Bird House Plans Bluebird, Chickadee, Wren, Nutchatch, Titmouse
A simple bluebird box. Other wild birds who can nest in this box are: Eastern Bluebirds, western bluebirds, chickadees (black capped, Carolina, chestnut backed & mountain), house finch, flycatchers (ash throated, great crested), nuthatches (white breasted, red breasted), Sparrow (house), Swallows (violet green, tree), titmice (tufted, plain), yellow bellied sapsucker, wren (Carolina, Becwiks, house), warbler prothontary. We call it a bluebird box, but it’s a great all around box.
This is the main size birdhouse we put up. While it’s designed for a bluebird, it’s suitable for such a variety of cavity nesting birds that we consider it our standard smaller species bird box. You can drive yourself dingy with trying to figure out the perfect dimensions for each species. If you start trying to build a very specific house for each bird species, they’ll do what they want anyway and some birds who may have otherwise been attracted to houses in your yard may get left out.
For example: a chickadee or a titmouse can live in the box size included in these plans. However, a chickadee can also nest in a smaller box with a smaller entrance hole, but a titmouse can not. So you go ahead and build a small house with chickadees in mind, and a second larger house with titmice in mind. Then the chickadee decides your best laid plans are your plans, not his, and moves into the titmouse box and not the special one you built just for chickadees.* The titmouse can not fit in the smaller hole of the chickadee box you built, so is left to find a different place to nest.
Meanwhile, with the chickadee happily settled into your titmouse house, the chickadee gets territorial during breeding season. This is about March-July and they have a territory of around 10 acres. They will not allow another chickadee couple to nest in their area, therefore another chickadee couple will not be using the smaller special box that is still empty. However, they will let a titmouse (a titmouse has a 2-5 acre territory, breeds March-July) nest in their territory, or a nuthatch, or other species. Breeding chickadees primarily care about other chickadees. If you build two boxes which will suit either a chickadee or a titmouse, you have a better chance of attracting each to nest on your property.
So, we put up several boxes in this size to accommodate a wider variety of birds and to avoid confusing ourselves with dimension mathematics since really, that’s a topic with a million human opinions and the birds aren’t talking. We’ve had great luck with this size house for Eastern bluebirds, chickadees, titmouse, Carolina wrens and red breasted and white breasted nuthatch. All have nested in one of these on our property.
*in reality what happens is some industrious little wren comes along and builds a house in both. And then builds a nest in your garage just in case.
Plans here! click image for larger
WOOD: We recommend a rough textured cedar for these plans. It weathers well and has a texture that is easy for the birds to cling to. This helps the babies when it’s time to fledge - the have better grip when trying to crawl out of the nest. Also, cedar does not have to be painted. Do not paint bird houses. Paint isn’t good for them and natural is more attractive to the birds. Do not put a perch on the box - the birds do not need it, and it only helps potential predators to get to the entrance and to the nestlings.
MOUNTING: This set of bird house plans may be post or pole mounted, or attached to a tree. To pole mount, one choice is to use plumbing pipe straps on the back to attach a pole to the back of the house. Pipe straps are very inexpensive and you can use a non-threaded pole this way. Don’t bother with the PVC style - they can be a pain in the buns and break.
A second method of pole mounting is to use a female threaded conduit pipe flange on the bottom of the box and a threaded pole. Galvanized threaded poles are available in hardware stores inexpensively - check the plumbing and conduit departments.
The bluebird house in these plans may also be mounted to a tree.
ACCESS Method One: Here are two methods for providing a way to open your bluebird box. Below is an illustration of the first method using piano hinges on the inside. This is a bit more difficult than the second method as you have to chisel a space where the hinges attach to the panels in order to recess the hinge into the wood. A nail or dresser hook in the front can be used as a fastener to keep the door panel closed, and a slightly protruding screw on the side acts as a doorknob. Why we like this method is because we feel that it is the safest for the babies - when you open the box, there is less danger of the babies falling out or disturbing the nest in any way.
ACCESS method two: The second method is easier. Please note that the birdhouse pictured is a front opening box, but the same thing can be done on the side.
This one is simple. A small. 1/4″ gap is left between the roof line and top of opening door side panel, and the sides screwed in from the top only. A dresser hook is used on the bottom front as a fastener to keep the access door closed. When you open the access door, simply remove the dresser hook and the door swings upward, which pivot on the top screws.
In the picture below, the block on the front interior is a small block of cedar which we have scored to help nestlings climb out of the box when it is time to fledge. This feature is optional - if you use a rough cedar, they should have enough grip. We add them because maybe it helps the birds and it’s a quick, simple step.
Notes: The predator guard on the front of both bluebird houses pictured are 3/4″ blocks with a metal ring around it to help keep squirrels from chewing the opening and to help keep squirrels or raccoons from reaching into the house to get nestlings or eggs. The metal ring can be purchased at a local wild bird watcher’s supply. We do recommend adding these.
So far this season, both of the houses in the photos have been inspected by a chickadee couple and an eastern bluebird couple. It’s early February and they are just house hunting, but during the season we will post updates on how successful various boxes are. Both the chickadees and bluebirds spent quality time checking out the potential homes, going inside repeatedly. They are placed on the edge of a woods with low shrubs and tree branches nearby for perching, at a height of about 5 feet off the ground. One box is on a tree and one pole mounted.
And as we tend to do, we encourage you to participate in NestWatch Birdhouse Network should you put up a bird house, or if you have wild birds building nests that you can keep an eye on. You can also shop for pre-made bird houses at Wild Bird Houses and Boxes.