DIY birdhouses, drawings and diagrams, assembly procedure

We always rejoice at the onset of spring, the first warmth and sunny weather. And starlings, which return from warm countries in March, are rightfully considered the most important messengers of spring.

It’s hard to imagine the first months of spring without their characteristic clicking song. And in order to listen to beautiful songs longer, admire the black shiny birds, and besides, to protect your site from harmful insects, it is best to try and build a home for southern guests with your own hands.

Content:

1. How to make birdhouses with your own hands, what drawings to use?
2. Design features of a birdhouse for starlings
3. Materials for building birdhouses
4. How to make a classic birdhouse out of wood?
5. How to make a birdhouse from plywood
6. DIY birdhouse from scrap materials

How to make birdhouses with your own hands, what drawings to use?

A birdhouse is a closed nesting box made by man not only for small songbirds, but also for destroyers of harmful insects.

It must meet the most important requirements:

• Be closed from prying eyes.
• Strength.
• Reliability of the entire structure and its fastening.
• The inner walls should not be perfectly smooth; the chicks need to train themselves to climb rough walls. This way they will get on the wing faster.
• It must keep warm very well, since it is important for the chicks to be protected from a sudden drop in temperature.
• No cracks or holes. Heat escapes through the holes very quickly and moisture can enter.
• They choose a material that is sound-permeable, but not to such an extent that the squeak of the offspring is very clearly audible, but also so that the birds hear in time the danger in the form of a sneaking predator.

The structure itself is an elongated cavity, usually made of tree with a removable roof and a closed bottom. Under the lid there is a special hole - a tap hole. It is necessary for free penetration into the nest.

The removable cover is useful for annual inspection, garbage collection and removal of unwanted tenants of the “house”. Assembling the house does not take much time and is quite simple technologically; even a schoolchild can cope with this task. But before you get to work, be sure to decide what type of birds will live in the “house” you have built.

Design features of a birdhouse for starlings

The traditional shape is rectangular, but it can be made oval, round and in other various shapes. The body can be made and assembled from boards or some other materials, or it will be split entirely from logs; such structures are called nests.

The size of the house for starlings is 25-40 cm in height, the entrance has a diameter of 3-6 cm and is cut through about 6 cm from the roof. The roof is made slightly protruding above the entrance to protect from bad weather conditions and cats. The diameter of the nesting chamber (cavities inside) is made in sizes from 10x10 to 15x19 cm.

Near the “entrance” to the bird’s home, a landing platform or a small pole is made for the parents of the chicks.The nesting chamber should not be made too large and spacious - it should be convenient for the chicks to climb towards the parents arriving with food, and the female will be able to lay more eggs in such a space, but she will not be able to feed them all, the chicks will simply die or grow up sick and weak.

The place where you are going to install the made “house” is also important; it should be in a place that is inaccessible to predators and at the same time with a good view. It is important for a male starling to attract a female with his singing and immediately show his “apartment”.

In addition to assembling the home itself, it is important to install it in its final location.

The best place and method of attachment is:

• the location of the house at a height of about 3 meters will ensure the birds safety and tranquility;
• the entrance is placed on the south side so that cold winds do not blow in;
• installation near vegetable gardens and orchards will help plant growers obtain assistants for pest control;
• After fastening, the house should tilt slightly forward. This position is the most convenient for the bird to get out of the nest.

Materials for building birdhouses

In most cases, the selected source material for building the structure determines whether the birds will settle in the “house” made or ignore it.

The best options are:

Edged boards from hardwood trees 25-30 mm thick. The main rule is that they cannot be planed.

Coniferous boards that have been seasoned for a long time, so that there is no obvious pine smell and resin, you can even use previously used boards, the thickness of the boards is 20-30 mm.

But plywood is not suitable for assembly because of its ability to muffle sounds and easily release heat from the nest; fiberboard and chipboard are not suitable at all.They release phenol vapors that can easily kill an entire brood of chicks.

Artificial building boards using phenolic compounds are unsuitable for the same reason. MDF boards could be suitable, but they are very sensitive to moisture and will quickly swell and soften.

How to make a classic birdhouse out of wood

Assembly is performed in the following order:

• blanks are made;
• a taphole is made on the front part using a drill or crown, the taphole is attached, and a hearth is installed in the drilled hole. If the boards are planed, the inner surface of the facade is well “rough”;
• Assembling the nesting chamber. They take the bottom and glue the side walls, front and back, to it;
• carefully inspect the structure, if it is uneven, level it as long as the glue allows, and wrap it tightly with a tourniquet so that the glue sets faster;
• dry the resulting box vertically, having previously placed a plastic film under it;
• when the glue has completely dried, additionally fasten the entire box with self-tapping screws, 2 pieces on each side;
• using a blank for the roof, try it on, inspect it, if necessary, cut it so that the roof sits tightly on the box;
• The roof lining itself is glued with liquid glue, and the roof is installed. Carefully supporting the overlay with your hand, adjust the roof into place;
• as soon as the glue has dried, the roof and trim are fastened with 3-4 small nails or self-tapping screws.

It is best to use PVA glue for adhesive joints; it is moisture-resistant, inexpensive, flexible and airtight.

Construction of a birdhouse from plywood

If you don’t have anything else on hand other than plywood, this will also be suitable for building a house for birds.

To work you will need:

• Plywood.
• Hammer (screwdriver).
• Wood saw.
• Drill with drills.

The sequence of work is not much different from the standard:

• Transfer the drawings of each part onto a sheet of plywood.
• We saw all the necessary parts with a jigsaw.
• Sand each cut line thoroughly with sandpaper.
• For the self-tapping screws that you will use, pre-drill holes of the required diameter.
• Assemble the entire structure: first the walls, and then attach the bottom and roof to them.
• Cover the screw caps with putty to create an attractive appearance.
• Attach a beam to the back wall to secure the house.

What available materials are suitable for building a birdhouse?

They are often made from what any family always has. Parents and children can make such houses together, decorate them, install them and admire the little songbirds.

The materials can be very diverse and sometimes unexpected.

Cardboard

Available to everyone, you can protect it from getting wet by treating it with varnish. Cardboard is used for its intended purpose and for decorating a garden plot. To make them, you will need to draw sketches of the parts, carefully cut them out, and you can glue them with PVA glue. Then paint with acrylic paints together with your child and hang it in the yard or park. This bird house will last the season.

Cardboard boxes are the easiest option. How to make a birdhouse from a box? Find a box that fits the parameters, cut a tap hole in it, and think about how to attach the roof to the box. And it can be decorated and installed on a tree.

Plastic bottles

The most common material from which it is easy and simple to make a home for starlings. It’s hard to go wrong with plastic when making a birdhouse from a bottle, since the shape of the structure has already been determined.

To do this, you will need a container of 1.5 liters or more. You need to make a hole in it. Sharp edges are wrapped with tape so as not to injure the birds. The bottle is sometimes shortened, brightness and coziness are added: it is wrapped with twine and painted with paints.

The main thing is to securely attach it to the support so that the lightweight material does not sway in the wind.

Vine

Craftsmen who know how to work with branches vines and how to weave them correctly, you can easily build an excellent birdhouse with your own hands. They turn out to be original, natural, and starlings like them.

Wine corks

It will not be possible to collect such material quickly, and making a birdhouse will also not be an easy, but interesting task. Such designs look very impressive.

Old shoes

Even an ordinary boot with a hole made in it, suitable in size and equipped according to all requirements, can become a home for birds.

Some varieties pumpkins suitable for drying. They are harvested in the autumn, all the pulp is removed and listened to.

Previously, birds, including starlings, had to look for a home and arrange it themselves, but now many are happy to make unusual birdhouses and all kinds of materials with their own hands and install them on their plots, in parks and gardens.

As you can see, building a real home for starlings with your own hands will not require a lot of labor and material resources from you, just follow the instructions, make the drawing correctly and reliably install your creation.

The process of producing a bird house can easily unite the older and younger generations, instill in a child a love of nature and teach him to take care of animals.

We hope that you have received a lot of useful information on the topic of making birdhouses.You can study the technology of performing the work in more detail by watching the video: