Craft Project: How to Build a Bluebird House

If you like watching the birds that visit your garden and would like to encourage more to visit and even take up residence, one of the best things that you can do is build your own birdhouses. Different species of birds require different types of homes, which means that building your own is often better than buying some generic birdhouse that you might find at your home improvement store. Furthermore, by building a nesting site designed for a specific species of bird, you discourage other birds from destroying the nests of the birds you wish to attract. In addition, building your own birdhouse is really not that difficult and can even be a fun craft project for the entire family. (This is also a good way to teach children about the different species of birds.) Bluebirds are quite popular, primarily because they are such pretty and distinctive-looking birds [see: Bird Watching: Eastern Bluebird], and bluebird houses can be found at most stores that cater to the bird lover. These houses, though, are extremely easy to make.

Before starting your bluebird house, you need to get the appropriate dimensions. The floor should be 5 inches by 5 inches square. The house should also be 8 inches tall. Cut your pieces for the birdhouse out of ¾-inch-thick wood, preferably cedar, redwood, or cypress. (This thickness will give your bluebirds protection from the cold in the winter. For more information, see Create a Winter Sanctuary for Your Birds.) You can use pine; however, do not use any wood that has been treated. (The fumes can harm the bird when it is inside the nesting box.) Drill an entrance hole 1½ inches. (This size will also discourage such birds as starlings from taking up residence.) Screw your pieces together using galvanized screws or nails, which will not rust when exposed to the elements. (Screws, by the way, work better, as they will "give" more as the wood contracts and expands with the weather.) One note: Do not attach the walls of the house to the top of the floor. Instead, attach them to the sides with the floor being recessed about ¼-inch up from the bottom. This will keep any rainwater from seeping into the box and, consequently, into the nest.

Once you have constructed the floors and walls of your birdhouse, you need to add a roof. A slanted roof will allow run-off of rainwater. The roof should also be extended about 2 inches over the front of the house.

You may have noticed that I have not told you to add a perch. The reason is that you should not. Most birds are able to grasp extremely well with their feet. Also, perches give other birds the ability to keep out the birds for which the house was intended.

Do not mount your bluebird house in a tree. Bluebirds like their nesting sites out in the open. Mount on a post about 5-10 feet above the ground in an open area. If you are building more than one bluebird house, space the houses about 100 yards or more apart. You can put two birdhouses on the same pole, however, as long as they are back-to-back.

Warnings: Do not paint your birdhouses with anything containing creosote. You can paint or stain the birdhouse with some type of earthtone color and add additional layers of paint or stain for additional protection on the back that is to be attached to the post. Do not paint or stain the inside of the house, though. Never use any metal, because it can overheat and "cook" any eggs inside the nesting box. Also, do not use milk cartons, which offer no protection from changing weather temperatures and can actually kill any baby birds that might be inside them.

References:

Alsop III, Fred J. All About Tennessee Birds. Birmingham, AL: Sweetwater Press, 1997.

Bull, John and John Farrand, Jr. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds: Eastern Edition. NY, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1994.