Birds are invariably an indispensable assistant in the fight against all kinds of pests of green spaces. To attract them to your garden plot, you should make a house for them. If you give the birds a comfortable home, then there will be no need to worry about the safety of the harvest. Although a birdhouse is usually called a birdhouse, not only starlings, but also other birds can live in it. Such apartments are home to sparrows, flycatchers, tits, blacklings and swifts.
The location and size of the bird house must be chosen in accordance with the characteristics of different birds. For example, it is more convenient for tits when the height of the birdhouse is about 30 cm, the bottom is 12 cm, and the diameter of the entrance is 3–3.5 cm. As for wagtails, these birds do not have the necessary tenacity of their paws, so a small one should be installed before the entrance ladder. Such a house is suspended under the roof of buildings, at a height of 3 to 5 m. The pika bird feels comfortable in a house with two through holes located on the right and left. The presence of additional entrances allows the bird to hide from predators.
Selection of materials
When thinking about how to make a bird house, you should first take care of preparing the necessary material for construction.
Coniferous wood is not suitable for building a birdhouse because it releases resins, causing the interior to become sticky.
Toxin-releasing materials are also unacceptable for the construction of a bird house, including fiberboard and chipboard. Plywood is also not an option, because it practically does not allow sound to pass through, and feathered friends need very good audibility to avoid danger. In addition, plywood does not retain heat well, so it will be difficult for birds to hatch their brood. The best material for a birdhouse is larch wood. The inner surface of the boards should remain rough. This will make it easier for the birds to get out. On a smooth surface, you can make horizontal notches using a chisel.
Drawing and dimensions of a wooden structure
A drawing of the product can be made directly on the boards. They need to be laid out on the table. For marking you will need a pencil and a square. Particular care should be taken to lay out the boards for the front and back walls, as well as for the side surfaces. For these purposes, boards of different widths are needed. At the end you should get 7 blanks with preset parameters:
- 2 side parts 15 cm wide, made from edged boards;
- 3 parts for the front, back wall and lid, with a typical size of 30x20 cm;
- 2 pieces measuring 15x15 cm, used for the bottom of the roof and the bottom of the birdhouse.
To simplify the connection of parts, they need to be cut out as carefully as possible, and then signed with a pencil.
The typical size of a bird house is 20 cm wide, 15–20 cm deep and 30 cm high. Spacious bird quarters are not always the best idea. Of course, a large house will house more chicks, but feeding a brood consisting of many individuals is not always within the power of the feathered parents! If the chicks do not receive the necessary care and are poorly fed, they will not be able to make long flights and will grow up sick. And, conversely, a compact house can accommodate only 3 chicks, but they will grow up healthy and capable of maintaining the strength of the population of their species.
Blueprints
Assembly sequence
Initially, the front wall is connected to the side ones. Nails should be driven in along the edges and center of the board. It should be a U-shaped structure. Before further connection, it is important to check the reliability and rigidity of the elements that are already connected. To strengthen it, you can hammer in a few more nails between those that were hammered in earlier.
To avoid driving a splinter into the skin, it is better to work with wood while wearing gloves.
The back wall and bottom of the structure are assembled using the same method. To round the internal corners, you can nail a wooden bead to the bottom. All elements are fixed with nails. If necessary, you can strengthen the structure with additional nails. Now you need to prepare the roof, which must be removable. This will allow you to clean the birds' home if necessary. The edges of the roof should protrude beyond the dimensions of the birdhouse itself. This is especially important to do on the façade side. This way you will protect the bird house from rainwater and other precipitation.
The roof must consist of two parts - a sleeve and a main part. The roof is held in place by a second piece. It needs to be adjusted to size and the two parts connected with nails. Now a board or perch is installed on which the birds will sit before entering their comfortable home.
When painting a finished birdhouse, it is better to use soft colors. Dirty green and brownish tones are perfect. In this case, it will be more difficult for predators to detect the bird’s house.
Economy version of the birdhouse
In some cases, you can make a temporary birdhouse using available materials, such as cardboard. Although this type of construction cannot be compared with its wooden counterpart, it may well become a haven for birds for the season. Thick corrugated cardboard is used as the starting material. The following materials are needed for work: corrugated cardboard, starch, self-adhesive paper with a laminated coating and twine. Tools: scissors, ruler, cardboard cutter, pencil, square, compass.
First, all the blanks are marked; they all must be duplicated. You need to make a paste from starch. Finished parts need to be glued in pairs. All walls will be double, which increases their strength. A hole for the tap hole is cut in the front wall. 4 small holes are made in the back wall for twine, thanks to which the house can be tied to a tree. The walls of the birdhouse are glued end to end at right angles. The end result should be a box. While drying, it should be wrapped with thread.
The roof should consist of two parts glued together. Its outer part must be made with allowances. This product will be more durable if you paste it on the outside with laminated paper.
From a box or plastic bottle
If there is nowhere to get lumber, then you can make a bird house from a ready-made box, for example, from juice or milk, with a capacity of more than 1 liter. It must first be washed and dried. After this, the tap hole is cut out. To strengthen the bottom, you can use thick cardboard. Small holes are made on top of the box so that the wire on which the birdhouse will be attached can be threaded through. The outside of the product can be covered with decorative laminated paper.
Another option uses very few materials: a plastic bottle, paint to color the bottle or laminated paper, wire and a knife. A hole for the tap hole is cut in the upper part of the 5-liter bottle. Two holes should be drilled in the roof for the wire on which the structure will be attached. Birds feel uncomfortable in a transparent house. Therefore, to create coziness, the bottle can be painted or covered with laminated paper.
As you can see, making a simple version of a birdhouse is not at all difficult. However, in order for the bird house to fully perform its tasks, it is important to install it correctly.
Installation rules
It is necessary to follow some installation rules. It is commonly read that birdhouses need to be installed in early April, but birdhouses can be installed at any time of the year. The installation height is on average 3–5 m, this applies to cottages and villages. In cities, such structures are mounted at a height of 8–10 m.
The inlet should be on the side with minimal wind. The birdhouse should be installed in the shade or partial shade; it should not be exposed to direct rays of the sun. The structures need to be suspended at a certain distance from the branches. This will protect birds from domestic cats and other predators.
The position of the birdhouse should be strictly vertical. A slight forward bend is acceptable, but no backward bend is allowed. If the structure is made of durable materials, then you need to provide access inside for annual cleaning.
Rural residents know that the best way to drive green pests out of the garden is to attract birds to their territory. And this can be done by providing our feathered friends with comfortable houses - birdhouses. Let us also adopt this idea, giving the birds a home, and ourselves peace of mind for the harvest and just a good mood. If you don’t know how to build a birdhouse with your own hands, it doesn’t matter. We invite you to read this short article, after which all your questions will most likely disappear by themselves.
Birdhouses are a universal type of nesting place, in which not only starlings live exclusively, but also other birds: tits, swifts, flycatchers, sparrows, and nigella. Therefore, if there are few starlings in your area, but you want to introduce birds, then you don’t need to create any special “apartments” for them - a familiar birdhouse will do.
A sparrow lives in a birdhouse
Dimensions of bird apartments
Before you make a birdhouse, you need to decide on its future dimensions. Typically, in nature, birds settle in hollows that the Great Spotted Woodpecker makes in trees. And these hollows are very small, so the size of the side of the bottom of the birdhouse is usually 10-15 cm. There is no point in chasing large apartments, because a birdhouse whose dimensions exceed the average norm will be able to shelter many chicks. “What's wrong with that?” you ask. The whole point is that the feathered parents simply will not be able to adequately feed a large number of children, so the offspring will grow up sickly and will not be able to survive the difficult flight to warmer climes in the fall. Only 2-3 chicks will grow up in a cramped house, but they will be healthy and strong, which means that in the future they will be able to adequately support the strength of the starling population.
What to build it from?
To build a birdhouse, it is best to use hardwood wooden boards - alder, birch, aspen. Coniferous trees are not suitable for this purpose, because resin can be released from them, making the inside surface of the house sticky. Plywood is also poorly suited for building bird housing - not only does it practically not retain heat, making the birdhouse cold, but it also does not transmit sounds well, which are important for birds, especially in case of danger. Well, fiberboard or chipboard cannot be used at all - compressed wood releases toxins.
So, we figured out that the best choice for a birdhouse is wooden boards. But what should they be? Particular attention should be paid to their inner surface - it should be uneven. If you get smooth, planed boards, use a chisel to apply horizontal notches on their inner surface - they are necessary to make it easier for birds, especially chicks, to get out.
DIY birdhouse - step-by-step construction
Let's look at how to properly make a birdhouse using the example of the simplest version of a bird house. We will get an ordinary birdhouse, the drawing of which is quite simple, so even a schoolchild can figure it out.
Birdhouse - drawing
However, despite the simplicity of the drawing, there are some important nuances in the construction algorithm that you need to know. So, for work we will need the following materials:
- dry unplaned boards;
- nails;
- wood glue;
- water-based paint (optional).
- Tools:
- Ruler and pencil;
- wood hacksaw;
- chisel or drill;
- hammer.
Now let’s look at making a birdhouse step by step:
1. Let's start by preparing the wooden elements of the bird's housing. To do this, on the prepared boards, we mark with a pencil the dimensions of the parts - the bottom, roof and walls. The bottom is a square with a side of 13 cm, the height of the front wall is 32 cm, and the height of the back is 24, that is, the front board is 4 cm larger than the back - this must be taken into account so that the roof slopes back. For this purpose, bevels are provided on the upper part of the side walls. For the roof, two parts of different sizes are prepared, which are then fastened together. One part should be the same as the bottom, and the other should be larger to create a kind of canopy.
2. Using a hacksaw, cut out our parts to size. For beauty, it is better to plan the outer surface. In the front wall, using a chisel or drill, we make a hole with a diameter of 3.8 cm - this is the so-called notch - the entrance to the birdhouse. In principle, you can make a rectangular hole, but by their nature, birds prefer a round hollow, so they are more likely to settle in a birdhouse with a round entrance.
3. Place the side walls vertically and glue the front wall to their ends. We glue it very carefully so that there are no gaps left at the top or bottom. Then, after waiting for the glue to dry, we fasten the parts with nails. Next, we coat the front and side ends of the bottom with glue and glue it to the front and side walls, and then additionally secure the joints with nails. Lastly we glue and nail the back wall.
4. We fasten the two roof parts together. There is no need to nail it to the birdhouse - it should remain removable so that, if necessary, you can open and clean the birdhouse.
5. We nail a bar to the birdhouse, with which the house will be fixed to the tree.
6. It is not necessary to paint the birdhouse, however, if you want to make it more decorative, then choose gray or red water-based paint.
7. This is the birdhouse we got!
Decorative birdhouses
Using this instruction as a basic one, changing some details, you can build a variety of birdhouses for birds. By using your imagination, you will not only do a good deed for the birds, but also decorate your garden. Look at the birdhouse, the photo of which is presented below - its design is not much different from the version we described, but additional decorative details made it a real fairy-tale house.
Approaching the idea of creating a birdhouse with fiction, you can get the following options:
Birdhouse in the form of a hut
How to hang a finished birdhouse?
Now you know how to build a birdhouse, but you also need to install it correctly, that is, hang it on a tree. It is not necessary to nail it, you can also wrap it with wire. The main thing is to choose a safe place without swinging thick branches or cornices, at a height of at least 2-3 m, otherwise cats will quickly empty the bird’s nest. It is best to hang the birdhouse with a slight tilt forward. In this case, it will be easier for the birds to get out of the house, and rain will not flow into the entrance.
Everyone has thought about how to make a birdhouse at least once in their life. However, only a few got around to it: some were hampered by lack of skills, others by free time, and others by imagination. Meanwhile, making a birdhouse with your own hands is not difficult. Where to start, and what is required to make the structure, read the article.
Birdhouse diagram: detailed drawing and dimensions
Any woodworker will confirm to you that a high-quality structure can only be made if you have a correctly drawn up diagram in hand. And bird houses in this case are no exception. This is the main mistake of many self-taught people. Thoughtlessly copying schemes proposed on the Internet, they make no adjustments for the size of the birds, or for the specifics of their behavior, or for other nuances. In the end, which is not surprising, they get a completely different result than they expected.
To avoid such a development of events, when drawing up a diagram, carefully consider the following points:
Birdhouse dimensions
If we talk about the size of the birdhouse, the drawing for starlings and for the same tits will be different. Therefore, when starting work, the first thing we do is determine which representatives of birds we want to see on our site. So, the following types of birdhouses are popular today:
- A variety of birds choose a birdhouse to live in, so its dimensions can range from 20x10x10 cm to 40x15x15 cm.
- Titmouse is a favorite design of sparrows and tits and other small birds. Therefore, when making it, do not overdo it on a grand scale. A design with dimensions not exceeding 30x12x10 cm will be quite sufficient.
- Wagtail, as you might guess from the name, is intended specifically for wagtails. Unlike other birds, these birds are more mobile. They do not jump on the ground, like sparrows, but move along it by running. Therefore, when building a wagtail, place the structure horizontally, and also do not forget to provide it with a sufficiently long (about 10 cm) protrusion in front of the tap hole. Average dimensions of the product: 15x15x30 cm.
- The nesting area of pikas is most often made in a pyramidal shape and with two through entrances. The specifics of the house allow the bird to accommodate itself with maximum comfort and quickly hide from its pursuer (in case of an attack). The width of the structure varies between 14 and 20 cm, height – between 22 and 26. It depends on what kind of pika: short-legged or ordinary you want to lure.
Diameter of the hole in the birdhouse
The diameter of the hole in the birdhouse also plays an important role. To protect birds from predators and feathered competitors, we focus on the following dimensions of the entrance:
- For a birdhouse - about 5 cm.
- The titmouse has no more than 3.5 cm in diameter.
- For wagtails – 3 cm.
- At the nesting sites of pikas it is about 3.5 cm.
Birdhouse drawing
To make a birdhouse that will not fall from the slightest wind and will not fall apart under its own weight, you need a good drawing. We offer several options that are easy to make at home for your reference.
How to build a birdhouse with your own hands: step-by-step instructions
Speaking about how to properly make a birdhouse for starlings with your own hands, the dimensions should be taken not approximate, but specific. Therefore, let’s look at the step-by-step manufacturing of the structure using this drawing as an example:
To create this birdhouse you will need the following materials:
- Strong, high-quality boards 2 cm thick.
- Tools for assembly.
- Buttons and drawing accessories.
- Wood impregnation compositions.
- Materials for the exterior decoration of the birdhouse.
When the preparations are completed, we proceed directly to construction:
Step #1. Based on the drawing presented above, we draw individual structural elements in real size on paper and cut them out.
Step #2. Using a pencil and ruler, transfer the drawing to the boards. For convenience, we attach the paper elements to them with buttons.
Step 3. Take a saw or electric jigsaw and cut out wooden blanks for the future birdhouse. We make sure that the cut goes exactly along the drawn lines, otherwise cracks may form in the house. This means that it will be of little use for cold weather.
Step #4. We decide on the position of the parts. We make the inner sides rough, put notches and scratches on them, so that it is more convenient for the chicks and their parents to get to the entrance.
Step #5. Take a drill and drill a hole for the tap hole. Its upper half can be treated so that the birds do not injure themselves trying to get into the nest. And leave the bottom one as is (for ease of movement).
Step #6. We assemble the birdhouse box, connecting the mating walls with screws. In the example shown, 3 fixing elements for one side are sufficient. If you decide to make the birdhouse larger, the number of fasteners should also be increased.
Step No. 6.1. (optional). If you want your birdhouse to be comfortable not only for starlings, but also for other birds, round the interior space of the product using appropriately shaped inserts. Such an architectural solution will make the birdhouse more like a hollow and will arouse less suspicion among potential “tenants”.
Step #7. Making a lid. We take the workpiece under the upper part and attach to it a wooden block in the shape of a parallelepiped, which is slightly smaller in size than the inner contour of the walls. This addition will prevent the roof from sliding and will weigh it down enough so that neither cats nor other predators can move it.
Step #8. We check how tightly the roof fits to the main structure and how easily it can be removed. If necessary, we trim the inner bar.
Step #9. When the birdhouse is ready, we cover the outside with specialized protective compounds and decorate it at our discretion. We leave the inner part untouched. The feathered residents will independently decide the issue of its arrangement.
A real threat to birds settling in a birdhouse is posed not only by cats, but also by woodpeckers. They destroy the entrance to feast on eggs and newly hatched chicks or for a comfortable wintering. Previously, this behavior was characteristic only of individuals living in the territories of European cities. However, Russian woodpeckers quickly adopted this habit from their brothers, and therefore people making birdhouses have to think additionally about safety.
You can protect your structure from the voracious “forest doctors” in different ways:
- Surround the entrance with a tin ring or strew the space around it with a large number of small, sharp nails.
- Equip the front wall of the structure with a plank, the thickness of which is 2 cm and the width - 4 - 5 cm. To prevent the woodpecker from gouging the wood and getting to the chicks, the fibers in the plank should be positioned horizontally, and it itself coincides with the hole in the entrance.
Making a birdhouse from scrap materials
A wooden house for feathered singers is familiar to everyone from childhood. However, you can make birdhouses with your own hands from other materials. The examples presented are clear proof of this. The main thing is not to rush, and also remember about safety precautions during production. And then you will achieve your goal without unnecessary difficulties.
Construction cardboard
The positive features of the design are the beauty of the assembly and relative cheapness. However, such a bird house will last until the first cold weather. It is perfect for those birds that migrate south with the onset of winter and are ready to return to a new home in the spring. Therefore, we will make a birdhouse just for them.
We collect materials. We will need:
- Drawing tools.
- Glue and tape for fastening.
- Decorative materials for finishing and decoration.
- Construction or corrugated cardboard.
Let's start making:
Step #1. We decide on the dimensions of the future house and print out the proposed drawing in the required scale. To avoid mistakes, first test your scheme for viability using plain paper.
Step #2. We cut out a whole blank or its individual elements from cardboard.
Step #3. We assemble the structure and carefully glue the joints.
Step #4. Let our craft dry, after which we decorate it at our discretion and cover it with varnish or any other protective coating.
The birdhouse is ready. All that remains is to hang it up and wait for the feathered singers to move in.
Water bottles
In many regions, wood is an expensive pleasure, and not everyone can afford to make a birdhouse from wood with their own hands. Therefore, plastic containers (as the base material for a birdhouse) serve as an excellent substitute. Water bottles have all the characteristics necessary for the design:
- They don't rot.
- Resistant to moisture.
- Able to withstand mechanical stress.
The disadvantages of the material are negated by simple modifications: transparency is eliminated with paint, the smoothness of the walls is eliminated with ordinary burlap or a nail.
To make a birdhouse with your own hands from a five-liter bottle, we will need:
- Plastic water containers (volume over 3 liters) – 2-3 pcs.
- Burlap or other thick fabric for decorating the interior walls.
- Decoration materials.
- Tools.
Step-by-step instruction:
Step #1. We wash the bottles, listen, and remove labels and dirt.
Step #2. We cut a tap hole of a suitable size in the container, not forgetting to process its upper half.
Step #3. We cover the inside of the container with dense, rough fabric, which is designed to enhance sound insulation and simplify the movement of birds inside the nest.
Step #4. From the second bottle we cut out decorative elements, for example, tiles. We paint the house and decorate it to our liking. But do not forget that birds are wary of colorful, overloaded structures.
Step #5. We wrap a rope around the neck of the bottle and hang the resulting structure on a tree.
Birdhouse: photos and videos of original ideas
Ornithologists advise not to forget that a birdhouse, like feeders, is made for birds, and not for showing off to neighbors. A colorful house made of fresh boards, decorated with numerous trims, will not inspire much confidence in the birds. They will feel much better in a well-made structure made of planed boards, painted in the color of the location or not touched by paint at all. However, this does not mean that when making birdhouses for birds with your own hands, you should forget about photos, original ideas and drawings. Look at how creatively people approached this issue and were able to “sit on two chairs” at once:
The long-awaited spring has arrived. There are only a few days left before the arrival of our feathered friends. But birds in the yard of a house or on a plot of land are always a joy. But are we ready to meet them? Are you sure that the birds will want to settle near our house? If not, then get to work immediately!
Today we will look at how to make a birdhouse correctly, what materials are best to use for its manufacture, and also provide some diagrams and drawings.
First of all, you need to decide on the material of the birdhouse. It is desirable that the birdhouse be made entirely of natural materials. Some even make birdhouses out of stone; they look very beautiful and very unusual. It all depends on imagination and possibilities! But most often, ordinary dry boards are used for these purposes (with the exception of coniferous wood).
What types of wood are preferable for making a birdhouse? Take birch or oak. The recommended thickness of the board should be at least 20mm so that the birdhouse retains heat well. There is no need to sand the boards; they must have a rough surface, at least on the inside. If the board is smooth, you can scratch it thoroughly with a knife - this will make it easier for birds, especially chicks, to get out of the birdhouse. It is highly undesirable to use compressed or laminated wood (fibreboard, chipboard, plywood, etc.) for construction - it is very short-lived, not to mention toxic.
You should not decorate the birdhouse with any rustling objects or sparkles, otherwise instead of a cozy birdhouse you will end up with a very natural scarecrow.
Keep in mind that you do not need to make the birdhouse very spacious. If you nevertheless make it larger than in the drawings below, then as many as 4-5 chicks will survive in such apartments, as a result, their parents will not be able to feed them properly. Accordingly, frail offspring will grow up that will not withstand the difficult flight to warmer climes. In a cramped house, only 2-3 chicks will grow up, but they will be healthy and strong.
To make a birdhouse we will need the following tools:
- ruler with pencil;
- nails or screws;
- hammer (screwdriver);
- wood hacksaw,
- drill.
Below is a drawing of a birdhouse of a classic design (Figure 1).
Figure 1 — Classic birdhouse
It is clear that this is the simplest, but far from the only type of birdhouse.
Here is another drawing of the “House” birdhouse, which has a slightly different design (Figure 2).
Figure 2 — Birdhouse “House”
This model has a non-removable roof. Naturally, this design is inconvenient if you plan to inspect and clean the birdhouse every year before the birds arrive. To make the lid removable, a sleeve is nailed to its lower part, having the same dimensions as the bottom (Figure 1), due to which the lid will hold well. Care must be taken that it cannot be blown away by the wind or knocked down by some crow. The easiest way is to screw the lid to the house with wire. It is most rational to make a flat roof with a slight slope back, and not a gable roof, as in the drawing above - it will begin to leak faster than usual.
Fastening the bottom and walls is best done with screws, but it is also possible to use nails. A strip is placed on the back wall and attached to a pole or tree.
As you can see, the design of birdhouses is extremely simple. The drawings show birdhouses made from 20mm thick boards. You can use others, but only then will you have to adjust the dimensions of the roof and bottom of the birdhouse. You can deviate from the drawings and show your own initiative, you just need to take into account some important notes:
- the total height should be 30–35 cm;
- The size of the bottom of the birdhouse is usually made about 15x15cm;
- the distance from the tap hole to the bottom should be at least 15–20 cm;
- the inlet hole (tap) should have a diameter of about 50mm.
The birdhouse sizes listed above are ideal for starlings and sparrows. The optimal diameter of the entrance varies for different birds. So, for great tits, redstarts, nuthatches and whirligigs, the dimensions of the bottom of the birdhouse should be made smaller - 100x100 mm, the height - up to 280 mm, and the diameter of the entrance about 30 - 45 mm; for small tits and pied flycatchers, the bottom should be about 80x80 mm, the height should be about 250 mm, and the diameter of the entrance should be 30 mm.
Using the example of a classic birdhouse (Figure 1), we will clearly consider the process of its assembly. We cut the boards in accordance with the drawing and get to work.
We attach the front wall of the birdhouse to the side ones using nails or screws We attach the back wall and bottom All that remains is to make a removable lid... We install any perch in front of the entrance to your taste Nail the sleeve to the lid of the birdhouse. In this case, the roof of the birdhouse is made removable so that it can be cleaned. However, it needs to be wrapped with wire or screwed in for reliability. Birdhouse assembly
You should try to knock down the bird house as tightly as possible. It is advisable to coat all cracks with clay or caulk with tow. Nails and sharp, split edges should not protrude inside the birdhouse to prevent injury to birds. It is not advisable to paint the birdhouse; it is enough to treat it with drying oil. If you still decide to paint it, it is better to use oil paints in translucent tones.
As you can see, making a birdhouse with your own hands is not at all difficult. In addition, the activity is quite exciting and very useful.
And finally, I suggest watching a video lesson in English (unfortunately, it was not found in Russian, but in principle everything is clear here), clearly showing one of the methods for making a birdhouse with an unusual - gable - roof. It looks quite original.
Difficult? Here is one of the simplest ways.
When preparing firewood, choose the log that is most suitable in size and shape and make an original birdhouse out of it! Perhaps anyone can make such a house for birds. Cheap and cheerful, as they say.
We will be happy to look at photos of your homemade products, post them in the comments - we will evaluate, discuss, and advise!
A birdhouse is a type of artificial closed nesting box, the most popular both among people - friends of wild birds, and among their charges. The tradition of hanging birdhouses on Bird Day exists all over the world, and here and there real birdhouse towns appear in places suitable for nesting, see fig.
Note: International Bird Day, April 1, is not celebrated in the Russian Federation. In Russia it is customary to consider the so-called Bird Day. Finding, but not a Christian church holiday, but a folk one. The Finding of the People 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 popular Finding is connected not with the finding of the head of John the Baptist, but with beekeeping - if by this day the bees are found (are) in the hives, then it means they have wintered safely.
Making a good birdhouse with your own hands is not difficult; Even a schoolboy can cope with this. Birdhouses are used to attract not only insect-killing birds to household plots and summer cottages, but also small songbirds to cities and homes, as well as to create nesting sites for hollow-nesting birds in forests and parks. Many useful and beautiful birds nest in hollows and 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 the fall.
The technology for assembling a birdhouse 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 areas, many small birds, otherwise capable of nesting openly, do not mind building a nest. All potential birdhouse new settlers have their own nesting requirements, so the designs of birdhouses for different species or groups of bird species differ, as reflected in their names: titmouse, flycatcher, wagtail, owlcatcher, etc.
General terms
The structure of a birdhouse in general is as follows: it is an elongated upward cavity, mainly in wood, with a solid bottom and a removable lid. Under the roof there is a hole - an entrance - for the birds that have settled in it. A removable lid is necessary, firstly, for autumn inspection and cleaning of the cavity: of the birds, only starlings, tits and nuthatches, after the chicks have fledged, they certainly throw away the old nesting material and do “general cleaning”. Most of the others leave the garbage as is and next year the cluttered “recycling” will no longer occupy it. Secondly, instead of birds, the birdhouse may be taken over by unwanted animal occupiers; We'll talk about them below.
The body (structure) of the birdhouse can be assembled from boards, as well as some other materials, or hollowed out or chopped from a piece of log - churak; the latter are called nest boxes. The dimensions of the birdhouse are usually, depending on the type of birds for which it is intended, 20-40 cm in height; a tap hole with a diameter of 2.5-6 cm is located 5-6 cm under the roof. The extension of the roof above the entrance should be at least 5 cm for protection from rain and cats. The diameter of the internal cavity (nesting chamber) ranges from 10x10 to 15x19 cm in birdhouses made of boards or with a diameter of 7 to 20 cm in nest boxes. Sometimes a pole or landing platform for parents is required in front of the entrance; in what cases - let's look further.
Houses like birdhouses are also made for other animals living in hollows: squirrels, bats, but their proportions are different. Making a birdhouse for birds within the specified height limits is necessary so that the chicks can still climb the walls to feed, but for squirrels, and especially 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 lay more eggs, but the parents will not have enough strength to feed them all. Some chicks will then die, and the remaining ones will grow stunted and will not survive the winter.
What are the birds waiting for?
A bird house must meet very specific requirements. First, it must be strong and opaque: the secrecy of the brood is the main reason why hollow nesters nest in tree cavities. Further, the inner walls should not be very hard and slightly rough, so that the chicks can climb towards their parents who have flown in with food. Without this physical exercise, the chicks will not get up on their wings properly and will not be able to withstand the flight to wintering grounds or will become victims of predators.
The following conditions: the material of the birdhouse should be moderately sound-permeable, retain heat as best as possible, and its structure should not have any cracks. Reasons: the chicks must hear their arriving parents or a creeping predator, but at the same time their squeaks should not spread far. In addition, the chicks of all hollow nesters are naked at first, the slightest draft can destroy them, and getting the nest wet will certainly destroy the entire brood. Chicks, like all birds, emit quite a lot of heat, and in an insulated, dry home they will have a much better chance of surviving a sudden cold snap.
About materials
Make a birdhouse it is best from edged, unplaned boards of deciduous wood. Only seasoned conifers are suitable, without visible streaks or a noticeable smell of resin. The best ones are used, from some dismantled shed. The thickness of the boards is 20-30 mm, then the conditions of sound conductivity and thermal insulation will be met. If the boards are planed, then the inner side of the one where the tap hole will be needs to be “roughened”: treated with coarse 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 discarded henchmen. We will talk about their use further.
Plywood, even waterproof plywood, is not suitable for birdhouses: it muffles sounds and does little to prevent heat loss. OSB, chipboard, fiberboard are absolutely unsuitable - birds are much more sensitive than us to the vapors 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, which does not contain phenolic resins, would in principle be suitable, but this is a material for internal use and will soon swell and become limp under the influence of precipitation.
Enemies and defense
There are plenty of people in nature who want to feast on eggs or chicks. In addition, the birdhouse can be occupied by new residents “without a warrant,” or even extremely undesirable ones in the garden, such as, for example. Sonya Dormouse is interested in the seeds in juicy fruits, and just a couple of these animals can spoil the harvest of the entire garden. The birdhouse can also be captured by squirrels, bats, and in Siberia, chipmunks. In general, there is no harm from four-legged invaders, but beneficial birds are deprived of nesting sites.
The worst destroyers of birdhouses are large woodpeckers, great spotted woodpeckers and woodpeckers. By the beginning of nesting time, these generally useful birds experience an acute shortage of animal protein; it is time for them to nest, too, and for this, woodpeckers peck at birdhouses, destroying eggs and chicks. There is nothing to be done, everything is poison and everything is medicine, not only in medicine.
In second place in terms of danger to the brood are cats, domestic and wild. Small predators from the mustelidae family, strange as it may seem at first glance, do not pose a particular danger to the clutches and chicks: by the time the birds nest, they have abundant, easily accessible prey at their disposal - mice, voles.
Methods for protecting a birdhouse from destruction are shown in Fig. Pos. 1 – from woodpeckers: a tin collar 5-6 cm wide, upholstered with small nails at the same distance or an overlay made of straight-grained wood with grains oriented horizontally; the fact is that woodpeckers can only peck at wood with vertical grains. The last method is preferable, because The cover does not rust and does not create inconvenience for 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’s 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 wire passing under them, without pulling it tightly 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 entrance (below in position 2) is less labor-intensive, 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 for cats is a wooden collar protruding outward by 3-5 cm around the entrance.
Method on pos. 3 – tin belts – provides a complete guarantee against both predators and occupiers. 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 the bark, either from below or from above. Of course, in the section of the trunk between the belts there should be no branches, twigs, feeders or other supports for predators.
Note: a good way only from the occupiers is to hang it in the fall, before the cold weather, the so-called. temporary replacement birdhouses. We will talk about them further.
For starlings
Common starlings are the most common and most desirable inhabitants of birdhouses. Therefore, without going into details for now, 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 mynah starling and others, are even larger. Therefore, in general, a birdhouse, which is a birdhouse, is larger and deeper than others, its entrance is wider, and a pole is required under the entrance. Starlings prefer to nest in places inaccessible to predators, but with good visibility, and the starling is a very caring head of the family. 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 assembly order is as follows:
These instructions for making a birdhouse are designed to use PVA glue. In old manuals, from which current authors copy a lot of really useful advice, they recommend assembling birdhouses using wood glue, but this is because much better PVA simply wasn’t available then. Compared to PVA bone wood glue:
- Blanks are cut from the board;
- In the facade, a taphole is cut out in advance using a feather drill or a wood crown, a pole is inserted into the drilled hole, the inside of the front wall, if necessary, is “roughened” as indicated above;
- The sides are glued to the bottom and then the front and back walls;
- Level the box from the bottom and side walls while the glue is liquid, and tie it with twine until it sets;
- Dry the box in a vertical position on a spread polyethylene film;
- When the glue has set, the box is fastened with nails or self-tapping screws, 2-3 for each glue seam;
- Trying on the blank of the lid without the lining, trim/trim the upper edges of the front and rear walls so that the roof fits tightly;
- The lid overlay is placed on flowing glue, the lid is put in place, and supporting the overlay with a finger through the tap hole, the roof is finally adjusted in place;
- Once the glue under the lining has set, pull it to the lid with 4 small nails or self-tapping screws.
- Water resistant.
- It is plastic when dried: it does not dry out, does not crack, and ensures complete sealing of the seams.
- Allows you to smear the parts with glue and immediately fold them, within 3-5 minutes to adjust the connection in place, slightly moving the parts in passing, without breaking the adhesive layer.
- Always ready to work, does not require the use of a glue gun or other special equipment.
- Used as an impregnating composition diluted 3-5 times with water, it allows the use of some waste hygroscopic materials for birdhouses.
- Cheaper than wood glue and more durable outdoors.
PVA has only 2 disadvantages over wood glue: its seam is plastic, which is not significant for a birdhouse that is not a sideboard or a sofa, and after assembling it on PVA, the product must be dried for at least a day in a warm room, and wood glue sets 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 the fall, after the harvest, but before the cold weather, birdhouses for wintering birds are hung: titmice, nest boxes for nuthatches and substitute birdhouses for occupiers. Birdhouses for migratory birds, incl. starlings are hung in the spring, a week and a half before the start of the birds' mating games.
If you are familiar with ornithology, then you need to hang bird houses, especially for certain types of birds (see below), after noticing the harbinger birds. They arrive in advance at their summering grounds, hang around there for several days, hardly feeding, and then fly away. There are always few harbingers, they examine the area, “report” to their relatives and, if everything is in order, a mass arrival begins. The points of the “report” also include the nesting situation; if the harbingers were seen as “fresh”, i.e. obviously not competitive and not looked after by nest destroyers, they will not fail to notify their brothers about this in their own way, and the settlement of the “new buildings” is ensured.
If you have no experience in bird watching, nesting sites should be erected in the central zone 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 on them “wither,” you need to hang them. Somewhat more precisely - according to the weather, when the equinox storms will pass; as meteorologists say, when latitudinal movements of atmospheric masses in the temperate zone prevail over meridional ones, but in places with a continental climate this sign is weakly expressed.
It would not be a mistake to hang birdhouses on National Bird Day (March 9) or on the first Sunday after it, but in this case there is a fairly high probability that they will be occupied and the harbingers will overlook them. However, you can insure against the first one by hanging substitutes in the fall.
The second question is how to hang a birdhouse correctly? General rules:
- The entrance should be oriented 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 it on trees, it seems safer for the birds.
- An exception is wagtails (see below), they need to be hung under the roof of a barn (not a residential building!) at the same height.
- The 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 raised 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 the birdhouse, so as not to attract the attention of destroyers.
A rather serious sub-question - how to attach a birdhouse to a support? Nailing it with nails opens the way for diseases and pests into the tree, and the benefits of birds may go in vain. In addition, cats know how to slowly tear off nailed birdhouses or, throwing off the roof, grab chicks.
The main methods of hanging birdhouses and errors in doing so are shown in Fig. According to pos. 1 bird house is attached if there is no thick enough wood. 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: ultimately, 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 get to feeding.
At pos. 4 – incorrect, pseudo-ecological method of hanging using wire and a wooden block; in fact, it harms the trees worse than nails, the log soon falls out, the birdhouse begins to wobble. 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 in your own home, a ladder will not always help you climb a tree if it is spreading. That is, to hang a birdhouse, you will have to climb a tree. The first thing to remember here is don’t climb like children, clinging to branches. They may be racing against squirrels or monkeys, but you are twice or three times heavier, and if you fall from the same height, the blow will be about five times stronger, children’s bones are more elastic, and their internal organs are more resistant to deformation than those of adults.
The art of tree climbing is called arborism, and those who are interested in it are called arborists. Arborists climb trees using a safety belt and special devices - gaffs, which are, in essence, the same monter's claws. You can see the technique of lifting on gaffs in the video:
Video: how to climb trees?
And how to make gaffs yourself - from the video:
Video: homemade gaffs for climbing a tree
However, much less labor-intensive and, paradoxically, statistically safer is the method of lifting using a rope loop, which has long been used by tropical fruit pickers, see video:
Video: how to climb a tree without knots?
But in any case, what is called, as father, must be observed the following precautions:
- Work only together, with an insurer below who knows how to provide first aid for bruises and fractures.
- Have transport on hand so that the victim can be quickly transported to a medical facility; everyone working must be able to manage it.
- Do not lift with a load; you need to attach a rope to your belt, and then, having established yourself in place, lift the birdhouse and, if necessary, a bag with tools on it.
- The insurer should not come closer than 3 m to the place of possible falling objects or the steeplejack, taking into account the strength and direction of the wind.
- The insurer must see the steeplejack at all times; when it disappears from sight, immediately command the descent, and the climber must unquestioningly carry out the command.
- And most importantly: before you start climbing, look out for yourself the path of descent and clearly understand the procedure for it.
Sinichniki and special construction
With the help of a birdhouse you can attract many more useful, interesting and/or beautifully singing birds. But they are unlikely to settle in a nesting box, great. Artificial nesting boxes for small songbirds come in different types; Next we will figure out which of these birds need. First of all, we will consider stationary birdhouses made of wood, and after them, temporary substitutes made of other materials for wintering birds and distracting occupiers.
Note: Making special birdhouses, as a rule, is more difficult than ordinary ones. Therefore, before you get down to work, make sure that potential newcomers are part of the local avifauna, and be patient - except for tits, they do not trust humans as much as starlings. A “small-singing” birdhouse can hang for a year or two until it is occupied, and all this time you need to make sure that it does not become dilapidated, littered, or occupied by someone else.
Who else should we expect?
Desirable neighbors both in the city and on the plot will be, in addition to starlings and tits, great tits, tufted tits, blue tits, coal tits, long-tailed tits and chickadees (pos. 1-7 in the figure), also pikas, common and short-toed, or garden pikas (pos. 8 ; common and short-toed pikas are almost indistinguishable from a distance), nuthatches (5 species in the Russian Federation; in position 9 - common), gray flycatcher, position. 10, and pied flycatcher, pos. 11. All these birds (pos. 8-11) are cavity nesters, actively destroying harmful insects.
For redstarts (in pos. 12 there is a coot redstart; you can also expect black and red-bellied ones) and robins (pos. 13) any of the titmice described below is suitable. But the wagtail (pos. 14) requires a special “wagtail”, because The legs of this bird are not adapted for vertical climbing. You can build a birdhouse for wagtails by laying a school-type titmouse on its side, see below, and providing it with a kind of balcony, see fig. The “Wagtail” should either be installed in a bare yard on a pole 2.5-3 m high, reliably protected from cats, or hung under the eaves of a non-residential building for the same purpose. But the new settlers will not keep you waiting and, walking on the ground, will peck at many pests, and no one has yet noticed damage from wagtails anywhere.
If a great owl (pos. 15) is spotted nearby and you manage to attract it to the site, it’s a joy for the owner, but woe for the pests: this little owl is a living WMD for them. Small birds have nothing to fear from the pygmy owl: it was named so not because it is somehow dangerous to sparrows, but because it is the size of a sparrow. The pygmy owl, like the scops owl, can be tamed by feeding it with small pieces of raw meat and mealworms from time to time. He is friendly and his behavior is funny. But it will nest only in a nest box made of natural material (see below), and to make it requires considerable skill, as for any owl house.
Types and designs
I. Sokolovsky was involved in the design of birdhouses a lot. His developments served as the basis for many further designs. The design of 3 types of Sokolovsky birdhouses is shown in Fig; nest boxes will be discussed further.
Titmouse
On the left in Fig. – diagram of a titmouse based on a typical birdhouse.
Designations, as for the next. pos:
- A – entrance diameter: 35 mm for great tit, tufted tit, blue tit, redstart and 30 mm for other tits and robins;
- B – side of a square bottom, 10 cm is enough. If the titmouse is intended only for great and tufted tits, common in the city, then it is better to take B = 12 cm;
- C – height of the front wall, 22 and 25 cm in the same order as in point 1;
- D – height of the back wall, 28 and 30 cm, respectively.
Note: the distance of the top of the entrance from the top of the front wall is 5 cm and the offset of the roof is from 5 cm, as for a regular birdhouse. A pole in front of the entrance is not needed.
Bird lovers, using Sokolovsky’s recommendations, try to create a titmouse birdhouse suitable for any small songbirds. Projects of 3 such titmice are presented in Fig. They differ, in essence, only in the roof structure. A school birdhouse is the easiest to make; no roof adjustment is required. These are exactly the kind that were made in Soviet schools during labor lessons; some students managed to make up to 3 items per lesson. A birdhouse-house provides better protection from cats and, especially, from precipitation. It is advisable to hang these in rainy places with a long spring. Flycatchers also nest in universal titmouses, but it is better to attract them with special birdhouses.
Note: If you make the bottom of a universal birdhouse 15x15 cm (maximum for projects), then it will turn into a birdhouse primarily for starlings. Other birds will occupy it if there are not enough starlings to go around.
Half-loop and flycatcher
The gray flycatcher prefers to nest in semi-hollows, similar to natural voids in trees. The diagram of a half-nest 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 more readily occupy hollows in horizontal or slightly inclined thick branches, so they prefer a birdhouse-house in the form of a cubic nesting chamber with an inner side of about 12 cm, installed in a “diamond” pattern, i.e. downward angle, see fig. on right. The front wall needs to be made larger, about 20x20 cm, to protect it from cats. The diameter of the tap hole is 40 mm.
Flycatchers begin nesting relatively late, when there are enough insects. By that time, the heat has established itself, the parents provide the chicks with plenty of high-calorie food, so the thermal insulation of the flycatcher is no longer of decisive importance. This circumstance can be used to more fully imitate the nesting habitat familiar to these birds by constructing a birdhouse for flycatchers from a plastic bottle or tin can, see fig. A light-colored roof is a must, otherwise the chicks will die from solar overheating!
Note: As for other birdhouses made from bottles, see fig. on the right, these products may be artistic, but not functional. The blank does not satisfy any of the requirements for a birdhouse. If the birds occupy such a nesting site, as they say, out of bitter need, then for the brood such a housewarming ends tragically - it dies either in the mouth of a cat, or falls out fledgling; Birds abandon such chicks.
For pikas
The birdhouse for pikas has a very special design. In nature, these birds nest in hollows with 2 holes, so that if necessary they can escape through an emergency exit. Therefore, in the “pipehouse”, 2 tap holes are needed in the side walls. The design of a birdhouse 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 nesting sites for pikas vary, see table.
Note : artificial nests for pikas are hung differently than for other birds - only on a tree and at a height of approx. 1 m from the ground.
Duplyankas
Birdhouse nesting boxes are made from logs of straight-layered deciduous wood 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.
Making a nest box in the simplest way is shown in pos. 1 pic. The wide bottom and lid, as in this case, are designed for wagtails. If you make the entrance not on the side, but in the lid closer to one of the corners, and hang the entire structure laid on its side, orienting the nesting chamber like a diamond, you will get an excellent flycatcher nest. For other songbirds, the lid and bottom are cut to the size of the diameter of the log.
Sovyatnik, pos. 2, it’s more difficult to do, because Owls are picky about the configuration of the camera and do not tolerate gaps in its sides and bottom. So you will have to sweat, trimming the workpiece and hollowing out the chamber. Dimensions in fig. suitable for a pygmy owl; The diameter of the taphole for it is 4 cm, because All owls are densely built.
Duplyankas are often hung in forests and parks. In this case, it is necessary to take into account that the composition of the bird population in broad-leaved, coniferous plantings and birch forests differs not only in species, but also in the average size of birds. The dimensions of nest boxes for coniferous-deciduous forests/parks and birch forests are given in pos. 3.
About the design of nest boxes
A few words about the design of birdhouses in general will be said later. As for nest boxes, they look good on trees even without additional decoration, on the left in Fig. If you want to show your skill and taste, then they must 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 also developing here. Park birdhouses should, firstly, attract beautiful birds that sing loudly and beautifully; secondly, they themselves must be attractive in appearance to people. Of the domestic designs of this kind, birdhouses of the “Blue Finch” 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 plate on the roof ridge, which perfectly protects against cats, on the right there. The diameter of the entrance, marked (*), is selected according to the type of bird, see above.
More about design
Birdhouses should be painted in discreet colors: this is not a feeder, and the birds’ housing should not attract attention. The shape of the birdhouse should be inconvenient for destroyers. For example, pos. 1 and 2 in Fig. – unsuccessful. Both are set clearly low, a cat or a woodpecker has somewhere and how to establish themselves for ruin, and the first is also brightly colored. And here is pos. 3 and 4 are both tasteful and quite functional. If pos. 3, provide a collar around the tap hole, and at pos. 4 make an anti-cat skirt from wood whose fibers are oriented horizontally, then both birdhouses will become inaccessible to both predators and woodpeckers.
Atypical self-construction - birdhouses made from scrap materials
Sometimes it’s not worth wasting energy and wood on a stationary birdhouse. Firstly, if it is intended for wintering birds, such as tits. They do not like to nest twice in the same place, because... Over the winter they have become familiar to hungry predators and the annual change of nesting sites significantly increases the chances of survival of the brood. Secondly, there is no need to try very hard for the sake of the occupying animals. They need to be diverted in the fall with temporary wintering housing. Then in the spring, for fear of losing him too, they will not occupy the bird houses, but will live through the summer anyway. In both cases, it is advisable 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 indeed possible to breed budgies or, say, red cardinals. But you can’t seriously talk about an outdoor paper birdhouse: the material is absolutely unstable. Nevertheless, we give in Fig. a couple of paper birdhouse patterns: 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 if necessary, using the same patterns you can make a bonbonniere or a gift box.
Note: Paper birdhouses have another unpleasant property - bumblebees and, especially, wasps willingly settle in them. The latter themselves build nests from paper, and here is a ready-made zero cycle. Having a swarm of hornets in your neighborhood is not only unpleasant, but can also 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 together with the same PVA. The manufacturing technology based on 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.
Manufacturing from a pattern results in 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 for cutting a cardboard strip onto a birdhouse part.
If dormouse are noticed on the site, then a winter hut-trap for them is made from a box insulated with foam plastic; can be made from pieces of it, see fig. left. Two poles are needed to attract the dormouse. It is difficult to catch an active dormouse, but it is not difficult to get rid of sleeping animals. There is no need to kill them: dormice are generally cute and funny, they will most likely be taken to a pet store or bought by wild animal lovers. They check Sonya’s bedroom when the frost hits, just don’t bring the discovered animal into the house. Dormouses do not really hibernate; in the warmth they will wake up and start roaming around the furniture and curtains.
Finally, good birdhouses can be made simply from scrap materials; you just need to know the habits and preferences of the birds. For example, building from a bucket and cutting a board, pos. 1 in Fig. below is sure to please flycatchers. Substitute houses made from empty cylinders (items 2 and 3) are well suited for small four-legged animals; If it's a squirrel, then why chase it? Birdhouse made from a tabletop beer or wine-cognac keg, pos. 4, it is unlikely to attract birds, it is too big, but bats, which are also very useful, will fit just right. A basket with a wicker lid, suspended under the roof of the veranda, will be willingly inhabited by tits if they have been fed and not abused in winter.
At pos. 6 is not such a curiosity as it might seem: the chicks are soft and warm, it is convenient for the bird (it looks like some kind of nuthatch) to give food to the brood, the woodpecker does not gouge 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 box, pos. 7.
Direct benefit
The author once set out to calculate: what is the economic efficiency of a birdhouse on a plot of 6 acres “for yourself”? The main share of the cost of the bird house came from labor costs; the cost of working time was 200 rubles per hour, which corresponds to a decent salary for that time of 32,000 rubles. Taking this into account, a birdhouse and 2 titmouses cost about 1000 rubles.
After 4 years, while the birds lived, it turned out that only the savings on the purchase of vegetables, fruits and plant protection products compared to the same period without the involvement of birds amounted to... about 28,000 rubles, or 7,000 rubles/year! That is, the birdhouses paid for themselves 28 times, or 2800%. Wow profit!
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