor and roof must protrude strongly forward (by 10 centimeters). Thus, the birds will have a fit and the same visor. Instead of the entrance hole, you can cut a regular slotted cut 4 cm wide. Approximate parameters of the wagtail “box” itself: length - 25-30 cm, width - 12-14 cm, height - 10 cm. With the width, we did not take into account the ten-centimeter visor and the same fit , therefore, if you make the floor and ceiling from a solid board, then its dimensions will be 25x22 or 30x24 cm, respectively. Another very important detail is a low partition wall inside the house, which separates the nesting chamber and the hallway. This is necessary to prevent robber birds or cats from getting to the chicks. Wagtails, unlike titmice or nuthatches, are unimportant acrobats, so even at home they prefer to walk on a horizontal floor. They will fly in, go to the partition, fly through it and go straight to their babies. And the babies will not fall out before their due date until they fledge and are able to overcome the barrier on their own.

Another important point is that wagtails do not like dizzying heights, so the optimal distance from the “penthouse” to the ground should not exceed 2-3 meters.

Remember last year I told you the story about the firefighters who painted half the birdhouses green and half red (because there wasn’t enough green) and were very surprised when they discovered that the birds settled in the scarlet houses first? Indeed, they prefer red and gray colors to others, but only if the nesting area was not painted with oil or nitro paint. It is best to do this with water-based emulsion or regular white. It is better not to paint the inside of bird houses, and the walls should be rough and burred. The only exception is, perhaps, the titmice, since it must be dark inside. If the inner walls are black, the titmouse will be very pleased, because its main trick is to scare enemies in the dark, masterfully imitating the hiss of a snake. Imagine: some curious squirrel climbs into a hollow, pokes its muzzle in the hope of profiting from bird eggs, and from there, with a loud hiss, two huge white eyes begin to rush at it (this is exactly what the snow-white cheeks of a titmouse look like on a black head). This is where anyone’s guts will shake!

In fact, titmouses are built in exactly the same way as birdhouses. The only difference is in dimensions. If you want to house a large tit, then the depth of the “box” or nest box should be 50 cm, and if you are trying for small tits, then 25 cm is quite enough. Other songbirds, such as redstarts or flycatchers, can also live in such a dwelling. And the chickadees also definitely need to make a small entrance and pour rotten sawdust inside, half of which the birds will gladly throw out into the hole and, having realized their behavioral reflexes, will begin to settle down with a calm soul.

Dimensions of the titmouse: bottom - 10x10 cm (for the small one - 8x8 cm), entrance - 3 cm (for the small one - 2.7 cm). They should be hung at a height of about 3 meters (in parks - from 2-4 meters). If you plan to make the roof removable (which makes cleaning and treating the house easier), then attach it to a couple of nails or secure it with wire.

The optimal size of the bottom should be no larger than the area of ​​the hollow, which is usually hollowed out in trees by a great spotted woodpecker: 10x10, 12x12 or 10x12 cm. If the apartments are larger, then 4-5 chicks will survive in them, which the parents will not be able to feed properly. The offspring will grow up frail, sickly and will not survive the difficult flight to warmer climes. In addition, weak individuals are carriers of various epizootics (after all, starlings are active distributors of many dangerous diseases). In a cramped house, only two or three chicks will grow up, but these will be strong, healthy individuals, less susceptible to diseases and infections, which will maintain the power and strength of the native population. And one more very important point - don’t be overzealous, one birdhouse for ten other artificial nesting boxes for birds (titmouses, flycatchers, wagcats, etc.) is quite enough. In other words, just a few houses for starlings are quite enough for a small garden community, but there should be ten times more other bird houses.

So, to build a birdhouse we will need the following materials:

• Dry unplaned boards. It is preferable to take boards from deciduous wood, such as birch, aspen, alder. We strongly advise against using glued or compressed wood (chipboard, fibreboard, plywood, etc.) when building a birdhouse - it is extremely short-lived when placed outdoors, not to mention its toxicity. It is worth taking boards with a width of 12-16 cm and a thickness of at least 2 cm; with such a thickness, the birdhouse will retain heat well.
• about 20 nails 35-45 mm long
• if you want to make the birdhouse beautiful, you can use water-based paint

From the tool we will take:

• pencil
• ruler
• hacksaw for wood
• hammer
• drill
• feather drill 30-40 mm
• and of course our skillful hands

To build a birdhouse, we offer you 3 drawings that we found on the website. The first of the drawings is the easiest to implement; using its example, we will look at making a birdhouse.

In our example, we took boards 2 cm thick; if you don’t have such, you can use others, but accordingly you will have to slightly adjust the dimensions of the bottom and roof of the birdhouse. You may well take the initiative and deviate from the proposed drawings, but you should take into account several important notes:

• The total height of the birdhouse should be from 30 to 35 cm
• The bottom size should be made from 10*10 to 15*15 cm
• the distance from the bottom to the tap hole should be 15-20 cm
• inlet diameter (tap hole) 30-40 mm

According to the drawing, we cut the boards and proceed to assembly (photos of the assembly process were borrowed from the website):

Prepared boards

We nail the front wall to the two side walls

Insert the bottom of the birdhouse

Nailing the back wall

Assembling the cover

Put the cover in place

• Some birdhouse builders make the entrance hole rectangular - this is, in principle, acceptable, but since birds are naturally closer to a round hollow, they are more likely to settle in a house with a round entrance
• do not try to fit the boards close to each other, the existing cracks will provide the necessary ventilation
• try not to have any protruding nails inside the birdhouse or sharp split edges, you don’t want the birds to get hurt
• We make the roof of the birdhouse removable so that it can be cleaned, but it must be secured to the house by wrapping it with wire or screwing it with screws so that predators cannot get inside
• You can install a perch in front of the entrance hole to your taste - the birds don’t particularly need it
• If you were unable to find unplaned boards, we recommend making several notches with a chisel on the inside of the birdhouse before assembling the birdhouse, because it will be extremely difficult for birds and especially small chicks to get out on a smooth surface
• It is not recommended to paint a birdhouse; the strong smell and bright color can scare away birds, but if you really want to, you can take natural water-based paint and paint the birdhouse gray or red
• if the birdhouse is located close to the house, you can install a video camera with infrared illumination on the inside of the lid and then you will be able to watch the life of your feathered neighbors - how the birds settle in the house, hatch and feed the chicks, how the chicks begin to get out of the birdhouse and take to the wing »

Well, if your hands, as they say, did not grow from there, then you can buy yourself a ready-made birdhouse or a constructor for assembling it on the website

Attracting birds to the site is both useful and pleasant. It is useful because they destroy insect pests, it is pleasant to listen to their singing and observe the behavior of birds. That’s why many people come up with the idea of ​​building a birdhouse with their own hands. People over 40 years old can remember their school days: during labor lessons, boys made houses for birds. But it’s not just property owners who make birdhouses. Often residents of apartment buildings hang them on trees near the house, on balconies and loggias.

What to make from

The answer is clear - from wood, and deciduous trees: conifers are too resinous. The resin can stain the plumage, resulting in the death of the bird. You should not use plywood or. Rarely does anyone live in such birdhouses: glue and binders scare away birds. For the same reason, we assemble and fasten the workpieces only with nails or screws, we do not use glue.

Most often, birdhouses are made from boards. The thickness of the boards is at least 20 mm. This thickness is enough to maintain a stable temperature inside, which is important when hatching chicks. Moreover, the boards need to be unplaned; in any case, the inner surface should be rough. The front part under the entrance is also specially scratched: along these notches, chicks and birds rise to the entrance.

To prevent the boards from cracking during assembly, we pre-drill holes for the screws. The diameter is slightly smaller than the diameter of the screw.

Sizes of birdhouses for different types of birds

To attract different types of birds, the size of the house should vary. It is mainly the proportions of the “body” itself and the entrance that change. The goal is to create nesting conditions that are more familiar to this species.

As you can see from the table, basically only the height changes. The width remains more or less stable. There is no point in making birdhouses anymore. They will stimulate the laying of more eggs, and the birds will not be able to fully feed a large number of chicks; as a result, the offspring will be weak and, most likely, die.

If you want to attract wagtails, make a birdhouse laid on its side: its height will be 10-12 cm and width - 35-40 cm, with the same small entrance located approximately in the middle. Wagtails have weak legs, and they cannot climb a high wall to the entrance. That is why there is such a choice of nesting sites. in the shaker it is also advisable to make a ladder about 10 cm wide in front of the entrance - so that they can enter on foot.

The semi-duplyanka requires some explanation. Some birds are accustomed to nesting not in hollows, but in recesses between branches. They rarely settle in completely closed artificial nesting areas. If you want to attract, for example, a gray flycatcher, make it a small box in which the entrance runs the entire width of the front wall.

Just keep in mind that some types of squirrels also like to live in such houses.

There is another nesting site that birds often like better - a nesting box. This is a birdhouse made from a piece of log. Often dried wood is cut into logs of suitable size, turning it into apartments for birds. The height and diameter are selected based on the dimensions that were indicated for a regular birdhouse. The bottom and roof of the nest are made from a piece of board.

Duplyanka - birdhouse made of logs

Safety

It's a shame and a pity when birds' nests are destroyed. This is mainly done by cats, and also by woodpeckers. Therefore, when you make a birdhouse with your own hands, increase the roof overhang. In almost all drawings it is drawn 5 cm long. In order to protect the birdhouse from the cat, it is necessary to make sure that he cannot reach the entrance. To do this, the roof must protrude by at least 7 cm, and it is better to add a couple more - for large specimens. This ledge will also protect from slanting rain: the likelihood that the chicks will get wet becomes even less.

Another option is to put nails on the lid. The cat is unlikely to get hurt, but he won’t be able to sit comfortably - the nails won’t let him.

There are several ways to protect chicks from woodpeckers:

• beat the taphole with tin:
• drive several nails around the tap hole;
• nail a piece of wood on the taphole area, the fibers of which run horizontally.

All this will prevent the woodpecker from expanding the entrance and getting to the eggs or chicks. The last trick - the cover - will also complicate the cat’s task: it is more difficult to reach the chick through a long entrance.

Measures against enemies: 1 - against woodpeckers, 2.3 - against cats

They still escape from cats and possible invaders with the help of protective belts. They are made either from tin strips or from “brooms”. You will understand everything by looking at the picture. Please note that the distances must be maintained within 3-4 cm. Then the animals will not be able to jump over the protective belts. There should be no twigs, feeders or other possible supports between them and the birdhouse.

Where to hang

Where to hang a birdhouse is also a science. If you are going to set it up on a tree, then at a height of at least 2.5-3 meters. There should be no paths or busy places near the selected tree - a well, a bench, etc.

When choosing a place on a tree, keep in mind that there should be no large branches in front of the entrance: the approach must be free. At the same time, you need to unfold it so that the “window” faces south. All this increases the chances that residents will move into your birdhouse.

Another point: you need to tie or nail it so that the “house” is tilted slightly forward. This will make it easier for the chicks to get out, and less rain will clog them.

How to make a birdhouse with your own hands: photo report

We will do the easiest option - with a flat roof. As already mentioned, we take unplaned hardwood boards with a thickness of 20 mm or more. To avoid splinters, it is better to work with gloves. According to the drawing, we cut the blanks. Try to keep the cuts straight and at right angles: there should be no gaps. Immediately after hatching, the chicks are without feathers, and the slightest draft can kill them. Therefore, all edges must be smooth.

We take long thin nails - diameter 1.5-2 mm, length 4-5 cm and a hammer. Let's start assembly. We nail the sides to the front part at right angles. For each - three to four nails.

Turning the workpiece upside down, take the bottom, insert it, and level it. We nail it to the sides. We cover the top with the back wall and also nail it. Don't forget about connecting the back wall with the sides.

Turning the tap hole upside down, we nail the bottom on this side as well. All that remains is to assemble the roof. We take the remaining square - the double of the bottom, nail it so that the visor sticking out in front is at least 5 cm (preferably 7-10 cm, as they said before). If the nails stick out, bend them.

The roof just needs to fit tightly. If something gets in the way, we use a chisel. That's all, the birdhouse with your own hands is ready.

Often a perch is installed under the entrance. Is it needed or not? If there are enough branches around, it’s better not to do it. If there are no branches, you need to either make a perch or a small shelf, although you can do without them. Why? Because cats also rely on them and it is easier for them to reach the chicks with support.
How to make a titmouse, watch the video

Making a nest - a birdhouse from a log

If the feathered people have a choice - to live in a nest box or a birdhouse made of boards - they will choose a nest box. It is more similar to the usual “housing” - a hollow, there are no cracks on the sides and, therefore, it is warmer. They are less noticeable on the tree, which means there is a greater chance of raising offspring. These are advantages from the birds' point of view. Now about the advantages from the point of view of the “manufacturers”: a fallen tree is used for work, and it is free. If you find a suitable one, it will be enough for a large number of birdhouses. About the disadvantages - making nest boxes takes longer and is more difficult: you have to manually pick out the core, leaving the walls intact.

Now about how to find a suitable tree. Aspen is best suited: it usually rots from the inside, but remains hard along the outer edge. Therefore, we go in search of an aspen forest, and there, among the fallen trees, we look for something suitable: we cut several trunks. It is important to find one with a whole edge and a rotten middle - the work will go faster.

It is advisable to find such aspen - with a rotten core, but strong edges

Often such trees have rotten bark, which makes them look unsightly. We peel off the bark and drag the log to the dacha or house. There we cut it into logs of suitable size. Dimensions are determined by diameter. For a birdhouse, the inner diameter of the nest should be 22-30 cm, respectively, the outer diameter - 27-36 cm. For the titmouse, the sections closer to the top are suitable - the inner diameter is 15-22 cm, the outer diameter is 19-26 cm.

The height of the log also depends on the type of house - a titmouse is 20-40 cm high (but they are more willing to settle in low ones), a birdhouse - from 30 to 45 cm. When sawing, try to make the bevel that appears at the bottom level, and at the top - at a slight slope - so that sediment flowed from the roof. To make roofs and bottoms, you will need cutting boards; you can use unedged boards and slabs.

We take the cut log and begin to pick out the core with a chisel. The task is to dig a through hole. After this, even hard wood is easier to chop. To make the process go faster, you can drill holes with a drill, then break out the jumpers with a chisel.

The task is to dig a through hole

As a rule, the rotten core runs out quickly, then you have to chop off pieces of wood using a chisel and a hammer or mallet. But with a hole in the center it is much easier - the longitudinal pieces are chipped off, the work proceeds at normal speed.

The walls should remain about 1.5-3 cm. We try to work on the middle more or less smoothly, without large chips. When the walls are selected, we make a taphole. If there is a knot, you can hollow it out. Or take a crust and a drill, drill in a suitable place. If there is no crown, take a regular drill, drill holes in a circle, then, using the same chisel, cut through the remaining jumpers.

A piece of board 2-2.5 cm thick goes to the bottom. It is nailed or screwed onto self-tapping screws. The protruding parts are cut off as close to the walls as possible.

All that remains is to nail the roof. The same board or slab will do. Before screwing in the screw, drill holes, otherwise the board may split.

Actually, you have already made a birdhouse with your own hands, all that remains is to secure it from attacks by woodpeckers. If there are knots on the walls, it is advisable to coat them with plasticine (regular, children's). They can also be used to seal the gaps that remain between the bottom and the roof and walls: it is rarely possible to fit everything neatly. If you don’t want to cover it with plasticine, you can caulk it with hemp rope. It is applied to the crack and driven into it with a flat screwdriver (actually there are special blades for caulking, but they are large - this is the time, and for “one-time use” you should buy them...). If it doesn't go well, you can hit the handle with a hammer.

Caulking the “seams” with hemp rope

How to decorate a birdhouse

While the birdhouse is new, it looks relatively good, but after a couple of months it will darken. This is good for the birds - it will become less noticeable and they will only benefit from this. But not all homeowners like to look at such an unsightly “decoration”. To improve the appearance, the birdhouse can be painted, but you need to choose “natural” colors - brown, gray, shades of green. You want your birds to survive, right? This means their nest needs to be camouflaged, and not painted in all the colors of the rainbow, attracting all possible predators.

And this one is just ideal - no cracks in the floor))

Titmouse is inhabited

Beautiful decoration and disguise

We hope that now you can not only make a birdhouse with your own hands, but also decorate it competently (from the point of view of the birds).

Drawings with dimensions

Some drawings of birdhouses are in the text, we are posting a few more in this section. Adjusting the dimensions to suit the planned “tenants” is probably not a problem. Also note that the layout is given for a 2 cm thick board. Adjustments are necessary when increasing or decreasing the thickness.

Birdhouse with a triangular roof: drawing, dimensions

Birdhouse with a sloping roof (front wall higher)

Taking a family of birds under your wing is a noble and pleasant task. And the first step towards this is the construction of a bird house. You can easily make a birdhouse familiar from childhood with your own hands, but for each type of bird there are design and placement features that must be taken into account before inviting new neighbors to the site.

Classic wooden birdhouse

A birdhouse of the simplest design consists of a square bottom with a side of 13-15 cm, side blanks 30-35 cm high with a slope in the upper part are cut end-to-end to the size of the bottom, the end and back parts should be 2-4 cm wider for fastening.

The difference in length between the back and front walls of the birdhouse should be calculated so that the slopes fit tightly to the lid. Another piece is cut to size and attached to the inside of the removable roof, providing a seal and the ability to open the birdhouse for cleaning.

Another option is a house with a pitched roof. Two identical blanks are overlapped on the trapezoidal façade and rear wall. Such a roof should not be nailed tightly to ensure access to annual cleaning and disinfection.

A round entrance hole is made with a distance of 5-6 cm from the top edge and a diameter of 4-5 cm. There should be sufficient space (10-15 cm) for the nest in the lower part of the structure, protected from the wind.

The birdhouse parts are fastened together using nails or self-tapping screws and wood glue.

The roof slopes protect from excess moisture; they should protrude slightly from the sides to protect the walls as well. The joints should fit neatly, without gaps, adjacent to each other. It is necessary to avoid unnecessary decorative elements on the walls and facade, which can become a place for moisture accumulation.

The building material used is boards of pine or deciduous trees with a thickness of 2 to 4 cm. Fibreboard and chipboard are not recommended, since the smells of the chemicals contained in their composition can scare away birds.

For the same reason, the internal surfaces of the birdhouse are not treated with varnishes or paints. The outside can be sanded and made into a waterproof coating.

Wooden birdhouses are a good object for realizing creative abilities. They can be painted and decorated, but it is better not to use glass or other light-reflecting materials. Photos of ready-made birdhouses of different styles will help you choose the most suitable option.

Duplyanka

In order to cut a birdhouse from a wooden block, it is more convenient to use a chainsaw. Brief instructions for creating such a birdhouse are as follows.

To begin work, you need to firmly install the deck in a vertical position. The proposed cut is divided into three equal parts: the upper one for the roof slopes, the middle one for the hollow and perch, and the other third for the nest.

First, the upper slopes for the roof are cut at an angle of 45 degrees. Then, as smoothly as possible, the core is removed along its entire height and an entrance hole is cut. And only after this the birdhouse is cut off from the deck along the bottom line.

Bird houses made from scrap materials

Boots, bags, lamp shades, similar-sized containers with necks, dried pumpkin - can become building material for a bird house.

Before you make a birdhouse with your own hands, you need to remember to maintain the correct proportions to accommodate the nest.

You also need to take into account that the entrance hole should allow the inhabitants to pass through, but not be too large, for the sake of their safety. A homemade house should provide protection from moisture and wind.

Birdhouse installation

The ideal place for a birdhouse is a tree trunk free from branches. A wooden beam or pole of triple length is attached to the back wall, which is fixed by wrapping it with wire.

Then you need to give the birdhouse a slight forward tilt using a small piece of wood placed between the trunk and the house. This will protect the chicks from falling and make it difficult for enemies (cats and crows) to get to them. The entrance, and as it is also called, the entrance, should face south or southeast to avoid cold winds.

Another option is to attach it to the facade of buildings. But you should not hang or place the house on the branches; it must be stable and securely fastened. For comfortable living, you also need shade to protect from direct sunlight.

The bird house needs to be mounted at a height of 2.5 to 5 meters, out of the reach of cats and other hunters. It is worth taking care that there are no steps or branches that will help them get to the nest.

Often, a traditional perch in low-mounted birdhouses becomes a support for unwanted guests to enter.

Photo of a birdhouse with your own hands