How To Build a Bird Box

All you need is a plank of wood and couple of spare hours

This is a tried and tested design which my father used with me and which I have since used with my kids. It has the great advantage of only needing a single plank of wood, the thicker the better. Plus a hammer, nails, saw and a drill. If you're after ideas for making christmas presents, bird boxes make a great gift. If you don't have time to make them, you can of course buy a bird box here.

The roof should overhang the entrance to provide shelter and shade. It should also be watertight, so the back of the roof should be flush against the tree.

The roof can be screwed onto the sides, or a couple of pegs can be attached to the underside flush with the front. Either way it should be secure but easy to get off so that you can clean out old nesting material each autumn.

The size of the hole will depend on which birds you want to attract. 25mm for small tits and tree sparrows. 32mm for all small hole-nesting birds, in particular great tits. If you don’t have a drill bit this size you can make an entrance hole at the side by sawing off a small triangle at the top back corner of one side.

Let me know when you have chicks. And don't forget the garden feeders. Birds need feeding!