Two tree swallows perched on the flat roof of a gray wooden nest box standing in tall dry meadow grass

What birdhouse building involves

An afternoon at the bench, a season outdoors

A build is a single session at a workbench or a pair of sawhorses: measure and mark the board, make five or six straight crosscuts, drill the entrance, vents and drainage holes, then screw the walls to the floor and add the roof. Mounting takes another half hour outdoors. After that the work is seasonal. Boxes go up in late winter, birds claim them in spring, and you clean them out in fall and fix whatever the weather loosened. Most builders end up making several, because each species wants slightly different dimensions and friends start asking for one.

Cuts per box: Five or six
Mounting: Half an hour
Boxes go up: Late winter

How to get started

Tick each one off as you go

Find a plan for your birds

Right Bird, Right House Free Cornell Lab tool: pick your region and habitat, get the species that will use a box and a plan for each

What you can build in your first month

One-board nest box

Six pieces cut from a single 1x6, sized for bluebirds or chickadees. This is the build to learn on.

Wren box

The same pattern with a smaller entrance, quick to make once the first box has taught you the cuts.

Robin nesting shelf

An open-front platform with a roof and no entrance hole, for birds that will not use a closed box.

A second box with a hinged side

Add a pivot screw near the top of one wall so the box opens for cleaning and checks.

What makes a box birds will use

Entrance diameter is the species filter.

1 1/8 inches admits chickadees and wrens. 1 1/2 inches suits eastern bluebirds, and western and mountain bluebirds need 1 9/16. Anything larger lets starlings in.

Floor size follows the bird.

About 4 by 4 inches for wrens and chickadees, 5 by 5 for bluebirds. A cramped floor means fewer chicks survive.

Wood at least 3/4 inch thick.

Thin craft-store boards overheat in June sun and split within a year.

No perch.

Cavity nesters do not need one, and it gives predators and house sparrows a foothold.

A side or roof that opens.

You have to clean out the old nest each fall, and you cannot check a box you cannot open.

A dry interior.

A sloped, overhanging roof plus drainage and vent holes keeps chicks from soaking or overheating.

Two eastern bluebirds at a cedar nest box on a metal pole: one perched on a green wire guard around the entrance hole, the blue-backed male clinging to its side — Sized for bluebirds, no perch needed

The full spec sheet

Features of a Good Birdhouse Free checklist with the measurements for walls, roof, drainage and vents

Where to put it

Habitat first, then height

On a pole, not a tree or fence.

Raccoons, cats and snakes climb trunks and fence posts easily. A smooth metal pole with a baffle stops most of them.

At about eye level.

Five feet off the ground works for bluebirds, chickadees and wrens, and it lets you open the box without a ladder.

In the right habitat.

Bluebirds want open lawn or pasture. Chickadees want trees close by. Wrens take almost anything near shrubs.

Spaced out.

Put bluebird boxes at least 100 yards apart. Pairs of the same species defend territories and will leave a crowded box empty.

Up by late winter.

Birds scout nest sites weeks before they lay. A box that goes up in May may sit empty until the next year.

Placement and predator guides

Directions you can take it

Open one to see where to start. The monitoring card can add its gear to the kit.

Bluebird boxesThe classic project, and the reason many people start. A row of boxes along a field edge is called a bluebird trail.

Start here

Find an open, mowed area at least 100 feet from brush. If you have one, download a bluebird box plan and cut the entrance to the size your local bluebird species needs.

NABS fact sheets and plans

Wren and chickadee boxesSmaller holes for birds that nest in wooded yards and suburbs, where bluebirds rarely come.

Start here

Build the same box with a 1 1/8 inch entrance and mount it at a wood edge or near shrubs, 5 to 10 feet up.

Nest Box MonitoringOpening your boxes on a schedule to count eggs and chicks, and reporting the results to scientists.

Start here

Create a free NestWatch account, pass the short code of conduct quiz, and log your first box check before any eggs appear.

NestWatch Code of Conduct

Bigger boxesScreech owls, kestrels and wood ducks all use boxes built the same way from wider boards.

Start here

Open the plan finder, set it to your region and habitat, and see which larger cavity nesters live near you before buying wider boards.

Right Bird, Right House

A man in a tan cap and uniform shirt bending over a weathered wooden nest box in a meadow, studying it closely through a small round glass in his hand — A quick check, then leave them be

Going further with monitoring

Installing a Nest Box Camera Free walkthrough of fitting a camera inside a box without disturbing the birds

Rules and safety

Native birds, nests and eggs are protected by federal law.

Under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act you may not remove or destroy an active nest, or keep eggs or feathers, of any native species. Clean boxes out only after the young have left.

House sparrows and European starlings are the exception.

Both are non-native and unprotected, and both kill native nestlings. Removing their nests from your box is legal. Be certain of the species first.

Never use pressure-treated lumber, and leave the inside unpainted. The chemicals sit inches from the chicks. The outside needs no finish either

Cedar weathers to gray and lasts for years bare.

Clamp the board before you cut or drill.

A large bit can grab a loose board and spin it into your hand. Wear eye protection for every cut and every hole.

Look for wasps before you reach into a box.

At fall cleanout, tip the old nest out without handling it, since dried droppings and nest mites come with it.

The law and the two exceptions

What trips beginners up

An empty box the first year.

It is common. Birds may find a new box in a week or take two seasons. Check the habitat and hole size before moving it.

House sparrows moving in.

In towns and near farms they often arrive first. A box away from buildings and feeders draws fewer of them.

Split boards.

Cedar splits when a screw goes in near an edge without a pilot hole.

Building from a decorative pattern.

Painted cottages with perches and tiny floors look good on a shelf and fail as nest sites.

Sealing the box shut.

Glue and nails on every joint make a box you cannot clean, and old nests build up until birds stop using it.

Skipping the baffle.

A box without one often feeds a raccoon instead of fledging chicks.

Close-up of a twist drill bit boring into a pale board, a small mound of fresh sawdust piled around the bit — Pilot holes keep cedar from splitting

Where to learn more

NestWatch, run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, has free plans for more than 60 species along with placement and predator guides. The North American Bluebird Society publishes free fact sheets and lists state bluebird groups, many of which run building workshops in late winter and will look over your first box.

Free plans and people to ask

How the kit is put together

The essentials are the tools and materials for building one box from a board: lumber, a saw, a drill with two kinds of bits, screws, a square and eye protection. The drill is the biggest cost, so skip that line if you own one. The recommended lines are clamps and sandpaper for cleaner, safer work, plus the pole and baffle that keep the finished box safe from climbing predators. Lumber and screws are the only things you buy again for the next box. The monitoring add-on is for people who want to check on the nest: a mirror for a quick look and a camera for watching without opening the box.

A cordless drill, a hand saw, a screwdriver, a tape measure, work gloves and an open box of screws laid out on a work surface — A drill, a saw and a box of screws

Stock the workbench

Compare the options on each line, then set your tiers and check out from the cart. Clicking a card selects it there, and clicking the selected card again takes that line out, which is the quick way to skip a tool you already own.

Untreated cedar boards

essential · Materials

Cedar resists rot for years without any finish, which keeps chemicals away from the nest. About 5 feet of 1x6 makes one bluebird box.

budget

Barrington Hardwoods Eastern Red Cedar Lumber - 3/4" x 6" (2 Pieces) (3/4" x 6" x 24")

4.4(22)

$54.95

Birdhouse Building

What birdhouse building involves

How to get started

What makes a box birds will use

Where to put it

Directions you can take it

Rules and safety

What trips beginners up

Where to learn more

How the kit is put together

Stock the workbench

Untreated cedar boards

Hand saw

Cordless drill

Spade bit set

Twist drill bit set

Exterior wood screws

Speed square

Safety glasses

Bar clamps

Sandpaper assortment

Birdhouse mounting pole

Predator baffle for birdhouse pole

Telescoping inspection mirror

Nest box camera