Building a birdhouse or roost can be fun and inexpensive. Although you may have limited space, borrowing a friend's garage or asking a relative to help you make it are viable options.

Plans are available from Internet sources and print sources. Whatever the plan, make sure it results in a good bird house.

Before You Choose a Plan

You may want to evaluate not only your wildlife porch, patio, deck, or balcony, but also the area in which you live.

Building and installing a bluebird house may not work if you're in an urban setting, and if you live in the southern United States you're probably not going to attract a black-capped chickadee to a birdhouse.

Plans on the Internet

• Build a Chickadee Birdhouse from About.com
• Plans from Cornell, including an entrance hole size chart (pdf) for songbirds
• Birdhouse plans for North American birds from BirdHouse 101
• Birdhouse plans from 50birds.com
• Free bird house plans for bluebirds, flickers, phoebes, wrens, and more

Books for Building Birdhouses

• The Best Birdhouses for Your Backyard
• Easy-to-Build Birdhouses: Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin A-212
• The Complete Book of Birdhouse Construction for Woodworkers

More Information

• Resources for Nest-Box Monitoring from Cornell