🐦 How to Build or Buy the Perfect Nesting Box for Garden Birds 🌿🏡Birds are some of our most amazing garden visitors – and they’re always on the lookout for a safe, warm spot to raise their chicks.

🐦 How to Build or Buy the Perfect Nesting Box for Garden Birds 🌿🏡

Birds are some of our most amazing garden visitors – and they’re always on the lookout for a safe, warm spot to raise their chicks. One of the best things you can do as a Garden Pal is to put up a nesting box in your outdoor space!

Whether you build your own or buy one ready-made, this blog will show you how to help your feathered friends in just a few simple steps.

🧰 Option 1: Build Your Own Nesting Box

Making your own bird box is a great family project and lots of fun! 🛠️

Here’s what you’ll need:

• A plank of untreated softwood (about 15mm thick)

• A saw, hammer or screwdriver 🔨

• Screws or nails

• A drill (for the entrance hole)

• A grown-up to help with tools! 👨‍🔧

Steps:

1. Cut the wood into six pieces: back, base, front, sides, and roof.

2. Drill a hole in the front piece (around 25mm for blue tits, or 32mm for sparrows).

3. Screw or nail the box together, leaving the lid removable for cleaning.

4. You don’t add a perch – birds don’t need it and it may attract predators!

5. Sand any rough edges and leave it untreated (or use water-based paint outside only).

🛒 Option 2: Buy One Ready-Made

Not keen on DIY? No problem! You can find great nesting boxes at:

• Local garden centres

• Wildlife charity shops (like RSPB or Wildlife Trusts)

• Online eco-friendly stores

Look for:✅ Sturdy, weatherproof wood✅ Correct hole size for your chosen bird✅ Easy-open lid for cleaning✅ No perch

📍 Where to Put Your Nesting Box

Placing your box correctly is just as important as building it!

✔️ Put it around 2–4 metres high on a tree, fence or wall✔️ Face it north or east (not in strong sunlight or wind)✔️ Make sure it’s out of reach of cats or predators✔️ Keep it away from busy feeders to give nesting birds peace✔️ Don’t disturb it during nesting season (February to August)

Bonus tip: Put up more than one box – different birds need different spaces! 🐤🐦

🧽 Don’t Forget to Clean It!

At the end of the breeding season (around September), it’s important to clean out your bird box:

• Wait until you’re sure it’s empty

• Wear gloves and use boiling water to rinse it

• Let it dry fully before closing it again

Clean boxes are safer and more inviting for birds next spring!

Once Your box is built watch this video for help on where to put it:

🌼 Be a Garden Pal Hero

Putting up a nesting box is a brilliant way to support nature, learn about birds, and make your garden even more exciting. 🐣

So whether you’re building, buying, or just choosing the perfect tree, you’re doing something wonderful. Your feathered neighbours will thank you with cheerful song and flapping wings! 🎶🕊️

Have you made a nesting box already? We’d love to see your photos! 📸