Correct size of birdhouse drawing for starlings. DIY birdhouse made of wood: drawings, materials, decor and installation. Instructions for making wooden bird houses with drawings and photos

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)

Not every person is an inquisitive naturalist, but almost everyone is crazy about the magical singing of birds. Since ancient times, people have tried to attract these wonderful musicians to themselves, and the fruit of these attempts was a product called a feeder. Many people are still thinking about making a birdhouse with their own hands, but due to ignorance of the technology for its simple and quick production, they abandon this idea.

This article provides a comprehensive guide that explains step by step how to make a birdhouse with your own hands, without any outside help...

Selection of materials

First, you will need to prepare the materials necessary to build a birdhouse, which will later make up the structure. Coniferous wood, processed and presented in the form of edged boards, would be ideal for these purposes.

To avoid unnecessary work later, it is recommended to select two boards of different widths, about one meter long each. It is better to take a board 200 mm wide for the front and back sides of the future birdhouse, and 150 mm wide for the flanks. It is best to fasten the birdhouse with self-tapping screws, but you can also use nails.

When constructing a home for birds, both mechanical and electronic devices will be useful. For obvious reasons, using the latter will make the work faster and more efficient.

You must have the following tools: a jigsaw or hacksaw, a drill with a 5 mm drill, a screwdriver or a Phillips screwdriver, a hammer, a square and a simple pencil. In one form or another, all of these devices, if desired, can be found practically in your home or borrowed from neighbors.

Now that you are “armed to the teeth,” you can safely get to work, having previously determined the desired dimensions of the birdhouse. It must be remembered that a standard birdhouse reaches a height of 300 mm and a width of 200 mm.

Step-by-step instruction

A wider board should be cut into three parts: 30 cm for the back wall and 25 cm for the pediment and top cover. The narrow board should be divided into two square-shaped parts, which will be needed to construct the floor and roof (15x15 cm), as well as into two shaped parts for the side walls.

The parts intended to create side walls should have an uneven top and sawn at a slight angle so that the roof of the birdhouse, placed on top, forms a slope for rainwater.

Creating such an angle is simple; just step back 5 cm from the top of a 30 cm long board and draw a line perpendicular to the length. In the end, all you have to do is connect the edge of this line to the opposite corner of the top of the board, and then cut off the excess.

If you did everything correctly, the front end of the flank board is 25 cm long, like the front wall, and the rear end is 30 cm, like the back wall.

To avoid confusion, all wooden parts of the future birdhouse must be signed, or better yet, a preliminary drawing must be made.

Before assembly, make sure your birdhouse has an entrance hole. If you forgot about it, then urgently correct the situation. To do this, you will need to find the middle in the upper part of the front board and measure down 50 mm from it, then draw a horizontal line perpendicular to the longitudinal section. The intersection point of the vertical and horizontal lines will become the center for the future entrance.

Having marked the place where the entrance to the birdhouse will be located, proceed to form a round hole in this place, which will be convenient to make using a drill. Dot the perimeter of the future hole with frequent holes made with a drill, and then knock out a wooden circle with a hammer or squeeze it out with your hands (use it carefully).

Depending on the location where your piece of art will be displayed, it may or may not be equipped with a special bird perch. If the birdhouse is located near the window opening of a city apartment, away from dense vegetation, the birds will simply need a perch for resting. But if the feeder is attached to a tree, then the accessory in the form of a perch will be of no use to the birds.

You should pay attention to the surface of the bird's house. It definitely should be rough. Otherwise, your craft, from a cute house, can easily turn into an insidious trap that can kill many birds.

If, suddenly, you come across sanded wood, it is recommended to “spoil” it with notches, at least on the outside of the feeder.

When all the parts are made and ready for assembly, first of all you will need to alternately combine the front wall with the right, and the back with the left. A hammer with nails or a screwdriver with self-tapping screws can handle this task best. When the “corners” are ready, all that remains is to fasten them together.

The birdhouse is almost ready. The only thing missing is the bottom and the roof. This is where 15x15 cm wooden squares come in handy. The floor of the birdhouse should be carefully inserted into the bottom hole, then securely fastened, and the ceiling should be combined with the roof.

The resulting structure will have a roof canopy extending forward about 5 cm from the gable, providing protection for birds from the weather and cats scurrying around everywhere.

Rules for installing a birdhouse

Separately, mention should be made of the rules for placing a birdhouse. It is usually installed on hills (trees and poles). For these purposes, a relatively long beam or board is attached to the back surface of the feeder, with the help of which the house is tied with wire to a surface of suitable height.

Those who want to make their own birdhouse do not have to wait for spring. By making it in advance, you will act more wisely, since in this case your product will lose bird-repellent human odors and acquire natural aromas that do not disturb birds.

As you can see, making a birdhouse is not such a difficult matter. Just look at the instruction picture (the dimensions on it differ from those indicated in the article) and it immediately becomes clear how to make a birdhouse with your own hands.

Photo of a birdhouse with your own hands

Building birdhouses with children in the spring is a long-standing and very useful tradition. Firstly, birds need homes, and secondly, this is an excellent opportunity to engage a child in manual labor, in the age of gadgets and electronics, to introduce him to the basics of carpentry. Pavel Zakharov from the family carpentry workshop “Workshop No. 13” tells in detail how to make a birdhouse with your own hands, gives a drawing of a birdhouse and step-by-step photos.

We will need:

• pine boards 18-20 mm thick and 120, 160 and 200 mm wide
• round stick with a diameter of 15 mm
• jigsaw with a wide blade for long straight cuts and a narrow blade for curved sawing
• electric drill (or drill-driver) with a 4 mm drill (we will also need an 8-10 mm drill, but you can do without it)
• Phillips screwdriver PH2 format or corresponding bit attachment for a screwdriver
• medium grit sandpaper (80-100 grit)
• ruler
• pencil
• self-tapping screws (PH2) 3.5×41 mm - 19 pieces
• nails 1.6×30 - 8 pieces (for attaching the fence)
• hammer
• acrylic paints
• clear nail polish
• synthetic brushes

How to make a birdhouse: step by step photos

For work, we will need pine boards with a thickness of 18-20 mm (for ease of calculations, a thickness of 20 mm will appear in the master class) and a width of 120, 160 and 200 mm. Natural wood is an excellent material for a birdhouse; a wooden house will have optimal thermal insulation properties. I don't recommend using plywood or chipboard.

In addition to the boards, you need a round stick with a diameter of 15 mm for the pole. From a scientific point of view, a pole is a useless thing, but without it the birdhouse looks somehow unusual.

We begin the work by marking the parts. On a board 160 mm wide we mark the contours of the front (A1) and back (A2) walls of the birdhouse. To begin, we measure two rectangular segments 300 mm long. And then, in accordance with the diagram, we draw two lines crosswise so that the angle between them is exactly 90 degrees.

We will make two side walls (B) and the bottom of the birdhouse (C) from a 120 mm wide board.

A 200 mm wide board is intended for roof parts. Our roof consists of two halves - K1 and K2, and part K2 is 20 mm longer (exactly by the thickness of the board), so that when assembled we get a roof with equal slopes.

We cut out all the marked parts using a jigsaw. For curved cuts, a narrow file is more suitable, while straight sawing is best done with a wide one.

If possible, we make decorative elements of the birdhouse design from scraps of boards. We save materials!

We carefully process the edges of all parts with sandpaper.

The next step is marking the mounting holes. Make sure that the centers of the holes are always located at a distance of exactly 10 mm from the edge of the workpiece (half the thickness of the board), so that when assembling the screws hit exactly in the middle of the end of the adjacent part.

The holes in parts A1 and A2 are located identically. Additionally, on the front wall we mark the outline of the future entrance (a round window that will serve as the entrance to the birdhouse). The diameter of the tap hole should be 45-50 mm. Just below you need to make a hole for the pole stick. The entrance should be located at a height of about 200 mm from the bottom of the birdhouse so that the birds have a sufficient safety zone inside (otherwise they will be too accessible to enemies).

In the side walls we mark one hole for attaching the bottom.

We mark the roof parts very carefully, since the holes in the roof must clearly correspond to the dimensions of the birdhouse body. We drill all marked holes using a drill and a drill bit with a diameter of 4 mm.

All that remains is to make a small window in the front wall of A1. To do this, we first drill a hole inside the outline of the tap hole with a thick drill (8-10 mm) so that a jigsaw file can be inserted into it. Then we cut along the contour, after which we process the edges with sandpaper.

Now let's start assembling. We attach a pole stick to the front wall of the birdhouse. To prevent the thin stick from cracking during assembly, you can first drill a hole in it for the self-tapping screw using a thin 2-3 mm drill.

According to the rules for building birdhouses, the inner side of the front wall must be rough. If you use rough, unplaned boards, then this will be the case. And in our case, roughness is applied manually using any sharp tool (knife, self-tapping screw, etc.). These transverse grooves will help the chicks get out of the birdhouse when the time comes.

We assemble the body of the birdhouse by connecting parts A1, A2 and B in any order. For this we will need self-tapping screws and a screwdriver. We orient the side walls so that the hole is at the bottom.

We put the bottom in place and secure it with screws on four sides.

Then we assemble the roof from the two halves, placing the longer part on top of the shorter one and fixing it with two self-tapping screws.

We attach the pipe by inserting a self-tapping screw into the hole from the inside of the roof.

We screw two hinges into the ends of the back wall (if there are no hinges, replace them with ordinary self-tapping screws). Using these rings, the birdhouse will be attached to a tree trunk or the wall of the house.

We put the roof in place so that it slightly overhangs the facade of the birdhouse and is flush with the back wall. We secure the roof to the house with four self-tapping screws.

We nail the decorative fence with nails. For reliability, you can additionally use wood glue.

The birdhouse is almost ready. If you want the birdhouse to not only serve the birds, but also become a stylish decoration for your area (park, square), you can paint it.

Birds respond well to painted birdhouses and happily settle in them. It is only important to remember that you should use acrylic or water-dispersed paints that are odorless. It is with these paints and varnish that we complete all our kits for assembling birdhouses, and from the experience of several years of work we can say that they have proven themselves to be excellent in harsh outdoor conditions.

Birdhouses painted on the outside last much longer than simple wooden ones, and this is an additional plus in their favor.

So, for work we will need acrylic paints, a jar of clear varnish and several brushes of different sizes.

Painting will take place in two stages, and it is better to work with a partially disassembled birdhouse. Thus, it is easier to paint the body itself separately from the roof, and it is also more convenient to paint all decorative elements separately.

After the background color has been applied, draw an outline of the drawing with a pencil and color it. When the paint dries well, cover all surfaces with two layers of clear varnish. We assemble all the parts of the birdhouse into a single whole.

The birdhouse is ready - you can hang it on a tree and wait for the birds.

How to hang a birdhouse correctly

The best time to start hanging birdhouses is late March - early April. But you can do this in advance, then you definitely won’t miss the arrival of the first birds.

We hang birdhouses at a height of 3-4 meters. If it’s noisy around (as happens in cities), then it’s possible to go higher. We orient the entrance hole (hole) to the side opposite to the prevailing winds. If western and northwestern winds prevail in Moscow and its environs, then we try to hang birdhouses with the entrance facing east or southeast, so that the birdhouse does not fry in direct rays in the midday sun. This is not very comfortable for birds.

It is necessary to limit the access of predators to the birdhouse. If it hangs on a tree and there are branches nearby, it is a gift for the cat and other villains. Don't forget about safety!

We orient the birdhouse vertically or with a slight tilt forward (but not back). This way the entrance will be better protected from precipitation, and it will be more convenient for the chicks to climb along the inner wall to the exit.

Once a year, the birdhouse needs preventative cleaning. It will need to be removed, the roof removed and the inside cleaned.

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

Classic wooden birdhouse

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Duplyanka

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

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

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

Bird houses made from scrap materials

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

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

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

Birdhouse installation

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

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

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

The bird house 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

In this article we will make birdhouses with our own hands - correct, beautiful (simple and unusual) bird houses. I decided to break down this topic of birdhouses into clear points, this will make it easier to navigate through the article. And before I give specific drawings and diagrams for assembling birdhouses, and tell you how to make a birdhouse, we will talk about important things– the location and method of attaching your birdhouse. After all, the model of the house also depends on what fastening methods you have available, and on whether you will mount your bird house on a tree or on special high structures. And further... before moving on to choosing the design of your future birdhouse, we will deal with the most common mistakes in making birdhouses (in order to avoid them in our homemade house). So here you will find answers to the following questions:

1. How to attach birdhouses on wood (types of fasteners for bird houses)
2. Where can you attach birdhouses ( if there are no trees nearby).
3. Main mistakes when creating a bird house.
4. How to help the birds choose your birdhouse.
5. Drawing and assembly diagram classic birdhouse.
6. Multi-seater, multi-apartment
7. Bird houses non-standard forms.
8. Birdhouses from non-traditional materials(from boots, canisters, teapots, pots, etc.)

More ideas and tips on how to make bird houses in the article

After studying this article, you can make a birdhouse yourself for a competition in kindergarten or school. Or buy a ready-made set of blanks for a birdhouse– assemble it and decorate it according to your own design.

How to attach a birdhouse

on the tree.

Birdhouses are usually tied to a tree with a rope. To do this, a thick long beam is nailed to the back wall of the house. It is leaned against a tree and a rope is wrapped repeatedly around it - wrapping the beam and the tree trunk at the same time.

But in the West, birdhouses are often nailed to a tree (it’s harder to tie, easier to nail, although it’s cruel to an adult tree). To do this, the back wall of the birdhouse is made a little higher in height - so that there is a protrusion of the board on top where nails can be driven in.

In the same way, you can make this upper projection of the back wall even longer. Long enough to drill a hole in it and hang it on a rope or iron hook as in the photo below.

You can also drive a hook into the roof of the house and use it to hang a birdhouse on a chain or rope on a thick and strong tree branch at your dacha.

SUPPORT FOR THE NIGHTBOOK.

In addition to wood, any tall structure made from scrap materials can serve as a support for a birdhouse. This could be a large branch cut from an apple tree. It can be dug into the ground. But you should understand that on such a support the birdhouses will be too low above the ground, and it will be easy for cats to reach the house (this will alarm the bird). This support model is good in cases where there are no cats in the area and you have a quiet nook in the yard where even your “human foot” almost never sets foot.

Therefore, to maintain the bird’s sense of safety, it is necessary to make high structures of supports for wooden birdhouses. For example, such as in the photo of bird houses below.

Also, an original portal in the form of a pergola can serve as a support-pedestal for a bird house. But also for places with infrequent traffic. If people wander back and forth through this portal, the birds will not want to settle. It is better to place such a pergola in a quiet corner of your garden and not visit it often. Birds will appreciate the solitude and wilderness and will choose this place for safe breeding.

But in the photo below we see that holders for simple wooden birdhouses can be very different from beams with decorative carpentry to ordinary old garden forks stuck into compacted earth.

Also, the support post for your new birdhouse, made by yourself, can be interestingly decorated with fresh flowers. If you plant a climbing plant near a pole, or hang pots of flowers as in the photo with birdhouses below.

MAIN ERRORS

in bird houses.

Very often you can see WRONG birdhouses made with errors. Such beautiful painted bird houses are certainly cute and beautiful, but the birds don’t want to live in them. And the houses just hang empty on the tree - purely for decorative purposes.

Let me tell you what mistakes craftsmen make in making birdhouses. So that the bird house made by your hands is not only beautiful, but also initially correct. Then the birds will like your homemade birdhouse at first sight.

MISTAKE #1

entry hole too low.

The window-door in the birdhouse must be located at a height of at least 30-40 cm. This height is needed so that the bird has the opportunity to create a nest at the bottom of the house.

By the way, the photo above is an example of another fastener - a metal U-shaped bracket is nailed to the roof of the bird house (like an eye for latch bolts).

Look, on the transparent birdhouses in the photo below we can see that the bird is dragging more branches into the house. And if the window is low, the branches will block the exit from the house and it will be impossible for the bird to get out of it. And the bird itself does not want to sit in a nest where its head will be level with the window, it will be so anxious. It is much safer if the window is high - and the wind does not blow on the wet, unfledged chicks, and the mother bird feels safe.

By the way, the photo above shows the original model of the birdhouse, the back wall of which is made of glass with suction cups. Such a house is mounted on a window in a large house and you can watch the birds settling in the nest. You just need to comply with the condition - a window. In the place of the window glass where you plan to mount such a birdhouse on suction cups, you must first seal it with tinting film - so that the birds do not suspect third-party observation.

MISTAKE #2

hole too big.

Starlings will not settle in a house with a door large enough for the cat's head. Cats love to climb trees in search of nests of defenseless chicks. And such a house with a large hole is easy prey for them.

The small hole of the birdhouse was not invented in vain. The cat's head and paw should not fit into the hole, but starlings and other birds should calmly climb inside. Therefore, when you make a birdhouse with your own hands, make a small hole in it.

Only if you live near a forest line and are making houses for owls flying in the vicinity, then a large hole will of course be appropriate.

MISTAKE #3

BRIGHT COLORING of a birdhouse.

If you do not live in a blooming jungle, and if the house you are planning is not designed for parrots with bright plumage, there is no need to paint it in bright colors. Birds trust only natural colors and natural materials. This birdhouse is good to use as a designer piece for your living room or as a piece for a competition for a school or kindergarten. But birds will not live in it.

Mossy, aged houses are much nicer for feathered mothers than sleek, glamorous, smoothly planed apartments.

And if you want your bird house to be original and beautiful, then know: you can make a decorative glamorous design in natural shades. Here in the photo below is just an example of such a house, which at the same time looks chic from an aesthetically human side and does not scare away birds at all with its bright colors.

But the houses dearest to the feathered heart are dwellings with maximum disguised as an ordinary hollow on the tree. After all, starlings initially settled in hollows. From time immemorial it has been this way - it is embedded in their bird genes: to look for a hollow. So make them an artificial hollow from unhewn bark slab boards(sold as firewood).

Or your house made of planed boards, take and additionally decorate as a living hollow- cover (or cover) it with twigs, branches and pieces of bark.

Birds love houses made of unplaned wood, with elements of bark and rough branches.

MISTAKE #4

There is no bird stand.

It is inconvenient for birds to climb the smooth boards of a wooden house. It's hard for them, their little claws slip off.

This is especially important for the INNER SIDE of the walls of the birdhouse. It is better to line the inner front wall with small slats-ladders (so that the bird inside can climb along them to the exit window).

Or nail a piece of bark, or an old grater, or, in short, any ribbed and rough surface to the inner wall of the birdhouse. Or place a short inclined board inside the birdhouse (from the bottom to the window) so that the bird can climb up this slide to the exit of the house.

Also, if the outside of your birdhouse is made of smooth planed boards, make sure that the bird has a footrest.

These could be simple twigs or branches that you cut while pruning apple trees in the garden.

These can be river pebbles glued with hot glue from a glue gun. Or, instead of pebbles, you can stick on logs of branches (cut them into round saw cuts and paste them over the house).

Any old, rusty thing from the barn is suitable as a stand for the birds' legs - a door hinge, a valve from a water pipe, a faucet, a reel from an old fishing rod, a rake, an aluminum fork, a key. Anything can become a perch-stand in a homemade birdhouse.

Such things will only add originality and creativity to your simple bird house.

WHAT ELSE

we can

HELP THE BIRDS.

In addition to hard branches, to build a nest, birds need soft material - tufts of dry grass, moss, feathers, rag debris, pieces of paper, which they collect everywhere themselves, spending long hours on low-level search flights.

Why not make the bird's work easier and place a construction warehouse next to the bird's home. Housewarming in your birdhouse will come much earlier if everything you need to create comfort is located next to the house.

You can collect bunches of grass yourself, tear the cotton wool into pieces and place it in such a way that it is easy for the bird to pull out pieces of material from this construction warehouse. There is no need to tie the grass into tight bunches with thread - the bird will not be able to pull the grass out of the tight bunch. You need to make storage out of a mesh container.

You can hang a box with rags, cotton wool and moss nearby. To prevent the wind from blowing the material away, the box can be covered with a mesh (metal) or plastic mesh, which we place on the bottom of the kitchen sink.

Or weave and twist balls from flexible branches and insert cotton wool, centipon and pieces of chopped newspaper or toilet paper inside such woven balls.

Even holders for bird fleeces and rags specially made for this purpose are sold. They are installed or hung next to birdhouses.

Material for the construction of birdhouses.

MATERIAL for the house must have the correct thickness and texture characteristics.

THICKNESS. Boards 2 cm thick. This thickness of a wooden board will better retain the heat of the house. After all, nests are built in the spring, when the nights are still quite cold and even frosty.

TEXTURE. As I already said, the boards should be rough (slab boards with unplaned bark are suitable). And if you only have smooth planed boards, you can stuff pieces of bark on them with nails and stick them on liquid nails (thick adhesive from spray cans).

Or create artificial roughness - scratch the inner wall of the birdhouse with a knife - make notches for the bird to cling to. Or nail pieces of bark onto the inner wall, several slats one after another like a ladder, or nail a grater or a piece of insulation (it is made of foam and it will also be convenient for the bird’s claws to climb on it).

IT IS FORBIDDEN make houses from glue boards (plywood, chipboard, fiberboard - these materials contain adhesive resins, they emit toxins that the birds may not like. I don’t know whether it’s true or not, but they say that resin pine boards are also not suitable for a birdhouse, which is because of the warm sun, the resinous board heats up and releases stinking resin, and that this is supposedly harmful to the birds. I haven’t checked it, I can’t presume to say.

Now I will give diagrams and drawings of simple houses. But I’ll immediately make a reservation that your designs can be completely different in shape and size. You are free not to adhere exactly to the outline from the project below. As you already understood from the photographs above, there are a variety of houses.

But the logic of the sizes must be preserved... And this logic is as follows.

What are the dimensions of a proper birdhouse?

Window hole size(called a tap hole) – no more than 5 cm in diameter. So that the crow cannot stick its head into the birdhouse and eat the chicks. And the cat's head didn't get in there either.

The height of the tap hole-window– at least 20 cm from the bottom of the house. So that the wind from the window does not blow on the nest of the chicks, and that the chicks are not near the entrance - because of the danger of meeting a crow's beak or the clawed paw of a cat.

Birdhouse height - at least 35 cm. You can do it a little higher, but remember that if you make the ceiling too high, then such a high-ceilinged house will be harder for the birds to heat (warm air will go up and the birds below in the nest will freeze).

House width- (that is, the square area of ​​its floor) should also not be very large. A spacious house is not considered cozy and a wide nest requires a longer time to build. The bird will be tortured to fill such a spacious house with twigs. Therefore, we try to stick to the bottom size of 15 x 15 cm (or 20 x 20). That is, if you are making a wide house, then put dry grass there in advance (the bird will only be happy).

As you can see, these dimensions are dictated by the logic of survival in the wild.. And the right birdhouse is the one in which all these features are observed.

Well, now let's move on to the drawings and diagrams.

Here I collected ways to make a birdhouse in the form of diagrams and drawings. You can choose your house model and estimate what parts you can assemble it. And remember, it doesn’t matter if your sizes differ slightly - we make them from available material and therefore the sizes will depend on our availability.

Here is another drawing of a birdhouse, although here the dimensions are given in inches. It will be easier for you to convert inches to centimeters if You ask your wife for a measuring tape for patterns - the one she uses to measure the circumference of her losing weight during a diet. On such a measuring tape, centimeters are written on one side and inches on the other. This way you can always see a quick conversion of any inch size to centimeter.

These drawings do not take into account one more CONDITION. In the Soviet birdhouses of our childhood there was always a clear rule: the front front wall (the one with the hole) should be tilted forward. This was done so that the starling could climb up such an inclined hill to the exit from the house.

To maintain this slope, you need to make 2 side walls from the rear edge straight vertical– and from the front edge obliquely(we see a similar principle of oblique side walls in the photo below). Only in this example does the birdhouse have a triangular side section. And in Soviet birdhouses there was such a slope, but at the same time there was also a normal bottom, so that there was enough space for the nest.

Below we see a drawing of real Soviet birdhouses from our childhood. True, the dimensions here are given in inches.

But if your house does not have a bevel on the sides, then to make it easier for the bird to escape, you can put an inclined board on the front wall on the inside of the house (it will perform the same function as a ladder).

Now let's look at birdhouses of another unusual shape - a rhombus. Here he is in the photo. The idea is certainly beautiful, the house turned out elegant and decorative. But from a practical point of view, it would be better for the birds if the window was located closer to the left or right edge - then the inclined plane of the wall would serve as a support for the bird to comfortably climb out.

And also in this house that drawback what a window too low- there is no place for a nest - it turns out that when the bird puts grass and twigs there, the height of the chicks will coincide with the height of the window - and they will look straight out and any crow will pull it out with its beak and devour it without a twinge of conscience.

An intelligent feathered mother would never choose such a dangerous house for housing - and it will just hang in your garden, and you will wonder why the birds do not move into the birdhouse.

Here is a drawing of a similar house, but here the entrance hole itself is located much higher - it’s better that way. Or better yet, raise it right under the roof of the birdhouse. The bird will approve of this option.

MULTIPLE APARTMENT

bird houses.

And here are the options for simple multi-place birdhouses. You will see a variety of options. Only here not all apartments will be inhabited; the side houses in the photo below have a too low entrance. If only it were the same design - but with higher side turrets (or higher entrance holes).

And in this photo too, the central house will be inhabited - but there is no side wall (the entrance hole is too low). Therefore, you can make this design, but know that the side parts of the house will only serve a decorative function. And the bird family will occupy only the middle apartment.

And here (in the photo below) is a multi-person version, where all three houses are made according to the rules for the height of the entrance and the height of the house. Such birdhouses will be completely populated.

Here is a beautiful option - the houses look in different directions of the world. By the way, it is recommended to mount the house so that the window faces the south or east. The main thing is not to the north, the birds also need the sun.

It just seems that such a house is difficult to make. In fact, once you start drawing a drawing of a house, you will realize how simple it is. No more complicated than those designs that you made in your childhood from a construction set.

You can design simple cell houses. In a row, like mailboxes in the entrance. Here's a good option in the left photo. But in the right photo it’s not very good – the entrance is low. Not suitable for starlings, maybe for some other birds, I don’t know...

And here is another project for a multi-seat birdhouse. Here, each cell (except for the middle one) is a separate house with an exit in its own direction. If this drawing is changed and the height of the house is made larger and the opening of the entrance is raised to a height of 20 cm, then the starlings will appreciate such a communal apartment.

And here are more options for beautiful and lived-in birdhouses for several bird families at once.

Or you can make a very light and simple model - a birdhouse in the form of a shelf, with holes for entrances, as in the photo below. Only one drawback needs to be eliminated - here in the model below the houses are not large enough in height - it is necessary. It is necessary to make the height of the shelves at least 35 cm, and raise the entrance 20 cm from the bottom of each shelf-flat. Then the house will be inhabited.

DECORATION OF NIGHTBOOKS.

Decorative stylized birdhouses look very beautiful and can serve as decoration for any spring garden.

Bottle caps can serve as a decorative material (and at the same time as an insulating material). Any available material can become a decorative and finishing material when building a house for starlings.

Pieces of laminate or linoleum left after repairs can serve as material for a layered “tiled” roof of a house.

Just never stop thinking about the birds. And if, for example, you chose a sheet of tin to create the roof of a house, think about how such a roof will rattle when it rains. The bird will go crazy with fear as the drum drops echo loudly in the house. Then you need to add a sheet of sound-insulating material (foam or foam rubber) to such a roof.

You can also create a whole green garden on the roof of the house. If you cut holes in parts of the house, put black soil there and plant plants. Pieces of moss or lawn take root well.

As well as special plants related to ground cover. That is, those that grow like a carpet covering the soil, in the same way they will grow on your house not upward, but outward like a carpet. This will add thermal insulation to the house. And most importantly, it will allow the birdhouse to merge with nature - and the birds will feel safe in such a cozy shelter, disguised as a natural dugout.

WHERE TO BUY A NIGHTBOOK.

Birdhouses are often sold in hardware stores, construction stores also have them, and everything for the garden is in the department.

They can also be purchased from individual craftsmen. There is such a famous site called “Fair of Masters” - we go to the site and in the old “site search” we enter the word “birdhouse” and all the pictures of birdhouses with prices and addresses of the craftsmen immediately pop up. You place an order and receive it by delivery or mail.

Here I have highlighted original creative works for myself Masters Dmitry(You can see his profile below).

And the same master also has works like these on sale. Do you want to buy such an exclusive birdhouse for your dacha. You are welcome to Masters Fair to the author Dmitry (tik-kem).

But the works Sergei from the same Masters Fair. Also cozy pictures of antiquity, brought to life in the form of birdhouses.

And on the same site there are a lot of options for ready-made kits for self-assembly of houses. It’s nice to buy such sets, assemble them – AND THEN CONCEIVE YOUR OWN INDIVIDUAL DECOR (cover them with twigs, cover them with moss, turn them into a toy house, or a fishing shed, or a cartoon character.

Company Workshop No. 13 on the website of the Fair of Masters offers a lot of kits for assembling birdhouses, as well as paints and painting schemes for such houses.

If the house kits of this company are expensive for you, then there are other craftsmen who sell the bases for birdhouses at a much more reasonable price. For example Master Cat– keeps a good price. You get an excellent, solid house and use your decorating imagination to the fullest.

DIY birdhouses

from NON-STANDARD MATERIALS.

Any available material can be adapted into a house for starlings. Previously, before human intervention in bird affairs, starlings found any holes in the natural environment to build a nest there. Therefore, they still do not pay attention to the external shape and material - as long as it is safe. Boots are just boots, you don’t have to choose. Moreover, it is very warm there.

There’s this picture floating around the Internet – maybe it’s photoshopped, or maybe in a deep forest such a nest turned out to be safe enough for the bird. If the tree is tall and inconvenient for cats to climb, then the bird will find this a good place to breed.

You can try to design any item in your dacha as a house for starlings and titmice. What if he likes it? The ceramic pot holds heat well and does not drum in the rain.

But an iron kettle cools down quickly on a cold night, and when it rains it rattles like a drum, so it’s not suitable.

Houses can be made from old cans. But just cover them with thick wooden boards to avoid the roar of rain.

Old wicker baskets with a hole in the side can be turned into an original house for birds - just make the entrance higher and so that the walls are not blown through, do not be too lazy to insert a tab sewn from heat-insulating material inside.

HOUSES for WINTERING birds.

Many of you will go to Google to look for more interesting drawings for birdhouses, in which case I want to warn you right away. DON'T BE CONFUSED NESTING HOUSES (designed for nesting and hatching chicks WITH HOUSES FOR WINTERING BIRDS (the purpose of which is to provide temporary overnight accommodation for birds during the cold winter season).

Winter houses are distinguished by the fact that…

1. The inlet hole is located in them at the bottom(so that warm air rises and remains in the upper part of the house).
2. In such houses they cram perches, on which the birds can sleep on a harsh winter night, protected from the wind and cold.

And in winter, in addition to houses for cold weather, birds need feeders. I already have the same voluminous and detailed article on making a wide variety of bird feeders with your own hands

Now, you know everything (or almost everything) about birdhouses and houses for hatching chicks. A bird house is essentially a simple craft. Anyone can do it.

And if you didn’t find your birdhouse design here, then I have another article on the same topic. Perhaps your future birdhouse is located right there -

Good luck with your work. And let the birds celebrate their feathered housewarming this spring. After all, it’s so nice to feel like the one WHO BUILT THE HOUSE.

In our country, with our salaries, not everyone can afford to build houses. But even if you cannot yet build a house for your family, you have already done a real job if you have built it at least for a family of birds. More will be added to this little. After all, the magic of a house made by your own hands is already working to ensure that your family also celebrates a housewarming.

Magic begins when we begin to do a good deed, with our own hands.

Olga Klishevska, especially for the site