Eastern Blue Bird & Tree Swallow
Nesting Box
There are lots of different Bluebird and Tree swallow house plans on the web. All are good. I've tried several different plans. Some have complicated bevels and angles to cut. That's great if you like that sort of thing. I prefer to keep it as simple as possible.
Here is one I have had great success with, and I find very quick and easy to build. I use scrap lumber when possible.
I will provide a materials list towards the bottom of the page.
If you plan on making many houses, and have a table saw, it is much quicker if you purchase 8' lengths (or longer)
of both the 8" and 6 " boards. Then, when you adjust the saw for each piece, cut multiple pieces.
This saves you set up time, and speeds up the whole process.
The non-critical pieces for length are the roof, and the back. If these are 1 or 2 inches longer or shorter, it really doesn't matter.
In the photos, the door, floor and back are all scrap lumber (gray color) ripped to 4" wide.
Purchased 6 " lumber is actually 5.5" wide. That's fine. This isn't rocket science. The birds don't care.
Photo 1 Below: Side removed to show construction.
I much prefer this front opening house for maintenance / cleaning.
Pull the latch nail, lift the door, remove old nest, scrape out the box, replace mesh, close & latch. see below.
I welded a box scraper out of an old bottle jack handle and some scrap steel
Photo 2 below.
Photo 3 below.
The hardware cloth mesh/screen is very important.
This keeps the nest material very dry, and causes blowfly maggots to drop out of the nest.
I just cleaned out last years nest boxes. ( Yeah, I know you should do it in the fall) Every nest box without this mesh, was damp/wet and stuck to the damp floor of the box. Every box with the mesh was nice and dry.
The height of the mesh should be about 3/4" to 1" as shown. The mesh in the photo is higher on one side than the other. This is not important. I was just in a hurry. The birds pile the box full of bedding anyway. I'm convinced the mesh will add longevity to the box, as the floor stays very dry.
Another tip for a dry floor. Keep the floor about 1/4" to 1/2" above the sides and front. This allows a "drip edge" for rain. If the floor is installed even with the sides, rain will wick around the sides and soak the floor.
Having the floor above the bottom of the door also gives you a small "handle" on the bottom of the door to use to pull it open. If you want a bigger handle, make the door piece a 1/2" longer.
Wood swells in wet weather. Another trick for an easy open door is to run the door through the table saw lengthwise, removing about 3/4 of a saw blade kerf (1/16th") of material from the side. This will make the door slightly thinner than the floor and back, allowing it to open more easily.
Photo 4 below.
The door needs to be about 1/8" down from the roof. This allows it to swing open without binding against the roof. The gap also provides ventilation for the nest box.
Photo 5 below.
What you will need to build one house:
1) 8" x 29" board
1) 6 " x 28" board
14) galvanized 2" screws (stronger than nails and easily removed)
3) 2" galvanized nails
1) hardware cloth 7" x 5 " with 1/4 mesh - very important!
If you want multiple houses: buying one 8" and one 6 " board of the following lengths will make:
8 ft board = 3.31 houses ( the .31 would be waste)
10 ft board = 4.13 houses ( the .13 would be waste unless you add 1" to each roof)
12 ft board = 4.96 houses ( the .96 is a 5th house, just shorten the roof about 1/2 inch on each house)
Note: Longer lumber is rather difficult to handle when cutting off the first several pieces.
Below is to make ONE house:
8" board: cut two 9" lengths (sides), cut one 11" piece (roof)
6 " board: cut one 9" (door) , one 4.5 " (floor) one 14" piece ( back)
Take the 6 " x 9" door and drill a 1 3/8" or 1 1/2" hole, 2" down from one end in the center of the board.
This is the front/door of the house and the entrance hole. When drilling the entrance hole, drill about 1/2 way through the board, or just enough for the pilot hole to exit the other side, then flip the board over and finish the hole. This prevents splinters caused by the bit when pushed all the way through from one side.
Take the 6 "x4.5" floor and cut about 1/2" of each corner off. This provides drainage and ventilation. See photo 6 below.
I free hand these on my table saw, so they are not exact.
Photo 6 below
Assembly Tips
Once you have all your pieces, join the back to the sides first.
Set the back and door pieces on edge about 5 inches apart. Place the first side piece across these two (like a bridge). The door is only there to hold the side up so you don't need a 3rd hand to hold it level while you align the back. ( imagine photo 3 without the floor, roof, and other side)
Align the top edge of the side and the top edge of the back so they are even, and the length of the side is even and flush with the back. (see photo 3)
Put 3 screws down the side fastening it flush with the back.
Flip the assembly over and attach the other side in the same way. Like Photo 3 without the roof and side in place.
Then attach the floor from 1/4 to 1/2 inch above the bottom edge of the sides. This provides the drip edge. I put 1 screw through each side into the floor and 1 screw through the back into the floor.
Next attach the door. It should wedge in place with a slight friction fit between the sides.
Be sure to keep the top edge of the door about 1/8" down from the top edge of the sides. This gap allows air circulation and permits the door to open without binding against the roof. I angle the door slightly. (see photo 5) I feel it makes it slightly easier for the birds to get out. I nail the door about 1 to 1.5" inches down from the top of the sides. This isn't critical, but make sure you are about the same distance down on each side or the door will tend to bind when you open it.
I use a small bit to drill pilot holes for the screws and the nails. This may not be necessary, but I don't want the wood to split. I have 1 drill with the Phillips bit for driving screws, and 1 drill with the bit for drilling pilot holes.
Next I drill a hole slightly larger than the nail for the latch pin. Be sure the door bottom is pushed all the way closed tight against the floor when you drill the hole, or you will have a hard time aligning the door when replacing the latch pin after cleaning.
Next attach the roof so it has the same overhang on both sides. If you are mounting the house with its back against a flat surface or wooden pole, you may want to align the back of the roof flush with the back of the house, so the house back will rest flush against the surface when mounted. Otherwise I like to leave about an inch of roof extend over the back of the house.
Cut the hardware cloth mesh about 2 inches longer than the floor and about 1/4" narrower. This will make it easy to remove for cleaning and allows about an inch to bend down on each end to support it off of the floor.
Your done!
I find this nest box design to be very versatile. It makes good use of the wood with little waste. By simply changing how I assemble the roof, it can be mounted against a flat wall, screwed to a wood fence post, or even attached to a metal pole that you stick into the ground. It is easy to clean. By using screws, it is possible to quickly replace damaged or rotted parts.
Below are some nest boxes installed.
Here is one installed on a post. I try to keep it about one inch above the post top to allow air to circulate better.
Here is one on a metal pole (1/2" EMT electrical conduit)
Close up of pole attached to nest box.
Tree swallow in one of my nest boxes.
I just noticed today that our American Kestrel's are back! They are using the Kestrel nest box I put up 3 yrs ago. We can watch them from our living room. They nested in the box for the first time last year.
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