One of the conditions for a rich harvest in the garden or in the garden is the fight against numerous arthropod pests. To use insecticides for these purposes is to harm the health of the environment. It is better to “entrust” this task to the birds - they become indispensable assistants in this matter.
But to hope that the birds themselves will fly to your site is short-sighted. A more reasonable solution would be to organize the conditions for the birds to settle directly next to a person. And for this it is necessary to attract them to the site with ready-made “comfortable housing”. A do-it-yourself birdhouse for birds, equipped in accordance with all the rules, will be a good prerequisite for the birds to choose a site for permanent residence. And the family that settled in it will do an excellent job with garden pests, collecting them from plants and even extracting them from the soil.
Yes, and just such a neighborhood with wildlife cannot but benefit, and especially brings a lot of joy to the children. So it makes sense to roll up your sleeves.
What material to choose for a birdhouse?
When starting to build a birdhouse, it is necessary to take into account some nuances when choosing a material for these purposes. Therefore, to begin with, you should consider various options, weigh their advantages and disadvantages.
- natural wood- This is the ideal material for a birdhouse. It is easy to work with it, it is environmentally friendly, natural warmth, and most importantly, it is natural for the habitat of the vast majority of birds. However, there is also important nuances. So, for the construction of bird housing, it is worth choosing a board made of hardwood.
The ideal material for a birdhouse is a hardwood board, best of all linden or aspen. Softwood lumber - not welcome The trouble is that coniferous boards can eventually begin to release resinous substances, especially in the spring, with the onset of heat. And this is not only a pungent smell, sometimes scaring away some birds. Resin may well stick to the plumage, and sometimes it even causes the death of birds.
- , chipboard and plywood is a bad choice. Such wood-based composite materials have a layered structure and therefore do not have the proper resistance to the combined effects of moisture, direct sunlight and temperature extremes. So, the glue used when joining chips, wood chips or veneer sheets may not withstand winter frosts, so microcracks quickly appear on the ends of the material. Over time, for example, during a thaw, water will penetrate into them, which, upon subsequent freezing, increases in volume, which leads to further delamination of the material. For a long time in the conditions of the street, such a design will not last, even if the birdhouse is painted.
Wood composite materials are easy to use, but short-lived and unsafe for birds. Neither the picture shows the delaminated walls of a birdhouse made of chipboard and plywood. It is unlikely that such a house will attract birds In addition, all these materials contain formaldehyde resins, which act as binding components during manufacture. Such substances, firstly, have a quite noticeable specific smell, and secondly, they emit toxic fumes. Both that, and another is capable to scare away birds from a similar dwelling. Although, despite the recommendations, some craftsmen still choose these materials for the manufacture of birdhouses.
- Cardboard, even durable is still a short-lived material, and a birdhouse from it will soon burst apart when wet. At the cardboard house, the roof may sag or the bottom may fall off, on which the birds equip the nest itself for laying eggs. And this means that the clutch or brood will simply die. Therefore, it is better to abandon the idea of using this material immediately.
- Plastic bottle is also not the most good option, as it has thin and transparent walls that are unlikely to attract birds. Some masters paint the bottle from the outside, but the paint can peel off under the influence of temperature and moisture. Thin walls in winter or, conversely, with strong heating, will deform, shrink or expand, making clicking sounds that frighten birds. It is ridiculous to talk about at least some insulation of such a birdhouse.
birdhouse from plastic bottle is unlikely to become a cozy home for a feathered family. But to make feeders from bottles for the winter is worth it In addition, plastic bottles are light in weight, so a strong wind will swing them when suspended. If you fix the product to the tree with brackets, then the same wind can simply rip off and carry away the bottle along with all the contents.
So, you can't imagine anything better than wood. And further, various options for birdhouses made only from this material will be considered.
Varieties of houses for various birds
In order to attract certain birds or even several of their species to the site, it is necessary to create comfortable, familiar conditions for them. Due to the fact that birds have different sizes, differ in flight speed and features of movement on a solid surface, the parameters of the "living space" intended for them will also vary.
By design, birdhouses can be divided into two types - these are prefabricated and "hollow holes".
- Prefabricated bird houses, of course, are assembled from parts sawn to certain sizes from boards.
"Duplyanka" made of birch log - "Duplyanka" is a piece of log (log), from which the inner layers of wood have been removed. Walls with a thickness of 15 ÷ 20 mm are left, depending on the diameter of the log.
When choosing the size and type of birdhouse, it is also necessary to take into account the fact that some birds prefer a certain form of "houses".
Prices for a birdhouse for birds
birdhouse for birds
For example, if it is planned to attract and settle wagtails on the site, then they will have to make a house for them, which will differ significantly from the birdhouse familiar to everyone. The height of such a dwelling will be 140 ÷ 150 mm, width 150 mm, depth 350 ÷ 400 mm, together with a landing platform. In this design, it is made in the form of a rather large board measuring 150 × 100 mm. Thanks to such a notch and a narrow entrance, the bird can enter the house on foot.
Some birds prefer to settle in semi-open dwellings. For redstarts, flycatchers, and also white wagtails, a house resembling a feeder is suitable, since they are reluctant to settle in closed birdhouses. Due to the fact that such dwellings become weakly protected from predators, for safety reasons they must be raised to a height of 2–6 meters, positioned so that there are no thick branches nearby, along which a cat can get to the nest.
The width of the house is 120÷140 mm, the height of the rear wall is 140÷150 mm, the height of the front wall is 80÷90 mm, the depth is 120÷140 mm. The roof of such a house has dimensions of 160 × 200 mm. Since the entrance clearance is large, the roof must reliably cover it from rain and snow.
Pied flycatcher is a small bird belonging to the titmouse family. She prefers a more secure home, so it is recommended to make an entry hole on the side of the front panel. The depth of the house can vary from 150 to 200 mm, the width - 150 mm, the height of the structure is from 150 to 25 mm, the inlet, as a rule, has a square shape and its size can be 35 × 35 or 40 × 40 mm.
Swifts and a house for them Another type of bird that is an excellent fighter against garden pests is swifts. These birds prefer to settle in boxes fixed under the eaves of the house, sometimes they do not have a front wall at all, sometimes they resemble an ordinary birdhouse, but turned to a horizontal position. The inlets are also different - notches, they are not round, but elliptical in shape. Other birds do not settle in such nests, since everything is designed for nesting swifts. The height of the house is 180, the width is 550, the length is 225 mm, the size of the inlet is 32×60 mm.
open shearers Another version of the dwelling for swifts is a box divided into several compartments and reliably protected from precipitation. Having chosen one of the compartments, swifts equip a nest in it, bringing various natural materials. This version of the shearer can be called "apartment". And living in whole "colonies" for swifts is a common thing.
A traditional birdhouse of a simple form - it is this design that is perhaps the most popular The traditional birdhouse is chosen not only by starlings, but also by many other birds. This design can have different dimensional parameters.
The house shown in the illustration above has the following dimensions - width 180 mm, depth 200 mm, height 350÷400 mm. The dimensions of the bottom are 160 × 180, and the roofs are 200 × 200 mm, the diameter of the inlet is 50 ÷ 60 mm, the perch (pole) has a length of 50 mm and a diameter of 10 mm.
Multi-storey birdhouse Starlings, and sparrows, too, get along well in "multi-apartment" birdhouses, which are installed on a metal rack embedded in the ground. The height of such a house should be at least 1500 ÷ 2000 mm. Next to the photo is a drawing of a two-story birdhouse with five compartments, that is, five feathered families can live in it at once. The only thing that would not hurt to add to this design is the landing areas on each floor of the building, such as shown in the illustration.
To make such a birdhouse, first, internal compartments-apartments are created from the prepared parts, which will become a reliable frame for the external facade cladding. In the outer panel for each of the "apartments" there is one round notch with a diameter of 50 mm.
Hollow nests are a favorite place for many birds to live. Hollows are a natural habitat for birds in wildlife, most bird species settle in them, from sparrows to owls and even ducks. Therefore, a birdhouse made of logs will appeal to many feathered inhabitants, as it is made without the use of paints, glues and varnishes. You can always pick up a log of the required parameters and create comfortable, close to natural, living conditions inside it.
Having decided to equip a house for birds, it is necessary not only to choose the right design for it, but also to think over the place and method of its installation on the site. Not only the attractiveness of the home for potential residents, but also their safety, as well as comfortable conditions for raising chicks, will depend on this decision. Having carried out some protective measures, you can protect the birdhouse both from weather influences and from various predators.
- First you need to determine how to install a birdhouse. Some advise fixing the birdhouse so that the notch goes to south side. However, this decision cannot be called correct, since the birdhouse turned to the sunny side will overheat, which can lead to the death of the chicks. You can turn the notch to the south only if the birdhouse is shaded by tree branches.
- Another important factor, which must be taken into account when choosing the location of the birdhouse, is the wind rose in the region, that is, from which side the wind blows more often and more intensely. The fact is that along with the wind, water will enter the birdhouse through the notch during rain and snow in winter.
That is why the notch of the bird house should be turned to the leeward side, or at least to the side parallel to the predominant direction of the winds.
cutting board prices
edged board
- To install birdhouses, tree trunks, house walls, masts made of metal pipes or durable wood can be used.
Birdhouse installation options - Birdhouses are installed at a height of 2÷3.5 meters above the ground, in a place where there are no factors that can cause concern to birds. For example, if there are nearby railways, recreation areas or public buildings, then birdhouses are recommended to be raised to a height of 4.5 ÷ 5 meters.
- It is also necessary to observe the distance between individual birdhouses. It, by the way, depends on the type of settled birds. For example, the tit does not tolerate "competitors" within a radius of about 50÷60 meters around its home. The flycatcher needs about 20 meters of its “own range”. True, many birds are not so fastidious, and, as we have already seen, they get along well with entire colonies in "multi-apartment" birdhouses.
A birdhouse on a pole can be fixed to a tree trunk with nylon twine or plastic wire - Birdhouses are fixed on one of the supports depending on their design. If fastening is provided with the help of a pole fixed on the back wall of the birdhouse, then it is nailed or screwed with long self-tapping screws to the base - the pole. To nail to a living tree trunk - sometimes the hand is not understood by some. This means that you can fix the birdhouse by tying it with a flexible wire or even a strong cord. In other versions, birdhouses are suspended from special brackets, also fixed to the back wall or roof of the structure.
Birdhouses must be protected from predators - In addition, we must not forget that predatory animals are a great danger to birdhouses. It sounds scary, but in fact, the main threat is our beloved cats, whose call of nature draws them on robbery adventures, even if they are quite provided with food. If the notch is too large, then the cat can reach the chicks or hidden birds with its paw.
To prevent the cat from reaching the bottom of the birdhouse with its paw, it is necessary to make a sufficiently large visor. If parameters from 40 to 50 mm appear in the drawings, then it is worth increasing them even to 80 ÷ 100 mm. Wood consumption will increase slightly, but effective protection for the nest will be provided. Another way to protect birds from cats is to make a gable roof on the birdhouse, while placing the slopes at an acute angle. On such a design, even the most dexterous "bandit" will not sit for a long time.
Safety measures against woodpeckers and cats If the birdhouse is fixed on a tree, then to make it difficult for the cat to rise or descend from above to the birdhouse, the trunk is upholstered with metal belts 600 ÷ 800 mm wide. The distance between the bottom of the birdhouse and the protection should be 350 ÷ 400 mm, and between the roof and the metal 1300 ÷ 1400 mm. When choosing this method of protection, it must be remembered that the metal belt around the trunk should not interfere with the possibility of increasing the diameter of the tree. That is, either a certain clearance between the tree and the belt should be set, or some kind of sliding structure should be made that can increase in diameter.
Another option that can be chosen instead of installing metal is to fasten down branches on the trunk of a bunch of branches. Branches must be securely fixed to the surface. A cat will never overcome such an obstacle.
The woodpecker expands the notch to get to the masonry Another danger to the nests of small birds is, oddly enough, woodpeckers. These birds are considered very useful, they are called "orderlies of the forest." But along with the active eating of tree pests, woodpeckers do not refuse to destroy the nests of "bird fry".
The letok in bird houses is traditionally made small, the woodpecker does not climb into it and is not even able to stick its head in to break an egg with its beak. But often that doesn't stop him. To get to the masonry, these "beauties" are able to expand the notch, pecking it with their sharp beak.
To protect the masonry from the woodpecker, other methods are used, which are also shown in the above figure in its first line:
The area around the notch is upholstered with metal;
Several nails are driven in a circle around the hole;
It would be nice to hang a kind of "store" for the material, which is perfect for building a nest. If the birds find everything they need in one area, then they will remain on it forever. Chicks raised in a comfortable nesting box will definitely return to it next year.
Making birdhouses with your own hands
In this section of the publication, four options for making birdhouses will be considered, from the simplest to the more complex. Having studied this information, each master will be able to choose an acceptable solution for himself.
The first option is to assemble a kit from finished parts.
If it is not possible to find suitable material or there is no ability to prepare from it all the elements necessary to create a birdhouse, then a ready-made set of wooden parts is purchased. From them you can quickly and easily assemble a birdhouse.
Prices for popular models of screwdrivers
screwdriver
A complete set of wooden parts for building a birdhouse - can be purchased at the store Details are made of well-dried and treated wood. The manufacturer even provided holes for screwing screws. An assembly diagram is attached to the kit, so the work can be done in just a couple of hours, having at hand only a regular Phillips screwdriver or. This is the easiest option for making a bird house. By the way, a good option to involve the child in creative work.
The second option is the simplest "classic" model with a pitched roof.
This option is more complicated. But only because you have to find a suitable material and make parts of the required size from it.
Easy bird house design | Illustration | |
|---|---|
 | Before proceeding directly to the execution of work, it is necessary to select a ready-made one or draw up your own project-drawing of a product that is suitable in terms of parameters. In this case, an easy-to-execute model is presented, which is available to manufacture even for a novice master. |
 | From the finished drawing, all dimensions of the parts are transferred to well-crafted boards. The thickness of the board can vary and range from 15 to 25 mm. For marking you will need a tape measure, a metal ruler and a simple pencil. After all the details of the structure are marked, they are cut out using an electric jigsaw. You can, of course, use a regular hand saw for wood, but burrs will remain on the ends of the parts. Yes, and it is much more convenient to work with power tools. |
 | On the finished front panel of the birdhouse structure, the location of the notch hole is marked. Then, it is drilled using a drill-crown of the required diameter - in this case it is 50 mm. |
 | For comfortable movement of birds along the inner surface when climbing to the notch, it is made "embossed", rough. To do this, it is scratched and drilled, making non-through holes to a depth of 2 ÷ 3 mm. Scratches and holes are applied below the notch. |
 | To prevent the ends of the boards from splitting when screwing screws into them, first the front panel is attached to the side panel, and holes of small diameter are drilled in the right places. Then, using a screwdriver, self-tapping screws are screwed into the holes obtained, which will create a reliable connection. |
 | Further, the second wall is fixed to the facade, in the same way as the first. The last operation at this stage of work is fixing the back panel. The parts are fastened in such a way that the right angles of the birdhouse are observed. It is enough to use three self-tapping screws on each side. In some designs, for more reliable fastening of the walls to each other, the craftsmen inside the structure install bars with a section of 25 × 25 mm at the corners, to which the walls are fixed. True, this somewhat reduces the spaciousness of the birdhouse. |
 | The next step is to mark the bottom of the birdhouse, determine the line along which the screws will be screwed. They should be at a distance from the edge equal to ½ of the thickness of the bottom panel. Holes are drilled along the edges of the drawn line. After that, a square bottom part is installed in place - it should fit tightly between the walls already fixed to each other. Further, self-tapping screws are screwed into the prepared through holes, which finally fixes the bottom of the birdhouse. In other designs, the bottom element can be superimposed on the end sides of the walls and fixed to them with the same self-tapping screws. |
 | Further, markings are made on the inside of the roof for mounting a wooden square-liner, which will fit tightly between the walls of the birdhouse when the lid is closed. First, the square is fixed to the roof with one self-tapping screw, which is screwed in its center. Then, after the final fitting of the roof, the part is additionally fixed with four self-tapping screws installed at the corners. |
 | In order to preserve the possibility of carrying out the internal processing of the bird's dwelling, it is recommended to fix the roof not permanently, but hingedly, on one wide or two narrow loops. At the same stage, a bar-pole is installed and fixed in the middle part of the back wall, with the help of which the birdhouse will be fixed to a tree or other base. |
 | If it is planned to fix the roof permanently, then after it is put in place, through its panel, through holes are drilled that go into the walls. After that, you can fearlessly screw self-tapping screws into them, being sure that they will not split the side panels. Finally, a non-through hole is drilled under the notch, into which the pole is inserted and fixed. Or - a small "take-off site" or a piece of board or bar. |
The third option is a birdhouse with a gable roof
This birdhouse model differs from the previous one in the shape of the roof, dimensions and some manufacturing nuances.
| Illustration | Brief description of the operation to be performed |
|---|---|
 | For this version of the birdhouse, it is necessary to prepare parts that have the following dimensions: A1 and A2 - 300 × 160 mm - front and rear wall; B - 2 pcs. - 220 × 120 mm - side walls; C - 1 piece - 120 × 120 birdhouse bottom; K1 - 1 pc. 200 × 160 mm - one side of the roof; K2 - 1 pc. 200 × 180 mm - the second side of the roof. |
 | The above dimensions are carefully transferred to the boards. Then the parts are cut with an electric jigsaw, which will make the edges even, without burrs. |
 | The finished parts are checked against each other so that during the assembly of the structure it does not happen that unwanted gaps appear between the individual parts. If this happens, then you will have to disassemble the birdhouse and adjust its elements to each other. If necessary, a slight adjustment is made until complete congruence. |
 | Now all the details and their edges must be processed with sandpaper. It is especially important to sand the outer sides of the walls well so that they absorb moisture as little as possible. |
 | The notch can be marked and drilled before the structure is assembled or after it is assembled. But it is necessary to work on the inner surface of the facade before the walls are fastened together. With a knife, drill or other sharp tool, a part of the inner wall under the notch is made rough. |
 | The finished parts in this example are first glued together with wood glue. The first step is to glue the side panels to the back wall. |
 | They are tightly pressed and pulled together with clamps until the glue dries completely. Then, without removing the clamps, holes for fasteners are drilled with a thin drill. |
 | Nails are hammered into the resulting holes or self-tapping screws are screwed. Two nails or screws for each side are enough to fasten the back and front walls to the side panels. |
 | After the walls are fastened together, markings are made on the front panel for drilling a notch hole. |
 | Then, using a drill-crown with a diameter of 45 or 50 mm, a notch is drilled. It is advisable to immediately process the finished hole with sandpaper. |
 | The next operation is the installation of the roof slopes of the birdhouse. First, one, shorter roof part is glued exactly from the ridge line. Then - the second, with thrust on the first. After that, you must wait until the glue sets, and then small holes are drilled in the roof slopes for fasteners. |
 | In this case, nails 25÷30 mm long are used for fastening. |
 | The next step is to install the bottom of the birdhouse. If the markings and cutting of the parts are carried out correctly, then the bottom should fit very tightly between the walls - sometimes it even has to be slightly knocked out with a hammer. |
 | Mounting holes are drilled at the bottom of the side, rear and front panels. Then nails are hammered into them. |
 | Under the notch, stepping back from its lower point of 20 mm, a hole is drilled for the hearth. |
 | The pole is glued into the resulting hole with wood glue. |
 | The result is a neat birdhouse with a gable roof, which will not allow the cat to lie in a long "ambush" waiting for the birds to appear. |
Fourth option- making a birdhouse
This section will consider the process of making a nest box, which is chosen by many types of birds.
| Illustration | Brief description of the operation to be performed |
|---|---|
 | In order to make a hollow, you do not need to make calculations and draw up drawings. The only thing that needs to be observed is the approximate dimensional parameters of "classic" birdhouses, taking into account the diameter of the notch. To implement this idea, it is necessary to find a log that is suitable in size and type of wood. An aspen or birch log that has lain on the street for about a year is perfect for a nest box. After lying down in the street, the core of these tree species becomes soft, and the outer layers retain their rigidity and strength, which is what we need. |
 | If the bark of the wood has become unusable, then it should be removed from the log. If it is dry and has an aesthetic appearance, then it can become a camouflage and decorative element of the hollow. The top side of the log can be cut at an angle to secure a shed roof, or cut from both sides of the log for a gable structure. When choosing a single-slope option, it is necessary to provide for such a slope so that water flows freely from the coating during rain. |
 | The next step is to gradually remove the inner part of the wood from the log. Here it should be noted that the fibers can be removed along the entire length, or a bottom of 40 ÷ 50 mm thick is left in the lower part of the workpiece. The second option is more difficult to perform, but you don’t have to fix the bottom panel, and the birds will get more natural living conditions. If such a bottom is left in the log, then it must be made as even as possible. It is easier, of course, to clean the log from the core along the entire length. To select wood, a chisel with a hammer and an electric drill with a long drill are used, with which several holes are drilled, weakening the array of fibers. |
 | The core is removed from the log so that the remaining walls have a uniform thickness of 20÷30 mm. Protruding chips and large burrs must be removed from the side walls. Next, you need to mark the outer wall of the log, where it is planned to equip the notch. It should be located at a distance of 70 ÷ 80 mm from the top edge of the workpiece. A hole is drilled using a drill-crown of the required diameter. |
 | As a bottom, you can use a piece of log (dice) with a thickness of 30 ÷ 35 mm, with a diameter corresponding to the size of the inner hole of the hollow. The bottom should fit snugly into the hole. Then, it must be fixed in several places with self-tapping screws, for which small holes are pre-drilled. Instead of a piece of log, a round bottom piece can be cut out of a board of the same thickness. To determine the exact shape of the circle with minimal errors, it is necessary to place a workpiece on top of the board and draw the inner diameter of the circle along the board from the inside. The bottom is cut along this line. If, after installing the bottom, small gaps remain between it and the walls of the hollow log, they can simply be caulked with linen fibers. |
 | The final stage of work is fixing the roof. The blank for it is usually made of slab. The roof must be fastened very carefully, as it is possible to split the walls of the log. Therefore, small holes are first drilled into which self-tapping screws are screwed. The roof is mounted so that the visor protrudes about 100 mm above the entrance. To fix the birdhouse on a tree, a pole is mounted on its outer rear wall. If desired, a landing pad or a pole can be fixed under the notch. On this, in fact, the work is completed and the nesting box can be installed in the intended place. |
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Now, having familiarized yourself with the basics of the process of making birdhouses, as well as what models of bird houses are, and for which birds they are more intended, you can opt for a particular option.
Of course, the proposed options are one of the simplest. But in fact, craftsmen sometimes make genuine masterpieces that become not only a convenient place for birds to live, but also a decoration of the site. An example is shown in the video below - a birdhouse using precast log technology.
We made a birdhouse, now you can start making a booth for a dog, and you can find the instructions in our new article on our portal -
Video: Original birdhouse - miniature log house
The easiest design to make is a bird house. Any beginner can really do this. To make a birdhouse with your own hands, you only need improvised material. In addition, it is not only an object of decor for the garden, but also a refuge for birds. Their attraction is useful in that they destroy pests in the form of rodents and insects. And fighting them is a very difficult process. Therefore, help the birds with shelter and food, and they will help you.
It will be just fine if the owner of the cottage has some experience in carpentry. But do not be upset if such skills are not available. After all, the design is simple to manufacture. What tools can not do without:
Despite the numerous types of birdhouses, the work is done using almost the same technology. A birdhouse can be built from metal, plastic, cardboard, and so on, but most people prefer to make a birdhouse out of wood. This is due to the ease of assembly and attractive appearance of the home. From the material you need to choose:
- Oak planks;
However, you can easily make a unique birdhouse from improvised materials with your own hands.
Even after absolute processing of the needles, this type of wood can release resin for some time. Therefore, the interior walls, ceiling, and floor of the birdhouse can be sticky. This must be taken into account if you apply this material.
MDF, fiberboard and chipboard are expensive, therefore, you need to spend a certain amount on their purchase. In addition, at the bases of building material, you will have to buy a standard large sheet. Therefore, after the manufacture of the bird's dwelling, waste will remain. The best option- it's plywood. Pressed slabs can be found in your barn or asked from a neighbor.
After choosing the material, you need to decide on the parameters of the room for the birds. As experts say: the design is made compact so that about 4 copies can fit there. Only with so many birds living will become more than comfortable. Nevertheless, there are standard house sizes:
- width (20 cm);
- height (30 cm);
- letok (5 cm in diameter).
Warning! Design dimensions may vary. Because there are birds of different sizes. Therefore, before starting the construction of a room for birds, it is important to find out which species of birds visit the summer cottage.
There are many ways to make a bird house. The job is quite interesting. You can come up with your own idea and turn it into reality. But summer residents, and not only them, but also those people who live in multi-storey buildings, make birdhouses according to standard schemes.
The material will not have to be purchased if you have a surplus after the repair. A few wide boards are enough to build. But if there is no material at hand, then you will have to go in search of friends or to the store. How to make a birdhouse with such a roof with your own hands:
In principle, the design is done. If desired, it can be painted, varnished or glued to it with various decorations. In any case, there will be no problems with the design of a home for birds.
The design of such a birdhouse is slightly different. A box with equal sidewalls will be built here, but two gables and a roof with two slopes will appear. By appearance the birdhouse looks much prettier. How to build a birdhouse with a gable roof with your own hands:
Attention! Before screwing the part, glue should be applied to one docking side. Then wait until it dries and tighten the screws.
This version of the birdhouse is quite unique, but it will take effort to make it, since the wood will have to be extracted from the inside of the log. How to make a birdhouse out of wood with your own hands:
In the end, it is advisable not to paint the log, but to varnish it. Then the design will become much more beautiful.
To make the birdhouse look prettier, you can use wine corks. it great way decorating a birdhouse, and the work will not take much time. All you need to decorate the walls of the birdhouse is corks, glue, a pencil, a ruler and scissors. Housing process:
- First of all, horizontal lines are made on the walls with a width between each other under the width of the cork. This is to keep the rows straight. Then a cork is taken, parts half a centimeter wide are cut off from it.
- After that, glue is applied to the wall and cork. Next, the cork is glued by pressing it with pressure. It is necessary to hold in this state for 10 seconds.
- And in such rows the entire birdhouse is glued to the very top. If the house is built of logs, then the edges of the roof can also be glued with corks. A small platform is being made under the entrance. It is enough to stick corks on top of each other and thereby form a platform.
- This procedure is done with the roof. Pieces of cork are glued to the surface row after row according to the tiling method, so that one row overlaps the second.
At the end, you must wait until the glued material is completely dry, and only then deal with fixing the structure.
To protect the chicks from cats, fasten the birdhouse to a tall tree or other tall object. There are many options for fixing the house. For example, due to nails or wire. You can come up with your own idea of \u200b\u200bmounting a birdhouse to a height. In any case, according to the standard, the dwelling is set as follows:
Warning! In spite of big variety birdhouses, under the entrance there should always be a platform on which the birds could land. Otherwise, it will be difficult for birds to climb into the inlet of the house.
Attention! Some types of birds may conflict with each other. Therefore, if you are planning to make several birdhouses, then it is advisable to place them a few meters from each other. For example, starlings will not tolerate the presence of other birds.
Owners of summer cottages know that it can be difficult to cope with insects on their own. Much better and faster this problem can be solved with the help of starlings. But in order for them to live in the right territory, you need to take care in advance and make several birdhouses. By the way, not everyone knows that not only starlings, but also other birds can live in such structures. Therefore, you will learn how to create a simple birdhouse with your own hands right now.
Do-it-yourself birdhouse: step by step instructions
Making a birdhouse with your own hands is actually not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. In addition, there are many different variations, so even a beginner can handle this job.
In this case, we need:
- good quality boards
- hacksaw or jigsaw;
- thin nails;
- a hammer;
- roulette;
- odorless paint;
- pliers;
- brush;
- pencil.
First of all, we recommend Special attention give to the choice of tree. It is best to use hardwood boards. For example, alder, birch or aspen. The rest have some drawbacks. Conifers emit resin, due to which the inside of the birdhouse becomes sticky over time. In turn, sheets of chipboard or fiberboard emit toxic substances, which is unsafe for birds. In addition, these sheets have poor wear resistance and can deteriorate literally after the first rain. Such a popular plywood has low sound and heat insulation. Therefore, such products are definitely not suitable for the cold season.
The next step is drawing up a drawing. To begin with, we recommend making a small sketch in order to understand what kind of birdhouse you want to get as a result. After that, we make a drawing with notes of parts and all sizes. This is especially important if you plan to make multiple items.
We transfer the schemes to wood blanks. The result should be two side walls, one back and one front, as well as a bottom and a lid.
It is also very important to make the perch the optimal length. If desired, you can use a wooden stick instead. We proceed to cutting out each blank in accordance with the markup.
In the front wall we make a hole no more than 5 cm. To do this, it is better to use an electric drill or a jigsaw.
We carefully connect the front wall with the two side walls using nails. Depending on the size of the birdhouse, there will be a different number of them. But in this case, we fix the details on the sides and in the center. At this stage, we check the structure for strength and, if necessary, make additional fasteners.
In the same way, we attach the back wall and bottom to the main structure. Ready product we also check for strength and additionally fix with a few more nails.
The next step is to work with the roof. Remember that it must be removable. This is necessary in order to be able to periodically clean the inside. It is also very important that the edges extend beyond the entire structure. Thus, the birdhouse will be protected from water.
In this case, the roof consists of two parts. The main part has a protective function, and the inner part allows you to keep it in place. For a more secure fixation, they are connected with several nails.
And of course, it is very important to install a bird perch. A beautiful and practical birdhouse is ready!
Birdhouse from improvised materials
Of course, there are situations when a birdhouse needs to be done as soon as possible. In this case, even improvised materials are suitable. But you need to understand that such a product will not be durable and reliable. Therefore, it is better to replace it with a stronger structure as soon as possible.
Nevertheless, we propose to figure out how to make a birdhouse out of cardboard and what you need for this. Among the required materials:
- thick corrugated cardboard;
- plain paper;
- scissors;
- twine;
- pencil;
- self-adhesive paper;
- starch;
- compass;
- ruler.
On plain paper, we make the markup of the future design. We transfer the scheme to corrugated cardboard and cut out all the details in duplicate.
We cook the paste using ordinary starch. In this case, you should not use simple glue, as it scares away birds with its pungent odor. Then we glue the parts in pairs so that they are more durable. In the front part we make a hole for the birds. In the back wall we make several small holes for the twine. This is necessary so that the birdhouse can be tied to a tree.
We continue to glue together all the parts and leave the structure to dry completely.
We prepare the roof from two parts of corrugated cardboard.
We glue the birdhouse with laminated paper for greater reliability and, if desired, decorate it.
Also, if necessary, you can make a birdhouse using simple plastic bottles. Of course, such a product is not suitable for the life of birds, but it will be an excellent feeder.
Using a knife or scissors, simply cut small holes. It is better to glue the edges with adhesive tape or adhesive tape so that the birds do not get hurt. If you want to insulate the structure a little, then you can wrap it with felt and secure it with tape. Pour straw and feed on the bottom. It is better to fix it with a wire.
Birdhouse: do-it-yourself original ideas
Of course, there are many different options for such products. Most often they are made of wood, plastic and metal. It is believed that such birdhouses are the most reliable and durable. However, there are other, more unusual options. For example, from cardboard, plastic bottles and even from a milk bag. But still we do not recommend making too simple and shaky designs. After all, first of all, you should think about the birds, their safety and comfort.
Building birdhouses with children in the spring is a long and very useful tradition. Firstly, birds need houses, and secondly, this is a great opportunity to take a child with manual labor, to introduce him to the basics of carpentry in the age of gadgets and electronics. Pavel Zakharov from the family carpentry "Workshop No. 13" tells in detail how to make a birdhouse with his 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
- electric jigsaw with a wide blade for long straight cuts and a narrow blade for shaped sawing
- an electric drill (or drill driver) with a 4 mm drill (we also need an 8-10 mm drill, but you can do without it)
- Phillips screwdriver PH2 format or suitable screwdriver bit
- medium grit sandpaper (80-100 units)
- ruler
- pencil
- self-tapping screws (PH2) 3.5 × 41 mm - 19 pieces
- carnations 1.6 × 30 - 8 pieces (for fixing the fence)
- a hammer
- acrylic paints
- clear nail polish
- synthetic brushes
How to make a birdhouse: photo step by step
For work, we need pine boards with a thickness of 18-20 mm (for convenience 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 do not recommend using plywood or chipboard.
In addition to the boards, you need a round stick with a diameter of 15 mm for the hearth. From a scientific point of view, the hearth is a useless thing, but without it, the birdhouse looks somehow unusual.
We start work with marking the details. On a board 160 mm wide, we mark the contours of the front (A1) and back (A2) walls of the birdhouse. To begin with, we measure two rectangular segments 300 mm long. And then, in accordance with the scheme, we draw two lines crosswise so that the angle between them is exactly 90 degrees.
From a board 120 mm wide, we will make two side walls (B) and the bottom of the birdhouse (C).
A 200 mm wide board is designed for roof parts. Our roof consists of two halves - K1 and K2, and the K2 part is 20 mm longer (exactly by the thickness of the board), so that during assembly we get a roof with equal slopes.
We cut out all the marked parts with a jigsaw. For curved cuts, a narrow file is more suitable, and straight sawing is best done with a wide one.
Decorative elements of the structure of the birdhouse, if possible, are made 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, they hit exactly in the middle of the end of the adjacent part.
The holes in parts A1 and A2 are located the same. Additionally, on the front wall we mark the outline of the future notch (a round window that will serve as the entrance to the birdhouse). The diameter of the notch should be 45-50 mm. Just below it is necessary to make a hole for the stick-six. The letok 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 carefully mark out the details of the roof, since the holes in the roof must clearly correspond to the dimensions of the birdhouse body. We drill all the marked holes with a drill and a drill with a diameter of 4 mm.
It remains to make a window-hole in the front wall of A1. To do this, we first drill a hole inside the notch contour with a thick drill (8-10 mm) so that a jigsaw file can be threaded into it. Then we cut along the contour, after which we process the edges with sandpaper.
Now let's do the assembly. We attach a stick-pole to the front wall of the birdhouse. To prevent a thin stick from cracking during assembly, you can first drill a hole in it for a self-tapping screw using a thin 2-3 mm drill.
The inside of the front wall, according to the rules for the construction of birdhouses, should be rough. If you are using rough, unplaned boards, then so be it. And in our case, the 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, connecting parts A1, A2 and B in any order. For this we 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 fix it with self-tapping screws on four sides.
Then we assemble the roof from the two halves, putting a longer part on the shorter one, and fix 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 loops into the ends of the back wall (if there are no loops, replace them with ordinary self-tapping screws). For these rings, the birdhouse will be attached to a tree trunk or wall of the house.
We put the roof in place so that it slightly hangs over the facade of the birdhouse and is flush with the back wall. We fix the roof on the house with four self-tapping screws.
We nail the decorative fence with carnations. For reliability, you can additionally use wood glue.
The birdhouse is almost ready. If you want the birdhouse not only to serve the birds, but also to become a stylish decoration of your site (park, square), you can color it.
Birds are very fond of painted birdhouses and settle in them with pleasure. It is only important to remember that odorless acrylic or water-dispersed paints should be used. It is with these paints and varnishes 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 perfectly in harsh outdoor conditions.
Birdhouses painted on the outside also serve much longer than simple wooden ones, and this is an additional plus in their favor.
So, for work we need acrylic paints, a jar of clear varnish and several brushes of different sizes.
Painting will take place in two stages, and work better with a partially disassembled birdhouse. So, the body itself is easier to paint separately from the roof, and it is also more convenient to paint all the decorative elements separately.
After the background color is applied, draw the 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 collect 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
The best time to start hanging birdhouses is the end of March - the beginning of April. But you can do this in advance, then you definitely do not miss the arrival of the first birds.
We hang birdhouses at a height of 3-4 meters. If it is noisy around (as happens in cities), then you can go higher. We orient the notch (entrance 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 an entrance to the east or southeast, and so that the birdhouse does not roast in direct rays in the midday sun. This is not very comfortable for the 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 inclination forward (but not back). So the letok 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 preventive cleaning. It will need to be removed, the roof dismantled and cleaned inside.
Birdhouse - a type of artificial closed nesting, the most popular among people - friends wild birds as well as their subordinates. The tradition of hanging birdhouses on Bird Day exists all over the world, and in places suitable for nesting, real birdhouse towns appear in some places, see fig.
Note: International Bird Day, April 1, is not celebrated in the Russian Federation. In Russia, it is customary to consider the Day of the Birds of the so-called. Finding, but not a Christian church holiday, but a folk one. People's Finding falls on March 9 according to the Gregorian calendar, this date is more suitable for hanging birdhouses, see below. The origin of the name of the people's Finding is not connected with finding the head of John the Baptist, but with beekeeping - if by this day the bees are found (are) in the hives, then they have wintered safely.
Making a good birdhouse with your own hands is easy; a student can handle it too. Birdhouses are used to attract not only birds - insect exterminators to home gardens and summer cottages, but also small songbirds to cities and housing, as well as to create nests for hollow-nesting birds in forests and parks. Many useful and beautiful birds hollows nest and the competition for "living space" during the nesting season is fierce, because. there are not so many hollows in the trees and, as a rule, they have been occupied by someone since autumn.
The birdhouse assembly technology is really simple, it does not require expensive and / or complex processing materials. But, to make a birdhouse, you need to know in advance who will live in it. In closed nesting places, many small birds, which in other conditions are able to nest openly, do not mind making a nest. All potential birdhouse settlers have their own nesting requirements, so birdhouse designs for different types or groups of bird species differ, which is expressed in their names: titmouse, flycatcher, wagtail, owlet, etc.
General terms
The device of a birdhouse in general is as follows: it is an upwardly elongated cavity, mainly in wood, with a blank bottom and a removable lid. Under the roof there is a hole - notch - for the birds that settled in it. A removable cover is necessary, firstly, for autumn inspection and cleaning of the cavity: among the birds, only starlings, tits and nuthatches, after the chicks fly out, will certainly throw away the old nesting material and do a “general cleaning”. Most of the others leave the garbage as it is and the next year the cluttered “secondary” will no longer be taken. Secondly, instead of birds, the birdhouse can be captured by unwanted occupying animals; we will talk about them below.
The body (structure) of the birdhouse can be prefabricated from boards, as well as some other materials, or dug or chipped from a piece of log - churak; the latter are called hollows. The dimensions of the birdhouse are usually, depending on the type of birds for which it is intended, 20-40 cm in height; a notch with a diameter of 2.5-6 cm is located 5-6 cm under the roof. The removal of the roof over the notch is needed at least 5 cm in order to protect it from rain and cats. The diameter of the internal cavity (nesting chamber) is from 10x10 to 15x19 cm in birdhouses made of boards or from 7 to 20 cm in diameter in hollows. Sometimes a pole or landing area for parents is required in front of the entrance; in what cases - let's see further.
Houses like a birdhouse are also made for other animals living in hollows: squirrels, bats, but their proportions are different. It is necessary to make a birdhouse for birds within the indicated height limits so that the chicks can still climb the walls for feeding, but for squirrels, and especially for dormouse, such a high threshold would be inconvenient. You should not make the nesting chamber too spacious, firstly, for the same reason. Secondly, in a large nesting area, the female will carry more eggs, but the parents will not have enough strength to feed everyone. Some of the chicks will then die, and the rest will grow stunted and will not survive the winter.
What are the birds waiting for?
The birdhouse must meet very specific requirements. First, it must be durable and opaque: the secrecy of the brood is the main thing for which hollow nests nest in tree cavities. Further, the inner walls should not be very hard and slightly rough so that the chicks can climb towards the parents who have arrived with food. Without this physical exercise, the chicks will not get on the wing properly and will not survive the flight for the winter or become victims of predators.
The following conditions: the birdhouse material should be moderately sound-permeable, keep heat as best as possible, and its structure should not have cracks. Reasons: the chicks should hear the arriving parents or a sneaking predator, but at the same time, their squeak should not spread far. In addition, the chicks of all hollow nesters are initially naked, the slightest draft can kill them, and wetting the nest will kill the entire brood for sure. Chicks, like all birds, emit quite a lot of heat, and in a warm, dry dwelling, they will have a much better chance of surviving a sudden cold snap.
About materials
Make a birdhouse best of all from edged, unplaned hardwood boards. Conifers are only suitable when aged, without visible streaks or a noticeable smell of resin. The best ones are used, from some sort of dismantled shed. The thickness of the boards is 20-30 mm, then the conditions of sound transmission and thermal insulation will be maintained. If the boards are planed, then the inside of the one where the notch will be must be “roughened”: treated with a large sandpaper, covered with notches or scratches with the tip of a knife or the corner of a chisel.
Note: in some cases, some other materials are suitable or even preferred, incl. and junk henchmen. We will talk about their application later.
Plywood is not suitable for birdhouses, even waterproof: it muffles sounds and does little to prevent heat loss. OSB, chipboard, fiberboard are absolutely unsuitable - birds are much more sensitive than us to pairs of phenol compounds. The nesting chamber made of artificial lumber on a phenolic binder of the highest consumer class for chicks will turn into a gas chamber. MDF, in which there are no phenolic resins, would, in principle, be suitable, but this is a material for internal use and, under the influence of precipitation, it will soon swell and become limp.
Enemies and defense
There are plenty of people who want to eat eggs or chicks in nature. In addition, the birdhouse can be occupied by newcomers “without a warrant”, or even extremely undesirable in the garden, such as, for example. sleepyhead Dormouse is interested in seeds in juicy fruits, and just a couple of these animals can spoil the harvest in the whole garden. Another birdhouse can be captured by squirrels, bats, and in Siberia, chipmunks. In general, there is no harm from four-legged invaders, but helpful birds lose their nests.
The worst destroyers of birdhouses are large woodpeckers, large motley and yellow. By the beginning of the nesting time, these generally useful birds are experiencing an acute shortage of animal protein, it is also time for them to nest, and for this, woodpeckers peck at birdhouses, destroying eggs and chicks. Nothing can be done, everything is poison and everything is a medicine, not only in medicine.
In second place in terms of danger to the brood are cats, domestic and wild. Small predators from the marten family, oddly enough at first glance, do not pose any particular danger to masonry and chicks: by the time the birds nest, they have at their disposal plentiful easily accessible prey - mice, voles.
Ways to protect the birdhouse from ruin are shown in fig. Pos. 1 - from woodpeckers: a tin collar 5-6 cm wide, upholstered with small studs at the same distance or an overlay made of straight-grained wood with fibers oriented horizontally; the fact is that woodpeckers can only peck a tree with vertical fibers. The latter method is preferable, because. the overlay does not rust and does not create inconvenience to the owners of the house. But keep in mind that the rest of the structure must be made of wood with fibers oriented vertically or obliquely, otherwise the bird house will quickly split.
Pos. 2 - protection from cats. The best way is an anti-cat “skirt”; it can be made from dry branches or pieces of wire. 1-2 short twigs at the root part are cut so that small inclined stumps remain, and the entire belt is fastened with a wire passing under them, without pulling it tight so as not to damage the tree. The "skirt" is placed at the same height as the lower tin belt, see below.
The threshold inside under the notch (at the bottom in pos. 2) is less laborious, but inconvenient for both the chicks and their parents. It is done if it is not possible to arrange an anti-cat belt. Another good remedy “from cats” is a wooden collar around the notch that protrudes outward by 3-5 cm.
Way to pos. 3 - tin belts - gives a full guarantee from both any predators and invaders. Indicated in fig. dimensions, in cm, must be maintained with an accuracy of 3-4 cm; they are designed so that potential destroyers cannot jump over the belts, then catching on to the bark, neither from below nor from above. Of course, on the section of the trunk between the belts there should be no branches, twigs, feeders and other supports for predators.
Note: good way only from the invaders - hanging from the fall, before the cold, the so-called. temporary substitute birdhouses. We will talk about them further.
For starlings
Common starlings are the most frequent and most desirable inhabitants of birdhouses. Therefore, without going into details, let's see how to make a birdhouse for starlings. The common starling is a rather large bird for hollow nesters, and its relatives, the starling myna, etc., are even larger. Therefore, in general, a birdhouse, which is a birdhouse, is larger and deeper than the others, its notch is wider, and a hearth is definitely needed under the notch. Starlings prefer to nest in places inaccessible to predators, but with good overview, and the starling is the head of the family is very caring. He will sing a marriage song only if the chosen one has the opportunity to immediately inspect and accept the living space attached to the proposal of the wing and heart.
Drawing of the most popular birdhouse, the so-called. village type is shown in fig. The build order is:
- Blanks are cut out of the board;
- In the facade, a notch is cut out in advance with a pen drill or a crown on a tree, a pole is inserted into the drilled hole, the inside of the front wall, if necessary, is “roughened”, as indicated above;
- Sidewalls are glued to the bottom and right there - the front and back walls;
- The box is leveled from the bottom and side walls, while the glue is liquid, and tied with twine until it sets;
- The box is dried in a vertical position on a spread plastic film;
- When the glue sets, the box is fastened with nails or self-tapping screws, 2-3 for each glue line;
- Trying on the cover blank without a lining, trim / cut the upper edges of the front and rear walls so that the roof lies tightly;
- The lining of the lid is put on fluid glue, the lid is put in place, and supporting the lining with a finger through the notch, the roof is finally adjusted in place;
- After the glue has set under the lining, it is pulled to the cover with 4 small nails or self-tapping screws.
- Water resistant.
- Plastic in the dried state: does not dry out, does not crack, provides complete tightness of the seams.
- It allows, having smeared the parts with glue and immediately folding them, within 3-5 minutes to adjust the connection in place, slightly moving the parts casually, without breaking the adhesive layer.
- Always ready to work, does not require the use of a glue cooker and other special equipment.
- Used as an impregnating composition diluted 3-5 times with water, it allows the use of some waste hygroscopic materials for the birdhouse.
- Cheaper than wood glue and more durable outdoors.
There are only 2 disadvantages of PVA before carpentry glue: its seam is plastic, which is not essential for a birdhouse that is not a sideboard or a sofa, and after assembly on PVA, the product must be dried for at least a day in a warm room, and carpentry glue seizes immediately.
When and how to hang?
Well, let's assume that the birdhouse is ready. When and how to hang it? There are 2 seasons for hanging birdhouses: in autumn, after harvesting, but before the cold weather, birdhouses are hung for wintering birds: titmouses, nest boxes for nuthatch and substitute birdhouses for invaders. Birdhouses for migratory birds, incl. starlings are hung in the spring, a week and a half before the start of the mating games of birds.
If you are familiar with ornithology, then you need to hang birdhouses, especially for certain types of birds (see below), by noticing the harbinger birds. They arrive in advance at the places of summering, spin there for several days, almost without eating, then fly off. There are always few harbingers, they examine the site, “report” to their relatives and, if everything is in order, a mass arrival begins. Among the points of the "report" is the nesting situation; if the harbingers spotted "fresh", i.e. obviously not competitive and not looked after by the destroyers of nesting places, they will not fail to notify their fellows about this in their own way, and the settlement of "new buildings" is ensured.
In case you have no birdwatching experience, you should hang nests in the Central Strip of the Russian Federation during March, but before the April heat hits. Here you can roughly navigate by the first thawed patches: when the tubercles “wilt” on them, you need to hang them. Somewhat more precisely - according to the weather, when the equinoctial storms pass; as meteorologists say, when the latitudinal movements of atmospheric masses in the temperate zone prevail over the meridional ones, but in places with a continental climate this sign is weakly expressed.
It will not be a mistake to hang birdhouses on the National Day of Birds (March 9) or on the first Sunday after it, but in this case there is a rather high probability that they will be occupied, and the harbingers will overlook them. From the first, however, you can insure yourself by hanging substitutes in the fall.
The second question is how to hang a birdhouse correctly? General rules:
- The letok should be oriented to the east-southeast, so that in the spring the first rays of the Sun penetrate into it.
- Suspension height 3-5 m.
- It is preferable to hang on trees, so it seems safer for birds.
- An exception is wagtails (see below), they must be hung under the roof of a barn (not a residential building!) At the same height.
- Titmouse can be hung on the wall of the house, balcony or under the ceiling of the veranda, if the birds were regularly fed nearby during the winter.
- A birdhouse for starlings can be carried up on a pole in a bare yard.
- If the birds were fed in winter, the birdhouse should be no closer than 15-20 m from, so as not to attract the attention of the ruins.
A rather serious sub-question - how to attach a birdhouse to a support? To nail - the path to diseases with pests opens into the tree, and the benefits of birds can be lost in vain. In addition, cats can slowly tear off nailed birdhouses or, dropping the roof, grab chicks.
The main ways of hanging birdhouses and errors are shown in fig. According to pos. 1 bird house is attached if there is not enough thick wood. The method according to pos. 2 - optimal, it does not harm the tree at all, and the birdhouse holds firmly. According to pos. 3 birdhouses are attached to a pole. Please note: in the end, the birdhouse should be tilted down by 2-3 degrees, this will completely protect it from cats and make it easier for the chicks to feed.
At pos. 4 - incorrect, pseudo-ecological way of hanging with wire and a wooden block; in fact, it harms trees worse than nails, the block of wood soon falls out, the birdhouse begins to slosh. And finally, when hanging on a tree, protection from cats is necessary, pos. 5.
How to climb a tree?
Birdhouses are also hung in the forest, and even at home a ladder will not always help to climb a tree if it is spreading. That is, to hang a birdhouse, you have to climb a tree. The first thing to remember here is not to climb like children, clinging to branches. Let them race with squirrels or monkeys there, but you are two or three times heavier, when falling from the same height, the impact will be about five times stronger, the bones in children are more elastic, and internal organs more resistant to deformation than adults.
The art of climbing trees is called arborism, and those who are fond of it are called arborists. Arborists climb trees using a safety belt and special devices - gaffs, which, in essence, are the same claws. You can familiarize yourself with the technique of lifting on gaffs in the video:
Video: how to climb trees?
And about how to make gaffs yourself - from the video:
Video: homemade gaffs for climbing a tree
However, much less time-consuming and, paradoxically, statistically safer is the method of climbing with a rope loop, which has long been used by pickers of tropical fruits, see the video:
Video: how to climb a tree without knots?
But in any case, what is called as otchenash must be observed the following precautions:
- Work only together, with the insurer downstairs, who knows how to provide first aid for bruises and fractures.
- Have transport available at hand so that the victim can be quickly transported to medical institution; all workers must be able to manage it.
- Do not lift with a load; you need to attach a rope to your belt, and only then, having established yourself in place, lift a birdhouse on it and, if necessary, a bag with a tool.
- The insurer must not come closer than 3 m to the place of possible fall of objects or the climber, taking into account the strength and direction of the wind.
- The insurer must see the climber at all times; when it disappears from the field of view - immediately command the descent, and the climber must unquestioningly execute the command.
- And most importantly: before starting the ascent, look out for yourself the path of descent and clearly understand the procedure for doing it.
Sinichniki and spetsstroy
You can attract many more useful, interesting and / or beautifully singing birds with the help of a birdhouse. But they are unlikely to settle in a birdhouse-birdhouse, great. Artificial nests for small songbirds are of various types; then we will figure out which of them which birds need. First of all, we will consider stationary birdhouses made of wood, and after them - temporary substitutes for wintering birds and distracting invaders from other materials.
Note: making special birdhouses, as a rule, is more difficult than usual ones. Therefore, before starting work, make sure that potential newcomers are part of the local avifauna, and be patient - they, except for tits, do not trust a person like starlings. A “small-singing” birdhouse can hang for a year or two until it is populated, and all this time you need to make sure that it does not dilapidate, is not littered, or is not occupied by someone else.
Who else is waiting?
Desired neighbors both in the city and on the plot will be, in addition to starlings and great tits, crested, blue tit, moskovka, long-tailed and chickadee (pos. 1-7 in the figure), also pikas, common and short-toed, or garden (pos. 8 ; common and short-toed pikas are almost indistinguishable from a distance), nuthatches (5 species in the Russian Federation; at pos. 9 - common), gray flycatcher, pos. 10, and a pied flycatcher, pos. 11. All these birds (pos. 8-11) are hollow nesters, actively destroying harmful insects.
For redstarts (at pos. 12 - coot redstart; you can also expect black and red belly) and robins (pos. 13), any of the titmouses described below will do. But the wagtail (pos. 14) needs a special "wagtail", because. The paws of this bird are not adapted for vertical climbing. You can build a birdhouse for wagtails, as if laying a school-type titmouse on its side, see below, and providing it with a kind of balcony, see fig. The "wagtail" must either be installed in a bare yard on a pole 2.5-3 m high, reliably protecting it from cats, or hung under the overhang of the roof of a non-residential building for the same purpose. But the new settlers will not keep you waiting and, walking on the ground, peck out a lot of pests, and so far no one has noticed grass from wagtails.
If a sparrow owl (pos. 15) is seen nearby and it was possible to attract it to the site - the owner is happy, and the pests are sorry: this little scoop is a living WMD for them. The small birds of the sparrow owl have nothing to be afraid of: it was so named not because it is somehow dangerous to sparrows, but because it is the size of a sparrow. The Owl, like the Sply Owl, can be tamed by feeding small pieces of raw meat and mealworms from time to time. He is friendly, his behavior is funny. But it will nest only in a nest box made of natural material (see below), and to make it, considerable skill is required, as for any owl house.
Types and designs
I. Sokolovsky was engaged in the design of birdhouses a lot. His developments served as the basis for many further designs. The device of 3 types of Sokolovsky's birdhouses is shown in fig; nests will be discussed later.
Sinichnik
On the left in fig. - a diagram of a titmouse based on a typical birdhouse.
Designations, as for the next. pos:
- A - tap-hole diameter: 35 mm for the great tit, crested tit, blue tit, redstart and 30 mm for other tits and robins;
- B - the side of the square bottom, 10 cm is enough. If the titmouse is intended only for great and crested tits, common in the city, then it is better to take B = 12 cm;
- C is the height of the front wall, 22 and 25 cm in the same order as in paragraph 1;
- D is the height of the back wall, 28 and 30 cm, respectively.
Note: the distance of the top of the notch from the top of the front wall is 5 cm and the roof extension is from 5 cm, as for a conventional birdhouse. Six in front of the notch is not needed.
Bird lovers, using the recommendations of Sokolovsky, are trying to create a birdhouse-titmouse suitable for any small songbirds. Projects of 3 such titmouses are presented in fig. They differ, in essence, only in the design of the roof. A school birdhouse is the easiest to make, no roof fitting is required. It was these that were mastered in Soviet schools at labor lessons, some students managed to make up to 3 products per lesson. Birdhouse-house better protects from cats and, especially, from precipitation. These are desirable to hang in rainy places, with a protracted spring. Flycatchers also nest in universal titmouses, but it is better to attract them with special birdhouses.
Note: if you make a bottom of 15x15 cm in a universal birdhouse (maximum according to projects), then it will turn into a birdhouse mainly for starlings. Other birds will occupy it if there are not enough starlings for all the hung.
Half-hollow and flycatcher
The gray flycatcher prefers to nest in half-hollows, similar to natural hollows in trees. The scheme of the half-hollow birdhouse is shown in the center in fig. with Sokolovsky's birdhouses. Dimensions:
- A - 4 cm;
- B - 10 cm (square);
- C - 7 cm;
- D - 14 cm.
Pied flycatchers are more likely to occupy hollows in horizontal or slightly sloping thick branches, so they want a birdhouse-house in the form of a cubic nesting chamber with an inner side of about 12 cm, installed with a “rhombus”, i.e. downward angle, see fig. on right. The front wall needs to be made larger, about 20x20 cm, to protect against cats. Taphole diameter - 40 mm.
Flycatchers start nesting comparatively late, when enough insects are breeding. By that time, heat is established, parents supply the chicks with high-calorie food in abundance, so that the thermal insulation of the flycatcher no longer has a decisive value. This circumstance can be used to more fully imitate the nesting habitual for these birds by building a birdhouse for flycatchers from a plastic bottle or can, see fig. A light-colored roof is a must, otherwise the chicks will die from solar overheating!
Note: as for other birdhouses from bottles, see fig. on the right, these are products, perhaps artistic, but not functional. The blank does not meet any of the requirements for the birdhouse. If the birds occupy such a nesting place, as they say, out of bitter need, then for a brood such a housewarming party ends tragically - it dies either in the cat's mouth, or falling out of the fledgling; birds abandon such chicks.
For pikas
A birdhouse for pikas has a very special design. These birds in nature nest in hollows with 2 holes in order to escape through an emergency exit if necessary. Therefore, in the "pischushnik" 2 notches are needed in the side walls. The birdhouse device for pikas is shown on the right in fig. with Sokolovsky's birdhouses. The common and short-toed pikas are similar in appearance, but differ in size, therefore the sizes of the nests for pikas differ, see table.
Note : artificial nests for pikas and are hung differently than for other birds - only on a tree and at a height of approx. 1 m from the ground.
duplyanki
Birdhouses-hollows are made from logs of straight-leaved deciduous trees 25-40 cm long and 15 cm in diameter. For hollow-nesting birds, this is the most comfortable, reliable and healthy housing. The percentage of death of broods in nest boxes is much less than in birdhouses.
The manufacture of a hollow in the simplest way is shown in pos. 1 fig. The wide bottom and lid, as in this case, are designed for wagtails. If, however, the notch is made not from the side, but in the lid closer to one of the corners, and the whole structure is hung on its side, orienting the nesting chamber with a rhombus, then you will get an excellent flycatcher. For other songbirds, the lid and bottom are cut to the size of the log-blank diameter.
Counsellor, pos. 2, it is more difficult to make, because owls are demanding on the configuration of the camera and do not tolerate slots in its sides and bottom. So you have to sweat, hewing the workpiece and gouging the camera. Dimensions in fig. fit and sparrow owl; the diameter of the notch for him is 4 cm, because all owls are heavily built.
Birdhouses are often hung in forests and parks. In this case, it should be taken into account that the composition of the bird contingent in broad-leaved, coniferous plantations and birch forests differs not only in species, but also in the average size of birds. The sizes of nest boxes for coniferous-deciduous forests / parks and birch forests are given in pos. 3.
About the design of hollows
A few words about the design of birdhouses in general will be said later. As for the hollows, they look good on trees without additional clearance, on the left in Fig. If you want to show your skill and taste, then they should really be skill and taste, combined with a subtle sense of material, in the center and on the right there.
Park birdhouses
The tradition of attracting songbirds to parks is widespread in Europe, and is developing in our country. Park birdhouses should, firstly, attract beautiful birds that sing loudly and beautifully; secondly, and themselves to be attractive in appearance to people. Of domestic structures of this kind, birdhouses of the Blue Reel type are popular, on the left in the figure, but the Germans prefer birdhouses-huts, painted in the color of foliage or bark, with a tin lining on the roof ridge, which perfectly protects from cats, right there. The diameter of the notch marked with (*) is chosen according to the type of birds, see above.
More about design
Birdhouses should be painted in discreet colors: this is not a feeder, bird housing should not attract attention. The shape of the birdhouse should be inconvenient for the ruins. For example, pos. 1 and 2 in fig. - unsuccessful. Both are clearly set low, a cat or a woodpecker has where and how to establish itself for ruin, and the first one is also brightly colored. But pos. 3 and 4 are both tasteful and functional enough. If pos. 3 to provide a collar around the notch, and on pos. 4 to make an anti-cat skirt from a tree oriented horizontally with fibers, then both birdhouses will become inaccessible to both predators and woodpeckers.
Atypical samostroy - birdhouses from improvised materials
Sometimes you should not waste your energy and wood on a stationary birdhouse. Firstly, if it is intended for wintering birds, the same tits. They do not like to nest twice in the same place. over the winter, hungry ruins became familiar and the annual change of nesting site significantly increases the chances of survival of the brood. Secondly, you do not need to try very hard for the sake of the occupying animals. They need to be distracted from the fall with temporary wintering housing. Then in the spring, fearing to lose him too, they will not occupy the bird houses, and they will live through the summer anyway. In both cases, it is desirable to make a temporary birdhouse from a material that does not require special tools, labor-intensive processing and a separate workplace.
The first thing that comes to mind is paper. Paper birdhouses were invented by amateur poultry farmers in the USA, equipment for keeping and breeding pets is very expensive there. At home, in an aviary, in paper nests, it is really possible to breed budgerigars or, say, red cardinals. But you can’t seriously talk about a street paper birdhouse: the material is absolutely unstable. However, we give in Fig. a couple of patterns of birdhouses made of paper: on the left - a distracting substitute for four-legged invaders, and on the right - a bird one. They will be useful to us a little lower, and on occasion, using the same patterns, you can make a bonbonniere or a gift box.
Note: paper birdhouses have one more unpleasant property - bumblebees and, especially, wasps willingly settle in them. The latter build paper nests themselves, and here is the finished zero cycle. Having a swarm of hornets in your neighborhood is not only unpleasant, but can be very dangerous.
Temporary birdhouses are best made from cardboard impregnated with a water-polymer emulsion or liquid diluted PVA, then they will last outside from autumn to spring. The house is glued with the same PVA. The manufacturing technology according to the pattern is shown in fig. below. Pay attention to pos. 4: fold lines must be cut before bending; this is the only subtlety in this process.
Making according to a pattern gives a large waste of material, which is not always desirable, and there may simply not be a lot of cardboard in the closet. In such a case, in Fig. on the right is a method of cutting a cardboard strip into parts of a birdhouse.
If dormouse is seen on the site, then a winter trap for them is obtained from a box insulated with foam; it is possible from its pieces, see fig. left. Two sixes are needed to attract exactly the dormouse. It is difficult to catch an active sleepyhead, but it is not difficult to get rid of sleeping animals. There is no need to kill them: dormice are actually cute and funny, they are most likely to be taken to a pet store or bought by lovers of wild animals. They check Sonya's bedroom when a hard frost hits, just do not bring the discovered animal into the house. Dormouse do not fall into a real hibernation, they wake up in the warmth and go to roam the furniture and curtains.
Finally, good birdhouses are obtained simply from scrap materials, you just need to know the habits and preferences of birds. For example, a construction from a bucket and trimming a board, pos. 1 in fig. below, flycatchers will surely like it. House substitutes from empty cylinders (pos. 2 and 3) are well suited for small quadrupeds; if it's a squirrel, then why chase it? Birdhouse from a table beer or wine and cognac keg, pos. 4, it is unlikely to attract birds, it is too big, but bats, which are also very useful, will fit. A basket with a wicker lid, suspended under the roof of the veranda, will be willingly populated by tits, if they were fed and not offended in winter.
At pos. 6 is not such a curiosity as it might seem: it is soft and warm for the chicks, it is convenient for a bird (it looks like some kind of nuthatch) to feed the brood, the woodpecker does not hammer the skin, and in cats the shoe is firmly associated with a crushed tail and broken sides. Finally, a plastic pot with slightly rough, durable walls can turn into a small owl house, pos. 7.
Direct benefit
The author once set out to calculate: what economic efficiency birdhouse on a plot of 6 acres "for yourself"? The main share of the cost of the bird house fell on labor costs; the cost of working time was taken as 200 rubles per hour, which corresponds to a decent salary for that time of 32,000 rubles. With this in mind, a birdhouse and 2 titmouse cost about 1000 rubles.
After 4 years, while the birds were living, it turned out that only the savings on the purchase of vegetables, fruits and plant protection products compared to the same period without attracting birds is ... about 28,000 rubles, or 7,000 rubles / year! That is, birdhouses paid off 28 times, or 2800%. Wow profit!
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