What does a birdhouse look like? DIY birdhouse - classic wooden version and its installation (95 photos). Wagtail housing dimensions

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 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 pine or deciduous tree boards with a thickness of 2 to 4 cm. Fibreboard and chipboard are not recommended, since the smells of the chemicals contained in them 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 must 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

Birds are indispensable helpers in the fight against harmful insects. But in order to “agree” with the birds to provide all possible assistance, you need to attract them to your site. And for this we will learn the basics of building a birdhouse. By the way, the ability to build such bird houses will also be useful for introducing a child to caring about the world around him. So, if the age and development of motor skills of the baby’s hands allow it, take him as an apprentice. In the article you will find different ideas for making bird houses from wood.

What you can do: birdhouse, titmouse and other houses

Much is known about the benefits of birds on the farm, but some figures are still impressive: during the season, a small starling destroys up to a thousand cockchafer larvae. This allows you to keep root crops safe and sound.

If your main goal is to attract birds to the site, then, depending on the planned result, the birds should be specific type. But even if the birdhouse is built simply as a feeder, you must take into account that not only starlings populate hanging apartments. So it’s worth first familiarizing yourself with the types of these dwellings, and at the same time some of the engineering features of their construction.

Dimensions for drawings of wooden houses for different birds

Its shape, size and some other nuances will depend on what birds you are building a house for.

Nesting. A house with a vertical wall at the rear, a long roof slope that joins this wall at an angle of 30–40 degrees, and triangular sidewalls, as well as through entrances. Such structures are built no higher than 1–1.5 m from the ground and are intended for pikas.
wagtail. This house should be located horizontally at a height of 3–5 m from the ground, since the birds do not fit in a classic birdhouse, the dimensions of the bottom of which range from 14–16 cm, and the walls from 20 to 30 cm.
Titmouse. This is a habitat for small birds. Height 30 cm, dimensions 10 x 10 cm, entrance 3–4 cm.
Duplyanka. A kind of “tourist” house for different birds, 2 m from the ground, which can be made from a log with two plugs on top, bottom and an entrance hole in the middle. Outer deck diameter - from 15 cm
Poluduplyanka. Built for flycatchers. Outwardly it looks like a smaller copy of a birdhouse - 12 x 12 cm and 15 cm high. This house needs to be equipped with a wide rectangular entrance and a sloping roof overhanging it.
Birdhouse. It has a square bottom 14 x 14 cm and sides in the shape of a rectangular trapezoid. Moreover, the back board should be higher than the front so that the roof rests on them at an angle. It may also have a gable roof.

Photo gallery: types of wooden houses for different birds

Gable birdhouse Single-pitched birdhouse Titmouse House for small birds Nesting area for owls Nesting area for small birds Duplyanka

Materials and tools

To make a classic birdhouse you need:

boards, preferably pine, or a log of suitable width;
screws, nails of different sizes;
acrylic weather-resistant paints - if you will paint the product;
wood putty - fill cracks if necessary.

As for tools, you need:

hand hacksaw or jigsaw;
drill with a cutter for cutting out a tap hole;
screwdriver;
screwdriver;
hammer;
pencil, ruler, protractor, compass.

Safety precautions

When designing a birdhouse, you will have to deal with piercing and cutting objects. So you can’t do without following safety rules.

Let's list the main ones:

When deciding on the housing issue for birds, you need to be focused, attentive and not be distracted by extraneous matters.
You should work at a comfortable and sturdy table so that you can place all the tools and materials on it.
If you decide to trim a tree before marking, do it with glasses so that sawdust does not get into your eyes, and with gloves so that you do not have to remove splinters.
After assembly, make sure there are no nicks left in the bird house, otherwise your feathered guests may be injured. For the same purpose, you need to bend or file the protruding ends of nails or screws.

Birdhouses with step-by-step manufacturing descriptions

Let's consider options for bird houses from traditional to original.

The first attempts to build houses for birds were made by the Hindus in the last millennium. Gradually, this innovation moved to Europe, from where it came to Russia through the efforts of Peter I, who appreciated all sorts of funny things.

Classic birdhouse with a gable roof

Materials and tools:

2 rectangular pieces for the sides, 15 cm wide and 22 cm high;
3 parts 19X37 cm for the front and back walls;
2 pieces 15x15 cm as the floor and one part of the roof;
pole stick;
roof part 15x17 cm;
nails, hammer;
glue for fixing the pole;
drill with an attachment for cutting round holes 5 cm in diameter;
ruler, pencil.

Instructions:

We draw out all the details on the board and cut them out.
Don't forget to cut an entrance hole in the middle of the front wall with a diameter of 5 cm at a distance of 19.5 cm from the bottom.
On the front and rear parts we make a 15 cm bevel under the roof with an angle of 90 degrees.
We connect the facade and walls.
If necessary, we bend the protruding parts of the nails so that they are pressed tightly against the walls and, to seal, treat the joints with hot wax or a special putty for wood.
We attach the roof parts to the back wall and facade, joining them well to each other (it is worth puttingtying the seam). Only so that the roof can be raised and the birdhouse cleaned. To do this, it is better to use self-tapping screws that can be unscrewed and then screwed in again.
We check again to see if there are any protruding nails or screws inside the birdhouse. We fasten the bottom.
Glue the pole.

Attention! The same model can be made with an easily removable bottom. To do this, we fasten it not with screws, but with long wooden “studs”. By the way, the remaining parts can be attached with wood glue.

Birdhouse made of rectangular parts

A simplified variation of the classic birdhouse, which a schoolchild can make on his own, assumes that all the details of the house are cut out in the shape of rectangles.

Instructions:

We cut out the details. Please note that all vertical parts are the same, and the bottom is equal in length to the width of one vertical part + two board thicknesses, and the length is equal to the width of the facade. The roof has the shape of a square with sides equal to the length of the bottom.
In the front part we cut out a taphole with a diameter of 5 cm and a small hole for the pole.
We connect the vertical parts with nails or self-tapping screws.
Attach the bottom and roof. Glue in a pole stick.
We nail the birdhouse onto a long narrow board, using which we will attach it to the tree.

Video: boy makes a birdhouse with a flat roof with his own hands

The original version without a diagram - a bird house from a deck

Materials and tools:

a deck of suitable size;
chainsaw;
drill for removing wood.

Instructions:

Video: log birdhouse - folk method

Light house made of wood and tube

Materials and tools:

tube;
a small board with a width no less than the diameter of the tube, a length of at least two diameters;
jigsaw;
pencil, compass;
drill and screws or hammer and nails, long and short.

Instructions:

Cut off about ¼ of the tube.
We measure the inner diameter of the hole.
We make 2 circles of this diameter from the board.
We fix the first circle on the tree with screws or nails.
In the second we cut out a round hole-tap.
We drill a hole in it just below for the pole and insert the pole.
We place the façade in a tube. We nail it around the circumference with small nails, “drowning” it slightly into the depth, so that the house has a canopy.
We put the workpiece on the second circle fixed to the tree and also nail it with nails.

If you do not want to damage the tree, you can try not to cut out the back wall from the board, but simply leave the bottom of the tube and then thread a belt or wire through its hole for the handle and secure it to the trunk.

Photo gallery: bird houses made of other materials

Birdhouses from plastic bottles you can paint it with acrylic paints so that the house is not transparent, but even then there is no guarantee that birds will settle there Birdhouses can be made from the most unusual things, for example, from a propane tank Birdhouse boots can be decorated with a bright pattern This model can only be a feeder, birds will not feel comfortable in a transparent house The disadvantages of cardboard “apartments” are their extreme impracticality, as well as their low weight, which creates problems in rainy or windy weather

You can take care of birds by throwing them bread crumbs or seeds. Pigeons and sparrows flock with pleasure to such a treat. What else can we do for the birds? In the city and at your dacha? Of course, build them a house to live in - a birdhouse. Why do people build birdhouses? In fact, titmice also build. They are similar to birdhouses, only smaller in size and have a slightly different architecture. But why do we still call birdhouses birdhouses and not use other names? The fact is that not all birds will agree to live in a “house” built by strange creatures on two legs. Clearly, this does not apply to freeloading sparrows. And the starlings are settling in.

Starlings live as a friendly family without noisy sparrow squabbles. They are able to perfectly imitate the singing of other birds, including the famous nightingale trills. And no one better than starlings cleans our squares, parks, forests and garden plots from insects. Do you know how many cockchafers one starling can eat during the nesting period? 8 thousand beetles with larvae! And caterpillars, slugs, snails are simply absorbed by it without counting. Therefore, when building and hanging birdhouses, a person cares not only about birds. A man cares about his future harvest. And you should be happy if a couple of starlings choose your house. This is great luck!

But it’s not enough to build a birdhouse. It must be built correctly and hung correctly.

A few simple rules you need to know

Here are a few rules to follow before you start building a starling house:

The birdhouse must be checked, otherwise the birds will not be able to live there in the summer. For ventilation, a couple of small gaps between the roof and the walls of the house will be enough. For the same reason, making a birdhouse out of metal is a bad idea.
It is necessary to organize “drainage” in it. Any water that enters the house must leave immediately. To do this, drill very thin holes in the floor, and to protect the entrance hole, install a small canopy over it.
The best time to hang a new birdhouse is in early April. And in the old one, through the removable roof, carry out “general cleaning” at the same time. Birds will not return to a birdhouse if it has not been cleaned for almost a year.
IN rural areas optimal height for a birdhouse - about 4 meters. In the city it should be weighed higher. Make sure there are no branches nearby. This way, cats and other starling lovers will have less chance.
The birdhouse should be covered with foliage from direct sunlight.
Your creation must be nailed strictly vertically, no Prague “dancing houses”. The entrance should look in the direction from which the wind least often blows.
Very important! It should be remembered that nailing the birdhouse is not enough. It must be cleaned every spring before new guests arrive.

Classic wooden birdhouse

The best material for making such a house is wood. However, not every tree will do. Boards made of birch, oak and alder work well. Conifers trees are not suitable because of the resin they secrete. Chipboard and fiberboard should not be used for the construction of birdhouses - the chemical components used in their manufacture are harmful to birds. Plywood is not the best option either.

There is a birdhouse standard. The board should be used with a thickness of at least 20 mm, so the house will better retain heat. Do not use a sanded board - this will make it difficult for the chicks to leave the birdhouse. If the board is sanded, you need to scratch the inner side with a knife or nail. Typically, birdhouses are made from 120 to 150 mm wide, 300-350 mm high, and side wall length 150-160 mm. It is important to observe two more dimensions: the diameter of the taphole (inlet) should be 40-50 mm, the distance from the taphole to the bottom of the house should be at least 150 mm.

A larger birdhouse will accommodate more pets, but natural selection will work against your plan in this regard. The parents will not be able to feed all the hatched chicks, and even those that survive will not survive the flight to wintering in warmer climes - they will grow up weak. Trust this question to Nature and try to adhere to standard sizes when building a birdhouse. In this case, out of all the offspring, only a couple of chicks will survive, but they will be strong and strong.

The indicated dimensions are well suited for starlings' homes. The sparrows will happily settle in. And for great tits, the diameter of the entrance will have to be reduced to 35-40 mm; for small tits, an entrance hole with a diameter of 30 mm will be enough.

Of course, you can make changes to the design of the birdhouse and show your imagination, but then you should adjust the given dimensions. Compliance with the basic dimensions is very desirable; the very life of the bird family may depend on them.

Below are several drawings of the simplest birdhouses:

Prepare in advance a ruler with a pencil, a wood saw, a screwdriver, a hammer, self-tapping screws and a drill. We cut the boards to fit the dimensions in the selected drawing and begin assembling the birdhouse (in this photo the birdhouse has a rectangular entrance).

To fasten the elements of our design, we pre-drill holes for self-tapping screws with a thin drill.

We fasten the walls together with self-tapping screws. You can also use nails in your work, but you must watch carefully so that any of them do not accidentally come out. We remember what kind of miniature guests should live in our house.

The perch below the tap hole can be made from a planed stick and then tightly inserted into the prepared hole. The perch may have the shape of a triangular shelf. A perch is especially needed when the house is attached to a pole. After all, the head of the family needs to sit somewhere with food for the younger generation in his beak. You also need it to sing songs at the entrance to your house. The perch is made with a diameter of 10 mm and a length of 40 mm.

We make the entrance round or rectangular. We remember that its diameter should be 50 mm. We drill out the tap hole using a drill or cut it out with a jigsaw.

Unlike the internal walls, we thoroughly sand the edges of the taphole. There are known cases when starlings expressed dissatisfaction with the poor quality work of the owners of the site and demanded that the deficiencies be eliminated. First of all, this concerned the size of the tap hole and its raw edges. I'm not kidding.

The entrance should be located so that the cats cannot reach the chicks from the roof of the birdhouse (see dimensions).

Important! The fixed roof is inconvenient for annual cleaning of the birdhouse. And this must be done every spring before the birds arrive, otherwise you will end up with a “disposable” birdhouse. Converting the roof into a removable one is quite simple. A bushing corresponding in size to the bottom of the house is attached to it from below. The sleeve should fit snugly against the walls and fit into the hole they form with some effort, then the lid will hold well. For reliability, you can screw the lid to the house with wire. In this case, the wind will not blow it away, and the cat will not be able to remove it. And cats and crows will show increased attention to your birdhouse. It is easier to make a pitched roof. It definitely won’t leak (unlike a gable one). Make the roof slope slightly back.

The last stage of our work is attaching the finished house to the tree. It is convenient to attach a long plank to the back wall of the birdhouse in advance with self-tapping screws and then nail or screw this plank to the tree with self-tapping screws. For reliability, we also fasten the house with wire. The height is about 4 meters, in the shade, without direct sunlight, there should be no branches nearby.

The finished birdhouse can be pre-decorated on the outside. Contrary to popular belief, a painted house will not scare away birds, but it will decorate your area. However, be prepared that starlings will not immediately move into their new home; some time will certainly pass. And this may take more than one month.

Birdhouses made of unusual materials

A birdhouse can be made not only from boards, but also from completely unexpected materials.

Birdhouse made of cardboard

In our minds, cardboard is poorly associated with a building material for constructing a home. However, as experience shows, cardboard can quite cope with the task of urgent construction of a birdhouse with a service life of at least one season. Just use not the ordinary cardboard we are used to (it will quickly get wet under the influence of precipitation), but thick corrugated cardboard.

In addition to corrugated cardboard, we will need self-adhesive paper, rope, pencil and starch. And, of course, a tool: scissors, a ruler, a square, a knife and a compass.

We will need to cut out all the elements for assembling the house (roof, walls, bottom) from corrugated cardboard, only in double quantities. Starch is needed to make paste. The paste has a natural smell and, unlike synthetic glue, it will not scare away birds and instill in them the idea that they have chosen an environmentally unfavorable home to live in.

Each pair of parts is glued together with paste, due to this they acquire increased strength. The only problem will be the lack of ventilation in the house. We cut a hole for the tap hole in the front wall. We can make a perch in such a design, but it will not hold very firmly. We need four holes in the back wall through which we will pass the rope. Rope or twine can be replaced with wire. We need them to tie our house to the tree.

We glue the walls end to end, maintaining a right angle.

We should end up with a box like this:

While the paste is still wet, wrap the box with thread. This way it won't lose its shape. After the paste has dried, we will no longer need the threads.

We glue the roof of the house in two parts. The design will be somewhat reminiscent of the roof of a wooden house with a sleeve that we nailed to make the roof removable. When making a house from corrugated cardboard, the smaller part of the roof should be inside the structure, and the larger part, with allowances on all sides, forms a kind of overhang that will protect the house.

We cover the house with laminated paper. It will add density to the entire structure and at the same time serve as a decorative element.

Well, it turned out to be a good house?

House out of a box

An unexpected (albeit temporary) solution would be an empty juice or milk container. Using ready-made containers will allow us to solve the problem that has unexpectedly fallen on our heads even faster. Or rather, an incoming problem.

Quickly empty the container of its contents, wash and dry. While the container is drying after washing, prepare the wire, scissors and awl. A regular taphole is cut into the front wall. We poke holes in the top of the box for the wire - our makeshift house will hang on it. The bottom must be reinforced with cardboard or corrugated cardboard, which is attached to the bottom of the container.

All that remains is to decorate our house with laminated paper or craft paper with a protective layer. We hang the house in a suitable place, wait for the singing guests and tell the neighbors that this is the most fashionable house design that you personally found in the Belgian society of birdhouse building enthusiasts.

Home with panoramic bottle windows

We are used to empty plastic bottles being used as bird feeders. A hole is cut in the bottom of the bottle, into which food is poured, and the bottle is hung. Using the same principle, you can make a bird house out of a plastic bottle. In this case, the taphole hole is cut where it should be - in the upper part of such an unusual building material. We make a couple of holes in the lid for the wire, with the help of which the house will be suspended from the tree. To prevent the life of a starling family from looking like the “Behind the Glass” show, the bottle can be covered with beautiful paper or a decorative design can be applied. Although the starlings themselves, judging by observations, treat the “transparent” walls of their home quite calmly.

As you can see, building housing for starlings is a simple matter. At the same time it is very exciting. And also useful for raising your own offspring. Join us! Just not like in the stupid advertisement about sausage. After all, it’s really a good thing to make birdhouses with your own hands.

Birdhouses are an invention of civilization. Until recently, birds, even without humans, found shelters in which they could lay eggs, hatch them and hatch chicks. But the situation has changed: there are practically no hollow trees left, especially in urban areas. It became difficult for birds to find places for nesting and people figured out how to help them. They invented analogues of natural nesting places - these are birdhouses, titmouses and houses for other birds that you can make with your own hands.

How to make a birdhouse with your own hands at home

The most popular indoor nesting sites for birds are birdhouses. Starlings need this house not for living, but for breeding. Therefore, a number of specific requirements are imposed on it.

Requirements for proper crafts for birds

Safe for birds;
Convenient for laying eggs and hatching chicks;
Warm enough but with good ventilation;
With a tray of the appropriate size.

Materials for production

What are bird houses made from at home? Most best material Nature came up with this tree, which is familiar to birds. Practical houses should not be made from chipboard, fiberboard, plasterboard, soft cardboard and other unsuitable materials. Wooden structures can stand for a long time, while paper, lining and cardboard quickly collapse under adverse weather conditions.

It is better to take hardwood boards. Conifers are not the most suitable material. They secrete resin and make bird housing sticky and dangerous for birds. Resin can glue the plumage of birds, and this is fraught with diseases and even death of birds. But you can hang a birdhouse on any tree in your country garden or yard. Here it doesn’t matter where the birds live, the main thing is that it is warm and protected.

For decorative birdhouses, which are installed in places protected from wind and rain, use boxes, bottles, cardboard and other materials.

Designs, forms and diagrams of the device

All birdhouses can be divided into two groups according to schemes:

Houses of various shapes;
Duplyankas.

A traditional birdhouse is a rectangular box with a flat, pitched or gable roof and a round entrance hole. The size of the entrance determines who will live in the house.

Dimensions

Height: 30–40 cm;
Bottom length and width: 14–16 cm;
Taphole diameter: 5 cm.

If you reduce these dimensions and make a hole 3–3.5 cm in diameter, you will get a titmouse. Birds will settle in it, and every day they eat insect pests and various larvae several times more than their own weight.

How to make according to drawings

The house must be built as it should be, otherwise it will simply fall apart from the first gusts of wind. It is important to respect the dimensions. In a house that is too small, the birds will be cramped; in a large house, it will be cold. Often a perch is made in front of the entrance - a perch. Birds use them extremely rarely.

It is especially important to maintain the correct size of the tap hole (inlet hole). It should be such that birds can pass there freely, but predators such as cats and crows cannot get in.

You can make a birdhouse in the form of a nest box. To do this, use part of the trunk of a deciduous tree and hollow out the core in it. The nest is closed at the top and bottom and a hole is made in the side wall. Such a house will resemble a natural hollow for birds.

How to make from wood

Boards made of alder, birch and aspen are suitable for nesting. The inside of the house should be rough. Smooth boards need to be treated with a chisel - apply horizontal notches. The chicks will be able to cling to these ledges and easily get out of the house.

In addition to the boards you will need:

Nails;
Wood glue;
Ruler and pencil;
Wood hacksaw, jigsaw;
Chisel or drill;
Hammer.
Water-based paint and decorative elements.

Sometimes the houses are painted. You should not decorate them with bright flowers, as this may scare away the birds.

Birdhouse made of plywood and clapboard on a branch

This is the simplest design of a bird house. The tools are no different from those used when working on a wooden birdhouse. Depending on which roof you chose for the birdhouse (single or gable), you will need 6 or 7 parts. So, let's build a house out of plywood.

Manufacturing stages:

Drawing. You need to decide on the dimensions, make a sketch, clarify the placement of the walls, lid, bottom and fastenings and start creating a drawing.
Cutting and Sawing. First you need markings. All parts are transferred to plywood so that the bottom covers the sections of the walls, and the upper part protrudes in the form of a visor. Cut plywood adjusted for the width of the jigsaw and the gap.
Assembly of parts. All cuts need to be sanded. You can connect the parts using glue and self-tapping screws. It is necessary to glue the side walls and the front facade. After the glue has completely dried, the structure is strengthened with nails or self-tapping screws. Last to be nailed back wall.
Bottom and Roof. The bottom is screwed around the entire perimeter with self-tapping screws. It is better to make the roof removable. This makes it easier to care for the birdhouse. Once a year, the birdhouse will need to be thoroughly cleaned of old nests, so the roof is secured with only two screws. It should protrude by 3–4 cm, forming a visor in front of the entrance.
The birdhouse is ready. It can be painted and decorated to your taste.

How to build a cardboard

Cardboard is not the most durable material, but birdhouses made from it also have a right to life. It is better to take thick cardboard. Binding cardboard works well. It holds its shape well and is easy to paint and process. Choose non-toxic ingredients, because birds will raise their offspring in this house!

Birdhouses made of cardboard will not be durable, but if everything is done correctly, they will survive the season.

To make such a poultry house, you need to adhere to the following steps:

Development of sketches. You need to make sketches and clarify the dimensions.
Drawing and cutting. Depending on the chosen design, a drawing is developed. All dimensions are transferred to cardboard and cut out using a stationery knife or jigsaw.
Connecting parts. Assembly is carried out using wood glue. Its order is no different from the previous model.
Finishing processing. Even the best cardboard is afraid of moisture. Therefore, such birdhouses need to be treated with special means. These can be protective varnishes and paints.

Out of the box (cardboard and paper)

Cardboard boxes can make life much easier for bird lovers. Birdhouses from them are made quickly and do not require special tools.

Manufacturing stages:

Decide where the entrance will be in the birdhouse and make a marking.
Cut a hole in the intended location. Treat the cuts with moisture protection products.
Attach the roof. All parts can be connected with glue or tape.
Cover the birdhouse with varnish or paint. A beautiful painting adds color to your design. You can come up with interesting decorative details.

Bottle houses

Our industry offers such a variety of beverage containers that it is difficult to resist reusing them. Plastic bottles are an interesting material not only for children’s crafts, but also for such a useful thing as a birdhouse.

Manufacturing stages:

Preparation. Plastic bottles with a volume of at least 1.5 liters are suitable. They must be clean and free of foreign odors.
Make markings on the bottle. Mark the location of the tap hole. Cut a hole with scissors or a knife.
Cover the sharp edge of the cut with tape or adhesive tape.
Insulate and decorate the house with burlap, wrapping it with twine or tying it with thick yarn.
If desired, you can paint the house with acrylic paint. This will add rigidity to the structure and give it a finished look.

Unusual and original birdhouses made from scrap materials

You won’t see any kind of birdhouses today. Designers are developing entire collections of these unusual houses from scrap materials. Amateurs are not far behind them. In the gardens you can see bird houses of the most intricate shapes and designs. For this purpose, traditional and modern technologies are used.

The most popular types of original birdhouses are:

Wicker houses made of wicker. Birds like these birdhouses. They are made from environmentally friendly pure material. Fans of weaving paper tubes can also use their skills to create a bird house.
Houses made from cork. Wine corks are used for this. The material is durable and tolerates precipitation well. The only negative is the complexity of assembly. Therefore, it is used in combination with wood or plywood.
Barrel birdhouse. Small barrels are shaped like nest boxes and are perfect for a bird's home.
Shoe houses. You will need a large boot, which is hung on a tree at the desired height.
Birdhouse made of branches. For such a house, the branches are connected with self-tapping screws or intertwined with rope.
Pumpkin house for birds. To do this, use a special tableware pumpkin lagenaria. They simply make a hole in it for the tap hole.

Decorative and beautiful for the garden

Birds don't need painting. They can easily get by with a simple birdhouse. But for humans, a birdhouse is a space for creativity. So interesting ideas for decor appear.

How to decorate a birdhouse? Used for painting acrylic paints. The birdhouse must first be treated with a primer.

You can make a whole series “Seasons” and display changes in nature on the walls of the bird house. For those who do not know how to draw, appliques and decoupage are suitable. Just don’t forget this beauty is covered with varnish afterwards.

New Year's birdhouses

Such houses decorate gardens during the January holidays. Birds do not nest at this time. But the birdhouse can be used as a feeder. And in the spring this structure will turn into a real nest. You can decorate New Year's birdhouses with pine branches, berries and other materials, but only natural ones!

How to hang a house?

You need to attach a bar to the back of the house; it will be hung on the tree using bark. It is advisable to hang it vertically straight or tilted forward. If wire is used for this, it must be at least 2 mm thick; it is better to take stainless steel. You can hang birdhouses at any time of the year, but it is better when the birds return - in the spring.

Video

The video shows different options for bird houses:

Bottom line

Birdhouses installed in the garden attract different birds. Don't be upset if they don't settle in your house right away. Sometimes this takes time. Use a simple birdhouse base and all your imagination when creating the decor. Your efforts will be appreciated not only by your winged friends, but also by your neighbors, and even more so by the garden, which will reward you with a good harvest.

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There are essential attributes of a good garden: well-groomed fruit trees, trimmed shrubs, luxurious flower beds. And if you have all this, but still have the feeling that something is missing, listen. Does the singing of birds please your ears? No? What would it be like without them! How to attract the flood singers to the site, and at the same time protect it from insects that are dangerous for planting? Today we will discuss how to make a birdhouse with your own hands from wood. Drawings, materials, decor and installation, as well as many creative ideas on this topic are in our material.

The little singer is also a diligent helper in the garden

First of all, let’s understand the concept of “birdhouse”. This is housing for small birds, made of wood or from improvised materials, with an entrance, a perch, a roof from the sun and rain, and, most importantly, a place for a cozy nest. Tits, fussy sparrows, flycatchers, wagtails and, of course, starlings can live in such an apartment.

What can you make a birdhouse from with your own hands? Moreover, build it in such a way that this house not only attracts birds, but also becomes a landmark and decoration of the garden? What are the dimensions of the birdhouse, drawing and design ideas?

The best materials for making a bird house

Basket

You can weave a birdhouse from jute rope or use a ready-made small basket. You need to attach a roof to it to protect the nest from the sun and rain and carefully cut the entrance so as not to damage the load-bearing axes of the weaving.

To give the product strength and shape, treat it with acrylic varnish and leave to dry, stuffed with polyethylene. The polyethylene film will easily separate from the walls after the product has dried. Acrylic water-based varnish is safe for birds.

Branches

After autumn pruning of trees and grapes, leave thin branches. You will have something to do in winter - this material can be used to make apartments for tits and sparrows.

Important! Using self-tapping screws, make sure that their sharp tips do not protrude into the socket. Otherwise, they will injure the birds.

Tree

Wood is an ideal material for making a birdhouse. It is closest to the natural living conditions of birds. You can make a house from boards or logs. An old stump, thick bark, and scraps of industrial wood are suitable for a birdhouse.

Dried pumpkin

Place large bottle gourds in a dry, dark place for the winter. In the spring you will receive a dry vessel in which the seeds will rattle. A hole is cut into the pumpkin and the dry insides are scooped out with a spoon.

Advice! Dry pumpkin is a rather fragile material; to cut out the tap hole, it is better to use not a drill, but a Dremel with a small drill. You can use dental drills for this purpose; they will carefully cut out a taphole of any shape and size. If you cover the surface of a dried pumpkin with stain, and then use the same tool to make shallow patterns on the surface, you will get not just a birdhouse, but a real work of art.

Birds will really like this housing. They will enthusiastically clean it of any remaining dry pulp and hatch chicks for your joy. The photo shows examples of such bird houses:

What materials should you avoid?

First of all, let's look at materials that are not very suitable for this purpose:

Material	Image	Description
Plastic		Transparent plastic will not allow birds to feel private and safe. The sun's rays will penetrate into the nest, and the chicks will be in full view of possible predators. In addition, plastic does not allow air to pass through well and, when heated in the sun, can release toxic substances. This material is more suitable for making a feeder.
Juice and milk packaging		Sparrows and titmice, although small birds, will not be able to build a nest in a liter juice container, there is too little space. They will fit in a two-liter box, but will not hatch chicks. The masonry will die because there is foil inside the package. It will retain the sun's heat, and the eggs will overheat, and the birds may die along with them. So, although it is tempting to use these improvised materials, it is better to abandon this idea.
Chipboard, plywood and fiberboard		This may seem strange, but these materials are also not the best choice. The fact is that formaldehyde resins are used in the manufacture of sheets. These are toxic compounds that can have a detrimental effect on the health of the bird family. Plywood and fiberboard do not hold heat well, and chipboard is too heavy and rough material for a small house.

Features of manufacturing from different materials

Birdhouse made of wood

What should you know to make your own wooden bird house? Even if you have no experience in carpentry, it doesn’t matter. Even a schoolchild can cope with such a simple design.

The following tools will be useful for the job:

ruler and pencil for marking;
saw, plane, hammer or screwdriver;
fasteners: self-tapping screws or small regular nails;
drill and drill for making holes (taphole);
sandpaper, tow, wood glue.

Important! It is not advisable to use resinous coniferous wood to make a bird's nest. The resin will make the inside walls of the birdhouse sticky. The resin will stain the feathers and down of the chicks, which can seriously harm the inhabitants of the house.

The best material for work is oak, birch, linden or aspen wood.

For your information! The interior walls of the house do not need to be sanded smooth. Small roughness will help the birds get out of the nest.

To make a birdhouse you will need drawings with dimensions. Typically, an apartment for small birds has standard dimensions in centimeters: 30 (height) x 15 (width). The diameter of the hole for the tap hole is five to six centimeters.

Birdhouse, drawing and dimensions

For your information! For each type of bird there are separate requirements for the size and design of the house. If you want titmice or wagtails to live in your garden, find the corresponding drawings.

Some tips for working with wood:

Wear gloves; they will protect your hands from accidental splinters and soften the blow of a hammer if your hand shakes.

Before work, sharpen your plane and hacksaw. Dull tools will not only make the job harder, but will also prevent you from carefully fitting the parts.
Never saw or drill anything on your knees. Firstly, it is inconvenient, and secondly, it is fraught with serious injuries.
If you don’t know how to make a birdhouse from boards, choose a simple option - a nest box. For this purpose you will need a simple log required diameter and heights.

A drill with a pen attachment will help make the work easier. For the bottom, use a cut from the same log. The entrance can also be made with a drill. The photo shows examples of such work:

Birdhouse made of cardboard

Cardboard bird houses are a product for one season, no more, and they serve more of a decorative function. For this purpose, it is better to use thick corrugated cardboard, such as on postal parcels.

The whole job will take a maximum of half an hour, and this process will be a fun and useful activity for children with their parents.

Advice! To seal the walls of the house, they should be made double or even triple. To do this, the blanks are glued together with wallpaper paste or PVA.

The entrance to a cardboard house can be made square, which makes it easier to cut out the cardboard. The side of the square is six centimeters. Holes are made on the back wall for the rope on which the house will be suspended. The outside of the house can be wrapped with jute rope and coated with acrylic varnish. This technique will allow the structure to last the season, despite atmospheric humidity.

The film can also be used to cover walls. The film should be positioned so that there is a centimeter overlap. This way, water will not get into the joints.

Below is a template with dimensions for a cardboard birdhouse:

Learn more about how to make a cardboard nest with your own hands in the video:

Birdhouse made of paper

Paper bird houses are purely decorative products. They can be used for Easter decorations at home or as gift wrapping. The material you can use is scrap paper, stationery cardboard and colored sheets.

Master class on how to make paper birdhouses with your own hands:

Birdhouse from a bottle

Plastic is not the best material for making bird housing, but if there are no other options, take a five-liter bottle of drinking water to work with.

A round hole should be cut in a plastic bottle. It is better to burn sharp edges carefully. They will melt a little, and it will be easier for the bird to hold on to the edge of the entrance. A long bolt is suitable for making a perch. It is secured with a screw and washer. The metal should not heat up in the sun; it should be carefully wrapped with harsh thread or rope.

To make the inhabitants of the house feel comfortable, the outside should be painted with water-based paint. In two or even three layers so that light does not penetrate inside.

Advice! Use light paint for this purpose, so the bottle will heat up less on hot days.

Make two holes in the bottle cap and thread a rope through them for fastening.

Another mounting option is through the holes on the side of the bottle opposite the tap hole. If you make four holes and thread two ropes, you can firmly tie the house to a tree trunk. It will not be swayed by the wind, as in the first method of fastening.

Advice! For good ventilation in the plastic bird housing that you make yourself, you will need to perforate the walls. Small holes are made on the side walls with a hot knitting needle. You shouldn’t make too many holes, ten on each side is enough.

If the starlings like your design, they themselves will bring material for the nest. You can make their task easier by placing dry grass, pieces of fabric or small twigs inside.

Ideas on how to make birdhouses from plastic bottles, photo:

Birdhouse made of plywood

Bird houses made of plywood are very often found on garden plots. The multilayer structure of plywood makes bird housing reliable and durable.

Advice! For work it is better to use moisture-resistant plywood. This design will safely survive more than one season.

To build a nest with your own hands, you will need wood glue, self-tapping screws and a jigsaw. How to make wall fastenings? For this purpose, a frame is first made from small bars.

To manufacture structures of complex shapes, you can draw up your own drawings. The main thing is to maintain the minimum dimensions required for a bird’s home.

To attach the house to the tree, you need to screw a strip to the back wall. It is better to do this in advance, before the parts are finally assembled.

Advice! If you value your garden trees, do not nail the birdhouse. It is better to fasten it with a thick wire, placing rubber or other dense material under it. This will prevent you from cutting the bark and will help maintain healthy plant growth.

Birdhouse out of the box

A simple and easy to implement idea - a bird house out of a box.

There are many master classes online on how to make a nest out of a box with your own hands.The algorithm for constructing a birdhouse out of a box is simple. A taphole is cut out of the lid, and a perch is made from a long bolt. The installation site of the perch needs to be strengthened. This can be done using two pieces of durable plastic. They should be secured on the outside and inside. To prevent the birds from tearing off the edges of the cardboard entrance ahead of time, they need to be secured with tape or a frame made of a plastic cover. After all these manipulations, the front part of the house is firmly glued to the box. To strengthen the back wall, use a suitable piece of plywood: it can be glued with PVA glue.

Options for birdhouses out of the box in the photo:

Related article:

You, probably, like many site owners, want to know what you can do with your own hands for garden decoration, because decorative decorations in the store are so expensive. In this review we will tell and show what can be created from scrap materials.

Birdhouse dimensions

A lot has been said about materials for birdhouses. It's time to talk about drawings and dimensions. How to make a drawing correctly?

We make the bottom of the nest with a side of fifteen centimeters. Such an area will appeal to starlings. In a small cozy house for birds, the height of the walls is from thirty to forty centimeters. The standard diameter of the hole in a birdhouse for a tap hole according to GOST is six centimeters. In front of the entrance, you need to provide a perch at least five centimeters long.

The house needs to be built with a roof, it will protect the bird family from the rain. The roof can have any type, but its edges must extend beyond the level of the walls by at least five centimeters. Moreover, the roof should also protrude over the entrance to protect it from slanting rain.

The photo shows examples of what the drawings of houses built with your own hands should look like:

Now about how to build a home for different types of birds.

Dimensions of a birdhouse for starlings

Starlings are not capricious birds. They willingly settle in small hollows, in cracks under the roof and even in burrows. So a home-made house for starlings is luxury housing. In gratitude for such an apartment, the little singer will diligently delight your ears with his booming singing and watch your garden trees, saving them from leaf-eating insects. In a week, he is able to detect and eat about one and a half thousand beetle larvae, as well as caterpillars and other insects.

Drawing of a house for starlings:

Important! Particular attention should be paid to the size of the hole in the birdhouse and its location relative to the bottom. A hole that is too large is undesirable, as the bird will not feel comfortable. The optimal diameter of the hole in a birdhouse for a starling is five centimeters, the height relative to the bottom is fifteen centimeters.

To prevent the chicks from freezing on cool days, there should be no cracks or drafts in the house. The inside of the nesting box should not be slippery; birds cling to rough surfaces with their paws.A perch for starlings is not a required attribute. They will get along just fine without it.

Advice! It is better to make the roof of the house removable. This way, at the end of the season, you can clean the birdhouse and prepare it for the arrival of new residents.

A birdhouse made of wood can last a decade and a half, and with proper care and periodic repairs, even longer. Birds' homes must be periodically painted for preservation, in natural tones, avoiding bright colors.

Advice! In early spring, to attract the attention of birds to your area, hang a feeder. Birds will happily settle next to the free canteen.

Titmouse: drawing and dimensions of the correct structures

How to make a house for yellow-breasted tits? The shape of the house is the same as that of the birdhouse. The only difference is in size. The dimensions of the birdhouse for tits are slightly smaller, about a couple of centimeters in all respects.

Drawings of options for a small titmouse:

For your information! Sparrows, flycatchers and tiny redstarts can nest in a small titmouse. The size of the house will not attract larger birds.

Apartments for birds should be located at a distance of at least fifteen meters from each other. If it is reduced, the birds will prefer other places to settle.

Important! The house is secured in such a way that it has a light pendant towards the entrance. The slanting rain will not fall into the nest, and it will be easier for the chicks to make their first flight.

House for a wagtail: drawing and dimensions, manufacturing features

The wagtail is an invaluable assistant in the garden. She runs around the plantings and collects cockchafers, caterpillars and other pests. With such a garden nursery, the harvest will at least double.

Let's look at how to make a bird house with your own hands. The waggon differs from the usual birdhouse in shape and size. Instead of a perch, it has a balcony, and the house itself is stretched in length and less in height.

Wagtail drawing:

Previously, children made such houses during labor lessons. It's not difficult at all. For the floor you need to prepare a board 12 by 40 centimeters, for the walls - two pieces 14 by 30, one 12 by 140 and another 8x12. The roof should be wider than the bottom, 50 by 22 centimeters. All that remains is to fasten the wooden parts with self-tapping screws, and the wagtail is ready.

For your information! Wagtails arrive in early spring, when ice drift begins. By this time, you need to place the house on outbuildings at a height of three meters.

How to make a birdhouse

Anyone can make a bird apartment. This task can be completed with children. The production of a birdhouse is carried out according to different schemes and using almost any materials that can be found at home.

The simplest drawing of a birdhouse with dimensions is with a sloping roof. We make such a bird house from scraps of industrial wood. The photo shows examples of such beautiful houses:

Work algorithm:

it is necessary to mark all the details of the future construction on the board;
cut all the parts and process the outer walls of the house with a plane;
In the front part of the birdhouse, a round or square entrance is cut out no lower than five centimeters from the roof level. Such a gap will be sufficient for the bird, but will prevent the cat from easily destroying the nest;
To assemble the parts of the house, carpentry PVA or small self-tapping screws are used. The back wall is secured last. All connections must be free of gaps;
It is better to make the roof openable, so that you can clean the house in the off-season. One part of the roof is secured with a rubber band, and on the second part a simple lock is installed so that cats or a gust of strong wind does not overturn the small roof.

How to build a birdhouse with your own hands: step-by-step instructions

The video described in detail how to properly make a birdhouse with your own hands. This simple design will brighten up any area. You can give such a house to friends and neighbors, or give it to kindergarten. It is possible to buy sets of birdhouses with your own hands; such sets are sold in gardening supply stores. Each kit comes with detailed drawings and assembly diagrams that describe in detail how to make a birdhouse.