Wear Eye Protection!
Eye injuries are the most common serious injury and the most easily prevented.
Use softwood. Cedar is beautiful, easy to work with, is often rough-cut, or simulated so for fencing, which is good for grip, and it endures. When fresh, it has a repellent effect on some insect pests. Pine is also a good, abundant softwood.
Hardwoods are difficult to work with, heavier and more suited to fine joinery used in furniture. It’s more work and not necessary.
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.
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.
Owl Woodpecker Birdhouse
Northern Flicker, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Saw-whet Owl, Pygmy Owl, Grackle
The owl woodpecker birdhouse is generally suitable for Flickers, Lewis’s Woodpeckers, Saw-whet Owls, Pygmy Owls & Grackles.
Build this birdhouse with cedar, pine or most any softwood.
Use wood stock that is rough-cut on both sides so birds can grip interior and exterior surfaces.
It has a 7″ by 7″ floor (inside dimensions), 16″ floor to ceiling (inside front), 2 1/2″ diameter entrance hole located 14″ above the floor (to top of hole) and ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof.
A hinged roof provides easy access for monitoring and cleaning. Shutter hooks secure roof in closed position.
Always use corrosion resistant screws and hardware.
Drilling countersunk pilot holes in primary and regular pilot holes in secondary work pieces reduces a tendency for wood to split and makes for easy assembly in minutes with a power or hand held screwdriver.
The back wall panel extends, both top and bottom, to provide for mounting holes (usually to a tree or post) and a third mounting hole can be drilled inside the box just under the roof.
Stagger these holes so that all are not in line along a single wood grain which can weaken and cause wood to split.
Mount out of reach on a tree in a woodland edge or clearing. See each specific species page for habits, ranges, and optimum placement.
Installations out of reach and further should be installed and maintained by professionals with the right equipment and experience: carpenters, electricians, line workers, etc.
Place a bed of wood chips (not sawdust) in the box. Remove the nest from the box in late summer or fall well after the brood rearing season is past. Store or leave installed and allow the box to winter over clean and dry.
Birds that Nest in this Birdhouse
Other woodpeckers, owls and starlings might also use this box.
Owl Woodpecker Birdhouse
Northern Flicker, Lewis’s Woodpecker, Saw-whet Owl, Pygmy Owl, Grackle
The owl woodpecker birdhouse is generally suitable for Flickers, Lewis’s Woodpeckers, Saw-whet Owls, Pygmy Owls & Grackles. It is constructed with cedar, pine or most any softwood. Wood stock is rough-cut on both sides so birds can grip interior and exterior surfaces.
It has a 7″ by 7″ floor (inside dimensions), 16″ floor to ceiling (inside front), 2 1/2″ diameter entrance hole located 14″ above the floor (to top of hole) and ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof.
A hinged roof provides easy access for monitoring and cleaning. Shutter hooks secure roof in closed position. Always use corrosion resistant screws and hardware.
Drilling countersunk pilot holes in primary and regular pilot holes in secondary work pieces reduces a tendency for wood to split and makes for easy assembly in minutes with a power or hand held screwdriver.
The back wall panel extends, both top and bottom, to provide for mounting holes (usually to a tree or post) and a third mounting hole can be drilled inside the box just under the roof.
Stagger these holes so that all are not in line along a single wood grain which can weaken and cause wood to split.
Mount out of reach on a tree in a woodland edge or clearing. See each specific species page for habits, ranges, and optimum placement.
Installations out of reach and further should be installed and maintained by professionals with the right equipment and experience: carpenters, electricians, line workers, etc.
Place a bed of wood chips (not sawdust) in the box. Remove the nest from the box in late summer or fall well after the brood rearing season is past. Store or leave installed and allow the box to winter over clean and dry.
Birds that Nest in this Birdhouse
Other woodpeckers, owls and starlings might also use this box.
Owl Woodpecker Birdhouse
Birds | Birdhouses | Plans | Home
The owl woodpecker birdhouse is generally suitable for Flickers, Lewis’s Woodpeckers, Saw-whet Owls, Pygmy Owls & Grackles.
It is constructed with cedar, pine or most any softwood.
Use wood stock that is rough-cut on both sides so birds can grip interior and exterior surfaces.
It has a 7″ by 7″ floor (inside dimensions), 16″ floor to ceiling (inside front), 2 1/2″ diameter entrance hole located 14″ above the floor (to top of hole) and ventilation openings in the floor and under the roof.
A hinged roof provides easy access for monitoring and cleaning. Shutter hooks secure roof in closed position.
Always use corrosion resistant screws and hardware.
Drilling countersunk pilot holes in primary and regular pilot holes in secondary work pieces reduces a tendency for wood to split and makes for easy assembly in minutes with a power or hand held screwdriver.
The back wall panel extends, both top and bottom, to provide for mounting holes (usually to a tree or post) and a third mounting hole can be drilled inside the box just under the roof.
Stagger these holes so that all are not in line along a single wood grain which can weaken and cause wood to split.
Mount out of reach on a tree in a woodland edge or clearing. See each specific species page for habits, ranges, and optimum placement.
Installations out of reach and further should be installed and maintained by professionals with the right equipment and experience: carpenters, electricians, line workers, etc.
Place a bed of wood chips (not sawdust) in the box. Remove the nest from the box in late summer or fall well after the brood rearing season is past. Store or leave installed and allow the box to winter over clean and dry.
Birds that Nest in this Birdhouse
Other woodpeckers, owls and starlings might also use this box.
Birds | Birdhouses | Plans | Home