Birdhouse: made of wood and scrap materials - for starlings and small useful birds. DIY birdhouse
They built a house for a wagtail, but apparently it was not the right size. They settle on the site anywhere but in a house. Tell me the dimensions of the wagtail house.
Elena, Apatity.
Hello Elena!
I honestly admit that I have never come into close contact with wagtails and therefore, most likely, I will not be able to say anything particularly useful.
My knowledge of the life of birds is based only on my own observations of them and fragmentary information about them, gleaned from various sources.
If the ubiquitous sparrows can and are ready to settle anywhere, under the eaves of houses and in the nests of most birds, including birdhouses, from where their starling owners throw them out with a loud noise after their arrival, then the wagtail is a much more whimsical bird.
Firstly, there are, if memory serves, about a dozen subspecies of wagtails, yellow, white, gray, Siberian, those that live in your area on Apatity and God knows what else. Due to lack of time, I don’t want to go into encyclopedias, I’m speaking purely from memory.
Some even call flycatchers wagtails, although, in my opinion, this is not entirely true.
A distinctive feature of all wagtails is the presence of a constantly shaking tail, no matter what length and color it may be. A peculiar prowling flight style, love for the presence of water in the immediate vicinity of nesting sites. And also long walks on the ground, which the wetter, the better for them.
I have no doubt that ornithologists, if they read these lines, will make faces and reproach me for my lack of professionalism. God be their judge!
Now let's get down to business. Most people who like to build houses for wagtails believe that such houses should only be made from boards. Preferably made of pine and at least one and a half to two centimeters thick. Preferably not painted or planed, at least on the inside.
The house should be a rectangular box about 40 centimeters long, about 15 centimeters wide and also about 15 centimeters high.
Moreover, the front wall of the house should be shifted inward by 10 centimeters. Then it looks like a dressing room in front of the interior. That is, the wagtail does not immediately fly into the nest, but has the opportunity to trample on the threshold, over which there is a canopy.
The opening for passage inside is about 5 centimeters wide and the entire height (15 centimeters). To prevent rainwater from getting across the floor into the nest, make a small threshold, that is, nail a bar a couple of centimeters from the bottom of the hole.
Small gaps are allowed between all boards. Although some bird lovers are categorically against them and recommend caulking them. I don’t think so, because in natural bird nests there are always cracks. At least those that curl from grass and branches.
The roof (top board) of the wagtail house should preferably be removable. Why, you can attach it on top with four self-tapping screws, without turning their heads. Then you can unscrew them with a screwdriver (or, in extreme cases, with pliers). If the heads are sunk into the wood, then they will rust from moisture and cannot be removed.
It is recommended that twice a year, in the spring before the birds arrive and in the fall after their departure, you remove the roof of the house and completely clean it of all the debris that has accumulated there. And these are stems, roots, leaves, threads, wool, and hair, that is, everything that wagtails use when building a nest.
This is done due to the fact that in such litter there are all sorts of creatures that can easily overwinter and ruin the life of the birds. Take a closer look at your inhabitants and you will see that they are constantly plucking, trying with their beaks to extract from under the feathers what you cannot see.
When cleaning nests, precautions should be taken. Bird flu has not been canceled yet!
There are completely opposite opinions on where the wagtail house should be located.
Some say that it should be located in quiet places, such as garden plots at a height of about 1.5-2 meters. In populated areas - at heights from 3 to 5 meters. Sometimes it is placed directly under the eaves (eaves), that is, the lower part of the roof of a wooden hut.
Others say that the house should be placed directly on the ground, near trees, stumps, stonework, masking them with branches - leaves. But so that rainwater cannot penetrate into them.
In nature, wagtails themselves very often prefer to settle a dozen or two meters from the banks of reservoirs. Moreover, only females build nests in late spring and early summer.
The clutch is about 5 eggs. And only the Almighty knows how many of them will grow into chicks. The stay lasts up to two weeks. The hatched chicks, not yet able to fly, jump out of the nests. They need a parent's eye!
In summer, laying and incubation of chicks may be repeated.
It is better to install bird houses, including those for wagtails, in the fall so that they darken from the atmospheric environment, then their inhabitants are not so wary of them. As a last resort, this is done in March-April.
Wagtails, unlike some other birds, never settle in birdhouses.
There is an explanation for this, because they are adapted to run more on the ground; their paws cannot cling to the vertical wooden walls of bird artificial structures.
The entrance, that is, the opening of the bird's house, is located so that the prevailing winds in the area do not blow into it.
Wagtails do not like competing birds. There should be no other nests within a radius of 25-30 meters from their nesting site!
If, as in your case, they do not want to live in the house (and the house must meet the requirements that we discussed above), then it should be moved to another place. And so on at random several times until they settle in.
And the wagtail in the garden is a very useful bird; how many slugs, beetles, worms and bad caterpillars it destroys, it definitely needs a house for it!
And in general, many birds deserve our kind attitude towards them. I don’t know about you, but in central Russia they even make nesting places for storks, when they erect a cart wheel on a four-five meter pole, where the storks themselves lay and weave the branches.
For other bird trifles, sometimes a pestle box measuring about 10/10/10 centimeters in size is woven from bast (linden bark) under the very ridge of a log hut.
For wilder birds that shy away from huts, they make nest boxes, that is, they take a piece of deciduous tree covered with bark, hollow out the core in it, and it looks like a hollow. Unsanded boards are stuffed from the bottom and top of the trim.
A hole is made on the wall with an approximate size of about 4-5 centimeters.
Sometimes, in order to avoid the labor-intensive process of hollowing out a hollow, they find scraps of logs with an existing hollow or with a rotten core. They choose this rotten core and get a room for the future bird house. But you still need to look for such scraps; they don’t lie on the road.
Or even simpler - take a piece of log slightly larger than 0.3 meters. They split it into 4 parts so as to get the semblance of four unedged boards, preserving the bark. The tetrahedral beam - the core is thrown away, and the four outer sides are made up and tied on the outside with wire. It turns out to be a nest, which remains to be covered at the ends with a bottom and a lid.
Titmouse, wagtail and flycatcher Traditionally, summer residents hang birdhouses on their plots. And this is understandable: putting together such a house is not difficult; starlings willingly settle in them and delight the ears with their singing all spring. But there is little significant benefit from them. Firstly, they eat cherries and currants. Secondly, they catch harmful insects not in the garden near the house, but in the nearby forest or field. Meanwhile, there are other birds that willingly settle next to humans and bring tangible benefits in the fight against pests. But in order to have feathered helpers at your dacha, you need to make houses for them. As a rule, they differ from birdhouses. Great tit and blue tit are real gardener's assistants, one of the most useful birds on the farm, since they feed exclusively near their home. The shape of the house for them is no different from a birdhouse, but its size should be smaller. It is made from boards 20 mm thick. The outside of the titmouse can be planed, but it is better to leave the boards inside untreated so that the birds, when getting out, can cling to uneven surfaces with their claws. There should be no gaps, since tits love twilight. They also have one more whim - they do not like “new buildings”, the house should not look fresh for them. Therefore, before hanging, the titmouses must be etched with a strong solution of potassium permanganate or lightly coated with earth. It is advisable to hang them in the crown of a tree (tits do not like open, windy and sunny places) at a height of three to six meters, but so that the branches do not cover the entrance. The distance between houses should be 10–30 meters. It is best to hang them in early March. Wagtail The arrival of the wagtail coincides with the opening of the rivers, and therefore people say: “The wagtail breaks the ice on the river with its tail.” The wagtail likes to make a nest near rivers, ponds and swamps, between firewood, in haylofts, behind wall cladding. In the garden it is very useful - running around the beds, this bird destroys a huge number of harmful insects and their larvae. The wagtail cannot, like a tit, cling to its legs and hang on them, so the house for it is made in the form of an oblong box with a platform. The best material is 20 mm thick planed boards on both sides. To prevent water from entering the wagtail during rain, a 10 mm high block threshold is nailed to the floor at the entrance. Wagtail houses are best hung on non-residential buildings (barn, barn) at a height of three to five meters. Flycatcher This small bird mainly catches insects on the fly, and its main diet is flies and mosquitoes, which sometimes greatly bother summer residents. Therefore, it makes sense to make houses for them too. And then you can be sure that there will be less midges in the area. After all, while feeding chicks, flycatchers fly to the nest 400–500 times a day. Scientists have calculated that one such bird, while the chicks are in the nest, brings them approximately 1.5 million small insects, the total weight of which is 1.5 kilograms! In nature, flycatchers nest in cracks and peelings of the bark, so the house for them should be wedge-shaped. Unlike tits, these birds do not like gloomy “apartments”; they do not move into a house that has darkened over the years. Therefore, the flycatcher must be whitened from the inside every year. Any place for a house is suitable, as long as there is at least one or two trees nearby from which the flycatcher will hunt, and a small open clearing where it will catch flying insects. This bird is not afraid of people. And the height at which the house will hang does not matter either. The only thing is that you need to maintain a distance between the “apartments”; there should be 30–50 meters between them. You can hang houses until the end of April. NOTE General rules for the construction of bird “apartments” - A bird house should be modest and inconspicuous, hang vertically or with a slight tilt forward. Dwellings suspended with a backward slope are, as a rule, not inhabited by birds. - There is no need to make any thresholds outside under the entrance; the birds get along just fine without them. - It’s good if there is a branch near the treehouse: tits and flycatchers like to sit on the sidelines and look around before flying into the nest. - The taphole is drilled with a brace or gouged with a narrow chisel. If you have nothing to cut a round hole with, you can make it square. - It is better to make the roof of the bird house flat with a slight slope back. The gable will begin to leak faster. - The house must be hung so that the entrance is directed in the direction where the main winds in this area blow. - It is useful to sprinkle dry wood or peat dust inside the bird house in a layer of about 1 cm.
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.
| Bird species | Bottom dimensions | Birdhouse height | Taphole dimensions | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starlings | 10*10 cm | 30-40 cm | about 5 cm | a taphole is preferable to a round shape |
| Titmouse - tits, flycatchers, redstarts, sparrows, pygmy owls | 10-12 cm | 25-30 cm | 30-35 mm | round entrance |
| Lesser titmouse or flycatcher (flycatchers, redstarts) | 10*8 cm | 25-30 cm | 30 mm | |
| Poluduplyanka | 10*8 cm | 20 cm | height 33-50 mm across the entire width of the wall | taphole - a longitudinal slot across the entire width of the front wall |
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)
Our smaller brothers need comfortable housing just like us. What to make a bird house from? How to decorate it, and what do you need to know to make the birds live comfortably in the birdhouse? We have prepared some useful recommendations, as well as 27 examples of amazing houses that have an unusual design.
What to make a bird house from?
Traditionally, birdhouses are made from wooden boards 1.5-2.5 centimeters thick. That part of the board that will be located inside the structure is not processed - it is not sanded or impregnated. Externally, the house can be made smooth, impregnated with drying oil or painted with odorless oil paint.
If we talk about alternative options, today summer residents make bird houses using scrap materials. For example, shoes, watering cans, porcelain dishes, samovars and even lanterns look unusual as birdhouses.
The main thing is that all the materials from which the house is made are environmentally friendly and do not harm the birds. You also need to equip your home with a short stick at the entrance if starlings will live there. Sparrows, nuthatches, and tits love houses with roofs, but flycatchers and robins need an option with an open wall in front.
How to decorate a birdhouse?
Many poultry farmers are against excessive decoration of bird houses, believing that it scares away birds. But despite this, birds continue to inhabit birdhouses of unusual design.
The easiest way is to paint the house, draw windows, flowers, insects on it, or make it in the form of a watermelon slice. You can also decorate it with mosaics, wine corks, and sea pebbles.
What do you need to remember when installing a bird house?
1. The birdhouse should be mounted on a tree or pole; it can also be hung on a rope or rope. In this case, the distance from the ground should be at least two meters so that cats or dogs do not reach the birds.
2. You should not install a birdhouse near windows, as birds wake up early and can wake you up with their singing or chirping.
3. The entrance to the house should be directed towards sunrise so that it is well heated during the day.
4. It is necessary to ensure that the birdhouse is in the shade, not in direct sunlight, otherwise the birds may get heatstroke.
Since 1906, the whole world has been celebrating International Bird Day on April 1st. This day is considered the starting day for the construction of bird houses. Russians learned about this holiday in 1918.
Traditionally, birdhouses begin to be made in April, but it is not too late to build a birdhouse in May and June.
The largest birdhouse in the world is located in Belgorod. Its height is five meters. But this house is not intended for birds to live there. It serves as a workshop where feeders and bird houses are created.
Product designers are constantly creating interesting and stylish birdhouses. For example, specialists from Portland produced.
An interesting observation: there are significantly fewer birds outside the city than in the city. Why is that? It turns out that the city has many secluded places for birds. But the most common refuge is a bird squeezing its way inside through a narrow gap near a lamp. Here, descending along the pipe trunk, she builds her nest on a coil of wires. Can you imagine the conditions in which a bird, a small plant pest fighter, lives? But a person is able to thank his winged helpers, but how? Build which will be larger than the lantern pipe.
Construction materials
To determine how to build a birdhouse for starlings, you need to select the appropriate material. Wooden boards of exclusively deciduous species - birch, alder, aspen - are best suited for construction. Coniferous wood is not recommended for use. It secretes a resin that makes the surfaces of the birds' homes sticky. Plywood is not suitable for a bird house. It retains heat poorly, making the new building very cold. And it practically does not miss sounds that are very important for birds, especially when danger arises. Compressed wood (fibreboard, chipboard) releases toxins, so it is generally not suitable for a birdhouse.
Birdhouse drawing
A correctly calculated and laid out diagram will greatly simplify the construction process. Therefore, before building a birdhouse, the drawing must be made taking into account all the required dimensions. The optimal height of the house for a starling is 35 cm. For the bottom you will need a blank in the form of a square with a side of 16 cm. The entrance should be 5-6 centimeters in diameter. Important! Before building a birdhouse, the dimensions should be checked several times. If the proposed living space seems cramped to the birds, they will simply bypass your new building. However, you shouldn’t chase large sizes either. Otherwise, offspring raised in too spacious apartments will be sickly and weak.
Step-by-step instruction
Creating a simple birdhouse does not require much skill or experience with wood. The main thing is to use the drawings correctly. If you are building a house for birds for the first time, then the question naturally arises: how to build a birdhouse in stages?
The image shows a diagram of a traditional strong house, known to everyone since childhood.
The sides of the roof are different. One should be longer by the thickness of the board to cover the edge of the first. After all, a birdhouse should not only be practical, but also have an excellent appearance.
After all the blanks are cut from the board, be sure to check whether they form the birdhouse correctly. If all the previous tips were taken into account, then there should be no problems when assembling the house.
It is best not to drive nails, but to drill small holes. The nail may not enter the wood correctly, then the sharp edge will stick out in the birdhouse, making the housing quite unsafe for birds. Or it might even split the wood. To make the drilling process as safe as possible, secure the wood pieces in several C-clamps. Before using nails or screws, be sure to glue the edges of the sides together with good
After assembling the frame, you should work on the round entrance. There is a special drill for such purposes. It drills the hole very quickly and accurately. Such a tap hole will have smooth edges, and therefore does not require additional sanding.
If you don’t have such a drill, drill several holes inside the circle, and then cut out the desired tap hole with a jigsaw. A brace is good for this purpose.
There is another method for making a taphole. But it assumes a frame that has not yet been assembled. The face board can be divided down the center into two halves. Using a chisel, you can cut out the necessary half-holes quite easily. You can connect both halves using spikes - nails with broken heads.
The next stage is installing the roof.
Under the entrance you need to place a stick 1.5 cm thick - a porch. A porch that is too large will invariably attract crows and jackdaws to the birdhouse.
Types of houses
Any house for birds is usually called a birdhouse, although it is not built just for starlings. Other birds also need housing. How to build a birdhouse for birds depends on the characteristics of the future residents. For example, housing for tits is built with a height of 25-30 cm. The bottom should be a square with a side of 10-12 cm. The entrance for tits is 30-35 mm in diameter.
Wagtail housing requires a completely different design. The bird itself does not have sufficient tenacity of its legs, so it needs a certain ladder in front of the house. And such a house needs to be located under a roof, approximately at a height of three to five meters.
The pika feels more comfortable in a house with two through holes. They are located on the left and right. Such additional entrances allow the bird to escape in time if a predator attacks its home.
Decorative houses
Fans of original solutions can dream up a little. It is enough to decorate the birdhouse just a little, and it will take on a truly fantastic look. The birdhouse, stylized as a country house, looks original. For birds, it doesn't matter what the house looks like from the outside. The main thing is to keep it warm and dry inside. And it will bring a lot of pleasure to the designer to decorate the homes of birds.
If desired, it is not difficult to build even an apartment building. Several families will live in such a birdhouse at once and will greet the rising sun with loud, joyful chirping. In this case, there will be no difficulties in how to build a birdhouse. The photo below illustrates the process quite clearly.
The house can differ significantly in shape. An interesting solution is housing in the shape of a diamond. However, the question arises - is it bird-friendly?
It’s up to you to decide how to build a birdhouse, the size and decor of which completely depend on the intended residents and your skills.
The best housing option for birds is a wooden birdhouse. It is warm, and the birds feel like they are in a hollow tree. However, not everyone has the opportunity to build such housing themselves. In this case, improvised materials will help out.
An excellent birdhouse is made from a log. The core can be selected using a chisel. All that remains is to drill a hole for the entrance and think over the roof.
Housing for birds can be built even from an ordinary plastic bottle. But such a house must be insulated. You should tie the bottle around with warm ropes or even knit a thick cover. And don't forget about the sharp edges of the hole. It is better to paste them around the perimeter with tape.
How to install a birdhouse?
So, in theory, you already know how to properly build a birdhouse, but an important point in creating housing is the correct installation of the house.
Most often, the birdhouse is nailed to a long pole, which is then screwed with wire to a tree approximately 5-7 meters from the ground. Hang the house slightly tilted forward, then rainwater will not flow into the birds' housing. It is worth considering the direction. The entrance should face south or east.
House protection
Everyone knows that cats are excellent hunters. They are so dexterous that they can catch a bird even in flight. Based on this, it is necessary to protect the birdhouse as much as possible from the teeth and claws of predators. Place a plywood circle in the middle of the pole, parallel to the ground. The diameter of the circle should be 45-50 cm. Cats will not be able to overcome such an obstacle, and the chicks will remain safe and sound.
Before building a birdhouse, be sure to dry the material. Damp wood will dry out very quickly, and the house will become uninhabitable.
It’s a good idea to add a small layer of soil, peat and sawdust to the bottom of the birdhouse. This layer should be no more than 5 cm.
It is very easy to make the roof removable. Then there won’t be any particular difficulties when cleaning the house when the tenants leave their home in the fall. To do this, nail a thick board from the inside of the roof that will fit into the house like a cork into the neck of a bottle.
Instead of a conclusion
Knowing how to build a birdhouse, the size of your future home is easy to calculate. With the help of such a house you can not only alleviate the plight of birds, but also get rid of plant pests. One brood of starlings is enough to protect plantings from thousands of cockchafers and larvae in just 5 days! And birds will bring the greatest joy to children. After all, what is familiar and understandable to adults is a window into the wonderful world of wildlife for children!
