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How to Build a Bird Roost

There are few more pleasant sights than that of a garden populated with colorful twittering birds. And there are few better ways to encourage them to frequent your garden than by building a bird shelter. A bird shelter will not only greatly benefit the aesthetics of your garden, but it will also benefit the garden birds that use it. Many of these birds are becoming endangered and, while many people take sightings of them for granted, their numbers are rapidly dwindling. Providing them with shelter and food makes things much easier for these welcome additions to our gardens.

Things You'll Need

Treated cedar wood
Coping saw
Nails
Tacks
Hammer
Drill
Drillbit set
Plastic coated wire mesh, 3 inches by 12 inches
Thick tarpaulin
Craft knife
Carpenter's pencil

Instructions

- 1
  Use the saw to cut out a 22-inch by 9 1/4-inch piece of wood. Then cut out three 16-inch by 9 1/4-inch pieces of wood, two 7 3/4-inch by 9 1/4-inch pieces of wood and a 12-inch by 9 1/4-inch piece of wood. Mark the three 16-inch pieces of wood with a letter "A'," "B" and "C" respectively. Mark the two 7 3/4-inch pieces of wood with a "D" and "E" respectively.
- 2
  On the piece of wood marked "B" measure 4 inches down from the top of the piece and 4 inches in from the right hand side. At this point, use the drill to bore a 1/4-inch-diameter hole in the wood, then continue another 4 inches horizontally across the wood and drill an identical hole. Drill another set of holes 6 inches directly below these holes. Measure halfway along the top edge of "B," and then measure 7 inches downward. Drill another hole here and then drill an identical one 4 inches directly to the left of it.
- 3
  Measure 2 1/2 inches upward from the bottom edge of the 22-inch piece of wood, and mark this point on each edge of the wood with the carpenter's pencil. Then use the corner brackets to nail piece "A" to the inside of the left edge of the 22-inch piece of wood and piece "B" to the inside of the right edge. Staple the sheet of mesh so that the bottom edge is just above the 2 1/2-inch mark on the wood and the left hand edge is flush with the edge of piece "A." Push the pieces of dowel through the holes drilled in Step 2; apply a small amount of wood glue to the bottom of each dowel after it is pushed flush to piece "B" to hold it in place.
- 4
  Use three corner brackets to nail the 7 3/4-inch piece of wood to the 22-inch piece of wood and to the bottom of pieces "A" and "B." This should form the floor of the bird roost. Use the craft knife to cut a 9 1/4-inch by 16-inch strip of the thick tarpaulin, and spread it so that it covers one side of the 9 1/4 by 12-inch piece of wood. Use tacks to nail this securely onto the top of the wood, and place the piece of wood, tarpaulin up, on top of pieces "A" and "B" so it forms the roof of the roost.
- 5
  Tack the loose section of tarpaulin to the 2 1/2 inches of wood that protrudes above the level of the roof; fold the rest of the loose section over the back of the roost and tack it tightly down. The tarpaulin then acts as a hinge for the roof so that it can be opened at any time. Drive a nail into the left hand edge of the roof and drive a nail just under it into the side of piece "A." A thick elastic band placed between these two nails will keep the roof hatch from opening during high winds.
- 6
  Measure halfway across the width of the bottom edge of piece "C," and then measure 2 1/2 inches upward from this point. Bore a 1 1/8-inch-diameter hole at this point. This is the entrance hole on the front of the box. Use corner brackets to attach the piece "C" to the floor and to pieces "B" and "A," and your roost box is complete and ready to hang.

Animals & Science