70birds
That Nest in Birdhouses70birds
That Nest in BirdhousesToo many bird houses can drive off nesting birds, including a specific bird species we want to attract.
For most yards, select just one or two bird species that are known to nest in bird houses in that region.
Even cities have large bird populations that live in birdhouses.
See City Birds
Some bird species are more easily attracted to bird houses than other bird species.
See the right birdhouse to build for each bird species at the Bird House Pages.
See which birds live near you and where they nest at the Bird Pages.
Print Birdhouse Plans with clear drawings and dimensions for each bird species.
For increased ventilation in warmer climates, floor and side panel corner gaps can be larger than plans specify.
Some woodworkers may prefer to drill strategically located holes for ventilation and leave floor panels whole.
Use a hand held screwdriver to assemble work pieces. This allows the crafts person to feel and better judge appropriate hole sizes and snugness to prevent stripping and splitting wood.
Hinges are suggested for easy access. Other methods for attaching roofs are just as good. However, most nest boxes are mounted out of reach for most people.
Birdhouse mounting, monitoring and maintenance on ladders are awkward chores that require “three hands”. Convenience increases safety when working at heights.
You shouldn’t have to pay for any wood if you keep your eyes peeled. Watch for wood scrap piles at fence and home construction sites. These are good sources for the small sizes usually needed for bird houses.
Eastern Bluebird
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Genus: Sialia
Species: sialis
La. passer sparrow, small bird
La. forma form, kind, species
La. turdus a thrush
La. -idae appearance, resemblance
Gr. sialis a kind of bird
About seven inches long. Blue head, neck, back, rump and tail. Reddish brown, throat, breast and flanks. Grayish blue belly. Black beak and eyes.
Eastern Bluebirds inhabit forest edges, groves and small tree stands in open country, farms and towns. Installing “bluebird trails”, groups or lines of a number of bluebird houses, maintaining them and monitoring their bluebird inhabitants is a popular hobby.
Their breeding range extends throughout eastern North America from the Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast north to Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia south to Mexico and the southwestern U.S. in southern New Mexico and Arizona. Migrates to the southern states and Mexico in winter.
Bluebirds are known for their display of affection. The male perpetually seeks the company of the female, courting her with his pretty love songs, feeding her insects and chasing rivals from their domain.
They dart after beetles, spiders, caterpillars and grasshoppers from their perches on fences or low trees where they spot insects on the ground.
In the autumn they eat berries and other odd fruit.
Habitat loss and competition with non-native English Sparrows and Starlings caused declines in their population until their appeal inspired widespread interest in bluebird nest boxes.
Their rebound is a good example of successful intervention.
They build scanty nests of grass and feathers in natural or abandoned tree and post hollows, cliff crevices, barns and other building nooks and crannies, mail boxes, and many in bird houses placed specifically for this favorite of birds.
Females lay four to six bluish white eggs which hatch after about two weeks incubation and young leave the nest in about another three weeks. They usually raise two broods in a season.
Eastern Bluebird Birdhouse
The Eastern Bluebird Birdhouse has a 4″ by 4″ floor, 9″ inside floor to ceiling, 1 1/2″ diameter entrance hole located 7″ above the floor and ventilation openings through the floor and under the roof. Use wood stock rough cut on both sides.
Make a “bluebird trail” of houses mounted 3′ to 6′ high in partial sun and shade on posts about 100 yards apart (closer in woodland clearings) in groves, scattered trees, shelter belt edges bordering fields or pasture fences.
Eastern Bluebird Birdhouse
Eastern Bluebird Birdhouse PlansTree & Violet Green Swallow Birdhouse
Tree swallow nest boxes placed between bluebird nest boxes invite these good neighbors and they will help defend against sparrows.
The Swallow Birdhouse is similar and could easily be mixed in with any bluebird trail.
It has a 5″ by 5″ floor, 8″ inside floor to ceiling and a 1 1/2″ diameter entrance hole located 6″ above the floor.
Tree & Violet-green Swallow Birdhouse
Tree & Violet-green Swallow Birdhouse PlansWestern & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse
Consider using the larger Western & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse, which will also accommodate eastern bluebirds in areas where the mountain and eastern bluebird ranges overlap. That occurs in the western portions of the Dakotas and the border area between southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
It has a 5″ by 5″ floor, 12″ inside floor to ceiling and a 1 9/16″ diameter entrance hole located 10″ above the floor.
Western & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse
Western & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse PlansYellow-bellied Sapsucker & Eastern Bluebird
Also consider using this slightly larger Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Birdhouse in the Great Lakes region and northeastern US where the breeding ranges of eastern bluebirds and yellow-bellied sapsuckers overlap.
Measurements are 5″ by 5″ inside square base, 12″ floor to ceiling and a 1 1/2″ inch entrance hole located 10″ above the floor.
Always assemble with corrosion resistant screws fitted to pre-drilled countersunk pilot holes.
Yellow-bellied SapsuckerBirdhouse
Yellow-bellied SapsuckerBirdhouse Plans
Eastern Bluebird
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Genus: Sialia
Species: sialis
La. passer sparrow, small bird
La. forma form, kind, species
La. turdus a thrush
La. -idae appearance, resemblance
Gr. sialis a kind of bird
About seven inches long. Blue head, neck, back, rump and tail. Reddish brown, throat, breast and flanks. Grayish blue belly. Black beak and eyes.
Eastern Bluebirds inhabit forest edges, groves and small tree stands in open country, farms and towns. Installing “bluebird trails”, groups or lines of a number of bluebird houses, maintaining them and monitoring their bluebird inhabitants is a popular hobby.
Their breeding range extends throughout eastern North America from the Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast north to Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia south to Mexico and the southwestern U.S. in southern New Mexico and Arizona. Migrates to the southern states and Mexico in winter.
Bluebirds are known for their display of affection. The male perpetually seeks the company of the female, courting her with his pretty love songs, feeding her insects and chasing rivals from their domain.
They dart after beetles, spiders, caterpillars and grasshoppers from their perches on fences or low trees where they spot insects on the ground.
In the autumn they eat berries and other odd fruit.
Habitat loss and competition with non-native English Sparrows and Starlings caused declines in their population until their appeal inspired widespread interest in bluebird nest boxes.
Their rebound is a good example of successful intervention.
They build scanty nests of grass and feathers in natural or abandoned tree and post hollows, cliff crevices, barns and other building nooks and crannies, mail boxes, and many in bird houses placed specifically for this favorite of birds.
Females lay four to six bluish white eggs which hatch after about two weeks incubation and young leave the nest in about another three weeks. They usually raise two broods in a season.
Eastern Bluebird Birdhouse
The Eastern Bluebird Birdhouse has a 4″ by 4″ floor, 9″ inside floor to ceiling, 1 1/2″ diameter entrance hole located 7″ above the floor and ventilation openings through the floor and under the roof.
Make a “bluebird trail” of houses mounted 3′ to 6′ high in partial sun and shade on posts about 100 yards apart (closer in woodland clearings) in groves, scattered trees, shelter belt edges bordering fields or pasture fences.
Eastern Bluebird BirdhouseEastern Bluebird Birdhouse PlansTree & Violet Green Swallow Birdhouse
Tree swallow nest boxes placed between bluebird nest boxes invite these good neighbors and they will help defend against sparrows.
The Swallow Birdhouse is similar and could easily be mixed in with any bluebird trail.
It has a 5″ by 5″ floor, 8″ inside floor to ceiling and a 1 1/2″ diameter entrance hole located 6″ above the floor.
Tree & Violet-green Swallow Birdhouse
Tree & Violet-green Swallow Birdhouse PlansWestern & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse
Consider using the larger Western & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse, which will also accommodate eastern bluebirds in areas where the mountain and eastern bluebird ranges overlap. That occurs in the western portions of the Dakotas and the border area between southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
It has a 5″ by 5″ floor, 12″ inside floor to ceiling and a 1 9/16″ diameter entrance hole located 10″ above the floor.
Western & Mountain Bluebird BirdhouseWestern & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse PlansYellow-bellied Sapsucker & Eastern Bluebird
Also consider using this slightly larger Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Birdhouse in the Great Lakes region and northeastern US where the breeding ranges of eastern bluebirds and yellow-bellied sapsuckers overlap.
Measurements are 5″ by 5″ inside square base, 12″ floor to ceiling and a 1 1/2″ inch entrance hole located 10″ above the floor.
Always assemble with corrosion resistant screws fitted to pre-drilled countersunk pilot holes.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Birdhouse
Yellow-bellied SapsuckerBirdhouse Plans
Eastern Bluebird
Birds | Birdhouses | Plans | Home
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Turdidae
Genus: Sialia
Species: sialis
La. passer sparrow, small bird
La. forma form, kind, species
La. turdus a thrush
La. -idae appearance, resemblance
Gr. sialis a kind of bird
About seven inches long. Blue head, neck, back, rump and tail. Reddish brown, throat, breast and flanks. Grayish blue belly. Black beak and eyes.
Eastern Bluebirds inhabit forest edges, groves and small tree stands in open country, farms and towns. Installing “bluebird trails”, groups or lines of a number of bluebird houses, maintaining them and monitoring their bluebird inhabitants is a popular hobby.
Their breeding range extends throughout eastern North America from the Great Plains to the Atlantic Coast north to Saskatchewan, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia south to Mexico and the southwestern U.S. in southern New Mexico and Arizona. Migrates to the southern states and Mexico in winter.
Bluebirds are known for their display of affection. The male perpetually seeks the company of the female, courting her with his pretty love songs, feeding her insects and chasing rivals from their domain.
They dart after beetles, spiders, caterpillars and grasshoppers from their perches on fences or low trees where they spot insects on the ground.
In the autumn they eat berries and other odd fruit.
Habitat loss and competition with non-native English Sparrows and Starlings caused declines in their population until their appeal inspired widespread interest in bluebird nest boxes.
Their rebound is a good example of successful intervention.
Females lay four to six bluish white eggs which hatch after about two weeks incubation and young leave the nest in about another three weeks. They usually raise two broods in a season.
Eastern Bluebird Birdhouse
The Eastern Bluebird Birdhouse has a 4″ by 4″ floor, 9″ inside floor to ceiling, 1 1/2″ diameter entrance hole located 7″ above the floor and ventilation openings through the floor and under the roof.
A hinged roof can be secured in closed position with shutter hooks, or some may prefer a fixed roof with a Side Opening Door which may be more convenient.
Use wood stock rough cut on both sides.
Eastern Bluebird Birdhouse Plans
Mount bluebird houses 3′ to 6′ high in partial sun and shade on posts in woodland clearings, grove and shelter belt edges bordering fields, among scattered trees, or pasture fence lines.
Avoid shade, but also avoid prolonged direct sunlight through the entrance if possible.
Monitor the boxes for unwanted squatters.
Tree & Violet-green Swallow Nest Box
Tree & Violet-green Swallow Nest Boxes placed between bluebird nest boxes invite these good neighbors and they will help defend against sparrows.
The Tree & Violet-green Birdhouse has a 5″ by 5″ floor, 8″ inside floor to ceiling, 1 1/2″ diameter entrance hole located 6″ above the floor and ventilation openings.
Tree & Violet-green Swallow Nest Box Plans
Mount on a tree trunk or post, or hang from a tree branch or under an eave between four and twenty feet high with partial sun and shade.
Place several boxes in a yard or field edge. They make great neighbors for bluebirds and help chase sparrows away.
Remove the nest and clean the box after the brood rearing seasons are over.
Western & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse
Consider using the larger Western & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse, which will also accommodate easter bluebirds in areas where the mountain and eastern bluebird ranges overlap.
That occurs in the western portions of the Dakotas and the border area between southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Western & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse Plans
The Western & Mountain Bluebird Birdhouse has a 5″ by 5″ floor, 12″ inside floor to ceiling and a 1 9/16″ diameter entrance hole located 10″ above the floor.
Drill countersunk pilot holes in primary work pieces. Drill regular pilot holes in secondary work pieces. This reduces a tendency for wood to split. It also makes for easy assembly in minutes with a power or hand held screwdriver.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Birdhouse
Also consider using this slightly larger Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Birdhouse in the Great Lakes region and northeastern US where the breeding ranges of eastern bluebirds and yellow-bellied sapsuckers overlap.
Measurements are 5″ by 5″ inside square base, 12″ floor to ceiling and a 1 1/2″ inch entrance hole located 10″ above the floor.
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Nest Box Plans
For Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, place in woodland edges near clearings within the proximity of lowlands and water. Mount from just out of reach to twenty feet – no more than can safely be reached and returned to for yearly maintenance.
For Eastern Bluebirds mount bluebird houses 3′ to 6′ high in partial sun and shade on posts in woodland clearings, grove and shelter belt edges bordering fields, among scattered trees, or pasture fence lines.
Birds | Birdhouses | Plans | Home