Make Your Own Bird Box

Nest boxes come in all shapes, styles and sizes (Details of how the Nest Watch box was made are here).

Whilst you need to use good wood that will last a few years, and have pretty good thermal qualities (to help keep the chicks warm) you need to think about who you might want to attract.

As a general rule, the inside of the box must be at least 100mm square and the bottom of the entrance hole must be at least 125 mm from the floor. This helps to stop some predators, such as cats.

The diameter of the hole will help determine who might nest inside:

- 25mm for Coal Tits, Marsh Tits and Blue Tits
- 28mm for Great Tits and Tree Sparrows
- 32mm for Nuthatches and House Sparrows
- A Starling box needs to be 25-30% larger with an entrance 45mm across

If you fancy making your own 'des res' for Blue Tits, or any other type of bird, there are lots of places on the internet to find designs, here are a few:

RSPB Beautiful Britain The Wildlife Trusts The British Trust for Ornithology

There is also a very good PDF guide available from the British Trust for Ornithology here.

Buy a Ready Made Bird Box If you would rather buy one, then your local Garden Centre is a good starting point. Many types of boxes can be bought for around £8.00 to £15.00. Some come with a choice of fronts, so you can decide how large you would like the hole to be.

Predators

If you are worried about Woodpeckers, Squirrels and Cats, you could consider something like these to deter predators:

A metal plate can be good to stop Woodpeckers and Squirrels from enlarging the hole to get at the eggs or chicks. Woodpeckers can be very powerful, and the chicks in 2005 nearly found out!

Huddled together, they visibly shook at the noise. If we hadn't run outside to scare the Woodpecker off, he certainly would have got a meal. You can see a video of the Woodpecker attack and see all 6 chicks playing dead in the nest here.

A Bit More Upmarket ...

However, if you would like something a little out of the ordinary, then check these out:

Top of Page