Nest Box Design: Our BEST DESIGN Details from 25 years of Practice

[@marieleopold1625]

Watching YOU make mistakes...gives 'me' the confidence to try! Refreshing to see someone 'own up' to their own 'faux pas'! MANY considerations to think about...this surprised me. I would be more into 'cute' and perhaps not practical at all. Another interesting vid I learned from and I thank you for it Stefan...Health to you n' yours...God Bless!

[@ControlJanitorialBarrieI-lf1eh]

Last year when I made my first next boxes, I noticed that the hole had enlarged significantly. Upon closer inspection I saw that a red squirrel had chewed his way into the box causing some damage. Wild Birds Unlimited here in Canada sells a metal ring to go over the hole preventing any further damage. I use those rings now and haven't had any reoccurrence of our little furry friend visiting the nest boxes.

[@donsibley423]

Building bird boxes over the winter is on my priority list. Thanks for the tips (like angling the bottoms of the sides) that otherwise I would not have known.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Glad it was helpful! Make sure to download the plans in the description, they are time tested to work for a long time.

[@robertlosasso4222]

The right phrase is mitering not angling , if you want to go fishing, you go angling .

[@ellensedge1898]

@@StefanSobkowiak the angle of your rear board is correct. You are keeping the water from the board its attached to. I just made a mount to my shed, and I mitered it the same way you did.

[@Green.Country.Agroforestry]

Thank you very much for the look at the nesting boxes .. we are attracting many more birds this year than ever before, and I have been wanting to give them some secure places to nest. I already had materials purchased, and plans drawn up, but you've given me several tips that I can use to improve them!

[@robertlosasso4222]

Don’t need to draw up plans , maybe you want to hire an architect. Just build a nice box six inches square and eight inches high , make a small hole about one inch or inch and an eighth. Don’t use a perch either , if you want to be real smart put an extension in the opening to keep out Blue Jays and other birds that might harm the young ones because they will go to the opening and stick their head in and grab a little one who thinks the mother has food for them , the extension will keep them from doing this . The parents will be able to feed them without harm coming to them . Don’t forget to put small holes in the floor for drainage at least one in every corner , about 1/4 inch . Good Luck and remember , wildlife might look beautiful and it is , but it is also very dangerous.

[@bbtruth2161]

Here's the one I was looking for. Awesome. Great idea on simple design and the templates. Thanks much.

[@fespa]

You make KZbin a great thing. Thank you.

[@Skashoon]

Thank you for the plans, Stefan. Very kind of you.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Glad you like them!

[@emrob31]

Very generous of you, thanks Stefan!

[@ashleysovilla2037]

Wow! Thank you so much for sharing the plans! My son and I are going to do this together!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Wonderful

[@RandyKleinman]

My son and I just made two of these last weekend, and I realized now that we didn't make the sides openable. Whoops, guess we have something to do this weekend! Thanks for the tips!

[@BackyardBertha]

Fabolous box design. Appreciate you sharing your box ideas Stefan! Learned a lot today.

[@nonyadamnbusiness9887]

I'm in the deep South. I've found here that bluebirds prefer the "no drill" box design. I inset the front a bit and make it to tilt up so I can clear the box in 'winter'.

[@LIGHT-OF-THE-SOUL]

Stefan, great advise thanks. I planted my apple orchard exaculy like you showed us. I harvested apples the first year i planted..My food forest!!

[@honestlynate7922]

How did you harvest apples the first year you planted?

[@LIGHT-OF-THE-SOUL]

@@honestlynate7922 I purchased 12 trees from COSCO, EARLY bloomers for the North they had blossoms already, I put them in nutrient rich soil lots of water all the blossoms turned to apples.

[@ironmaiden3751]

Thank you for the pdf designs! Can't believe how incredibly helpful you are. 🌳

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Happy to help!

[@JP_Ross]

Merci pour les plans!

[@NatiFengShui]

thanks for the plans, I'll surely use them and your tips!

[@RaydarCreative]

Wow all these tips are definitely a result of experience! Great ideas!

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Glad you like them!

[@workwillfreeyou]

Very pretty helper!

[@CarbonConscious]

Great attention to detail, I love it!

[@theresnobodyhere5778]

i think position is important i had a few on trees and posts for years never had birds nest in them ,then i look at the birds nesting in the buildings sparrows and starlings i noticed they only build them in south facing roofs ,i had the entry holes north facing so i moved boxes following year some bluetits and a robin moved in ,think it has something to do with sun they can spot hawks hovering above in sky better or they just like the sun giving them free heating saves them paying bills

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Good observation. That’s why we mount the boxes with southeast to south orientation. Best to avoid west and north in the northern hemisphere.

[@madwoof3932]

Lovely to see so many boxes. Use different size holes for different birds. Wrens are murderous devils and will peck holes in eggs or kill nestlings. The male wren will build several nests so she has a choice. I put up boxes for tree swallows. They have to be 100 feet apart and in the open field so sparrows and wrens don't interfere. I wood glue all joints put holes in the floor angled breathing holes on the side. I put a sheet of plastic from bird food bags under the roof and have the plastic droop out beyond the roof to drip away from the box. I reinforce the entrance with an extra piece of wood to stop predators chewing through.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Nice details. Yes we've had wrens for more than 20 years. The key to them behaving is to have enough nest boxes for them and the other birds. We now have almost 300 on 12 acres. Everyone is happy.

[@mylenephaneuf628]

Bonjour, un grand merci pour tous vos partages! Nous sommes en construction de petits et grands nichoirs:) Pour l’installation, est-ce que l’orientation de l’entrée est importante (Nord, Sud, est ouest)? Merci

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Oui mieux sud à est.

[@robertlosasso4222]

You can caulk the seams to keep water out .

[@verone272]

I think it’s better if you don’t caulk for good air flow and so that moisture can get out if it gets in for what ever reason

[@ShakespeareCafe]

Torx screws are the best. They make screw holder bits, too. I make redwood nest boxes in Northern California and they last forever

[@anonperson4597]

I’ve got blue birds in a metal pig from dollar general lol. I got it as decoration but a bluebird family has moved in and laid 2 sets of eggs this year. We watch them a lot. Idk what is right about that pig because I remember my grandma trying so hard to attract blue birds. She bought so many types of wooden houses.

[@robertcornelius3514]

Wow. You gave us so many useful tips.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Glad it was helpful!

[@tonyolivieri6308]

Stefan, thank you very much!!!

Nice. Rough cut cedar is long lasting but these days very expensive. I’d like do make a Purple Martin apartment complex box….

[@goetzfrank4090]

Hahah, I am an Architect and can tell you that this guy is spot on with the drip edge design. All architects should watch this video. I see this done wrong on almost all houses I look at here in California.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Hahaha does that mean they taught us better in landscape architecture school than in architecture school. Fair since our designs are for outdoors.

[@davidpingryn5628]

I would love to make some of these. One question. How do you attach the box to the post? I only see a screw at the bottom

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Second screw is in line with the hole. Use a long shaft screwdriver or bit to tighten it.

[@peterellis5626]

Downloaded all three pdfs ;) Thank you Stefan!

[@mainerockflour3462]

One thing NOT to have and that is a perch. In the wild, there are no perches. Also, perches tend to attract European Sparrows that will kill indigenous song birds and make their nest on top of their bodies. There are birdhouses designed specifically to capture the sparrows.

[@bilbobaggins4366]

You might know about opening sizes also would that deter intruders

[@mking3219]

Thanks for the plans

[@mamanclaudia]

Merci, j'ai pris les plans ! Super vidéo !

[@lynxacresb5331]

What kind of wood do you use regularly? As in rough 1x boards, plywood, OSB? I can get my hands on a lot of rough 1x6s, but that only makes the least-wide pieces for the small and medium bird houses. Getting the wider pieces is a great deal more difficult. Ideas?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

I included a PDF link in the description. Use it to get some templates made. Use all the narrow pieces you can and buy or barter for the wider boards. Maybe someone is looking for a bunch of narrow boards. Ask on job sites or furniture shops often they have cutoffs. We made all of our smaller nest boxes with recycled 1x6 from a fence except for the roofs. One 1x8x8’ will make a bunch of roofs.

[@lynxacresb5331]

Stefan Sobkowiak thank you!

[@danybouchard7731]

Allo Stefan, j´ai téléchargé ton fichier sur les nichoirs. Je voudrais savoir ce que tu entends par l’espacement « en pair à 20’ c-c ». Serait-ce deux côte à côte aux 20’? Si oui, pourquoi à l’unité faut-il les espacer de 70’? Merci pour la vidéo, les conseils, les plans et ton inspiration.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Espacer chaque nichoir de 20 pieds et les installer ainsi en pairs à tout les 70 pieds.

[@danybouchard7731]

@@StefanSobkowiak merci pour cette spécification. Mon verger, inspiré de ton modèle, en sera à sa troisième année. J’ai hâte au dégèle. Vive le printemps!.

[@CrookedWoodsFamilyOrchard]

Love the orchard. Nice nesting boxes, why are they so deep?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Shallow boxes give predators an easy reach to get the eggs 🥚 or nestlings. Deeper boxes also allow a few years before cleaning them out.

[@Ojb_1959]

Nice video! What is the minimum roof overhang? Thanks🐦

[@StefanSobkowiak]

An inch, 2 is better.

[@Ojb_1959]

@@StefanSobkowiak thanks 🪺

[@Droneaway-72]

If you over hand the top make sure you put a drip bar in or the water run under the top and rot it ! If you router a u under the top it makes the water run off and not stay there

[@tota_trader]

Very nice tips.

[@adequatedrainage6380]

The Robertson screw head is much more convenient than a Phillips screw head. It does not slip as much. Much easier to get torq and doesn't fall off the driver as easily.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Robertson all the way, only screw type allowed on the farm.

[@epoqueepique2044]

Bonjour Stefan, j'ai 3 questions concernant le nettoyage des nichoirs : 1-les nids doivent-ils être jetés d'une saison à l'autre ? Certains oiseaux les réutilisent d'année en année... 2-faut-il nettoyer systématiquement tous les nichoirs tous les ans avant le printemps ? 3-certains petits oiseaux s'installent-ils dans vos nichoirs pour l'hiver ? Merci pour toutes vos videos !

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Non, non et oui. On ne vide qu’au trois à quatre ans maintenant. Et seulement parce que notre principal oiseau est l’hirondelle bicolore. Les autres espèces le vident eux même.

[@epoqueepique2044]

@@StefanSobkowiak Merci pour la réponse, bonne continuation !

[@aphilpot1804]

I decided to make a few of these boxes this week and I was wondering why the plans call for the left side to be longer than the right? I also modified them to be made from standard lumber sizes in the US and would be willing to send you a write up on it if you wanted.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

One side longer to give a lip to grab and open plus one side needs to be installed a little lower for the door to open. Yes please do send : [e-mail]

[@Reignforest87]

Thanks for another great video. In a separate video you mentioned how you intentionally did not clean them all because once they are full, other organisms like squirrels and bees can occupy them. With that in mind have you ever tried replacing the floor with hardware cloth? Maybe then you might not ever have to clean again.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Never considered hardware cloth. I doubt birds would use it due to the drafts they don’t like nest boxes with an open crack in the floor board.

[@Reignforest87]

@@StefanSobkowiak Thank you for responding. I've been wanting to rip out an old deck for years but couldn't find a use for the old boards. I will make most of them your way and try a couple with hardware cloth and let you know how it goes.

[@JosephHenry-nd1su]

Question. How far apart do blue bird nest boxes need to be?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Each pair seems to require about 3-4 acres, so every 100' is a good start. You'll want to allow nest boxes for other species to prevent fighting over nest sites.

[@JosephHenry-nd1su]

@@StefanSobkowiak Thank you. I have seen blue birds scraping in the yard in the past and will pay better attention to the placement of my box's.

[@neilscole]

What kind of birds nest in the boxes? I live in New Brunswick and I'm researching to start a permaculture homestead. (Edit: I posted this comment before seeing the templates/jigs, so are there other birds that nest besides wren and kestrel?)

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes small hole size: tree swallows, bluebirds, house sparrows, nuthatch, chickadees, wren. Medium 2”: starlings, great created flycatcher, also squirrels, wasps, bumblebees

[@RustyBobbins]

How do you decide what birds to make boxes for?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Every bird that uses a cavity nest made by woodpeckers I make nest boxes for.

[@ZStehlikova]

Where can I buy your boxes? Not really up to making them myself but would love to get a box that "makes sense".

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Good idea if you are somewhat local to Montreal, we have not shipped.

[@AurelienCarnoy]

What is the size of the hole? Thank you so much

[@StefanSobkowiak]

1.5 inch

[@mokedokie]

I'm no expert but have been building bluebird boxes for years, too. I have two suggestions: 1. Cut a bit off all four corners of the floor for drainage 2. Always include a predator block to make it difficult for predators to reach in and grab eggs or chicks. I also place a thin piece of clear plastic over the predator block to discourage pecking the access hole bigger.

[@oooops537]

XOX. MERCI!

[@vrene993]

Des fois je me dis qu il serait bien d avoir toutes ces videos egalement en francais etant donne que vous parlez francais mes parents seraient tellement content de pouvoir vous suivre

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Moi aussi.

[@vrene993]

@@StefanSobkowiak et bien deja merci d avoir pris le temps pour m avoir repondu. Et cela me fait donc poser une seconde... Alors pourquoi ne pas le faire ? Ne serait ce que pour mettre des sous titres ?

[@JudithBisson]

Is it too late to trim my brothers pear tree? Lamb We are not concern with production just making it more healthy. The height is appropriate 25-30ft. We did get to the snow apple , apricots and peach tree in February. Yet due to this virus he has worked so we didn’t complete our work. He will be out of quarantine on April 8th. Send me any info about this.. lol. Yes not about birds but in need of information... ty ty ty. Merci et Au revoir

[@gardenarypeople8534]

if you can, mark the limbs you would like to remove with red ribbon, and then you can do the cuts later in the season, especially if it's a big tree. My personal experience is that pruning pears in the early spring results in a lot of vegetative regrowth but cuts in the summer don't so much. Of possible importance there: I don't deal with dwarfing rootstocks in any of my fruits. That might make a difference to my experience. But no, you can cut a pear later without worries.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

If you’re in Qc it’s still great time until around 15 in south and later in North

[@skipadeedoodaa]

None of the videos show ways of deterring cats from climbing on top and killing the birds this has happened twice I beginning to hate the cats can anyone suggest any ideas

[@StefanSobkowiak]

For cats, raccoons and even squirrels when no tree is closer than 5m use a chimney stove pipe around the post or tree.

[@LenovoLenovo-g2f]

Where are you come from? 😊

[@33samogo]

I am a product designer with 30+ years of experience, and i can confirm your point about details, details make a difference between good and bad design for any kind of products and also make a difference between good an bad designer, you are a good one 👍 I have one question, we have different birds that flying and nesting around the house, I am planing to make bird houses for black bird, nightingale and tits, how far apart the houses should be?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Not sure for those species but often 3-4m is enough, some like to nest near others. Thanks for the thumbs up.

[@vickey1814]

What are the benefits of bird nest in apple orchard

[@StefanSobkowiak]

They do a wonderful job of controlling caterpillars.

[@vickey1814]

Thanks sir.....

[@LenovoLenovo-g2f]

Ok , i like what you do, but where are the birds?? 🤔

[@opreapetru404]

well done

[@richardtan6799]

What are the reasons for so many nest boxes pls?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

So many birds need many homes. Last year we had 28 tree swallow couples using the boxes. Not counting all the other species.

[@kylethrower6232]

Same why I make mine, I'm on disability so I can make them and sale for extra money.. in the last 4 yr I've made 360 plus.. just recieved an email wanted me to make some for a Autism Serenity Trail. He kids will be able to paint them the colors of their choice

[@StefanSobkowiak]

FANTASTIC.

[@jumper5029]

T25 is the way to go on screws

[@elberthardy961]

I want to make nest boxes from aged cypress knees.

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Sounds like they would give very long lasting nest boxes.

[@erwinbrubacker7488]

A magnetic tip 😊would h😊elp

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yup got one now.

[@4486xxdawson]

Your so concerned with the botton yet the side gaps are so large wind andwater can blow strait threw ,,,lol at least the bottom dont leak 🤔

[@StefanSobkowiak]

I used to monitor nest boxes with a thermometer and check on young. I've seen what a nest box in the sun can do to nestlings. A little wind or water is far less stressful on the young than sun on a thin walled tight nest box. In the wild nest cavities have far better insulation against extremes.

[@q695]

Why not star head?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

It just slips off the screwdriver too easily or burrs if it slips. A preference I guess.

[@Pete.Ty1]

😊👍

[@sleepermd2]

Do you not have problems with predators like snakes? I have had so many failures because of snakes and mice that I always make baffles for my posts. Losing the blue bird chicks and chickadee eggs has been so upsetting. Unfortunately this significantly decreases my production of nest boxes 😕

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Sounds like baffles are a necessity for you so continue to use them. We only have garter snakes which climb trees but I’ve never seen them in a nest box.

[@marissaawesome2422]

What about snakes? Always have 2 holes. So Mama can escape

[@StefanSobkowiak]

We don’t have tree snakes here, so no need for a second.

[@christophervela5447]

Don't birds nest in trees in the elements?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

Yes those that don’t use cavities.

[@mrPhotographer76]

Do you have FULL PLANS for 3 SIZES of Nest Boxes (1.5", 2", 3") in english?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

The plans are in English and French. The description document is in French.

[@linedallaire6637]

Great job.... you are welcome to visit us

[@billcumming1091]

Still lost after 25 yrs. Must be a left hand opening box, or not! Should have been on the blupper real.

[@billcumming1091]

Its great his daughter had safety glasses on, just in case a raptor jumped out of one of those boxes.

[@TheDobbyClub]

The video title could be changed to 2.5 days of experience and I would have not doubted it. 25 years to be that incompetent is insane.

[@quackchung]

25 years to fine tune the best construction, then do them all wrong...Hahahaha!

[@bobweiram6321]

Captain Kangaroo!

[@pedro97w]

Why do you put wood shavings inside?

[@StefanSobkowiak]

It simulates what a woodpeckers nest from last year looks like. Nature's own nest box makers.