Audubon Birdhouse Book: Building, Placing, and Maintaining Great Homes for Great Birds

Having been in the bird attracting and watching industry for over 20 years and being head of a non-profit bluebird organization, I've seen the good, bad, and ugly when it comes to books on bird housing. In my unbiased opinion, this book is the most complete, factual, and useful one I've ever seen. Whereas many birdhouse books are loaded with impractical designs that almost no one can build, the Audubon Birdhouse Book has simple, easy-to-build plans that are also much better for the birds. I love the excellent pictures, illustrations, and diagrams too. Another very good aspect of the book is it covers both eastern and western species of birds. So, if you're interested in getting started (or adding to your existing knowledge) in the wonderful hobby of attracting birds with nesting boxes, buylng this book is a must.

Published by Audubon, it will come as no surprise that this book puts the needs of birds ahead of all other considerations. The construction and placement recommendations offered are clearly aimed at educating would-be nesting box builders to help them succeed at helping birds. The designs are well thought-out and clearly described to put them within reach of anyone with the proper tools and a reasonable amount of woodworking skill. The list of species that are covered by the designs is pretty comprehensive and is likely to satisfy virtually anyone, regardless of their situation or geographic location.

This book came pretty close to being perfect for me. I do recommend it if you're looking to build "authentic" houses that birds will actually use. After two 70+ hours projects this winter I wanted a quick win for the weekend. I built several houses from this book over the weekend and had such a good time that I built even more the following weekend for a total of 11 houses. I built 4 of their so-called "x box" houses. I gave two to my Mother in Law. My two are occupied with swallows and at least of hers is occupied. In fact, one of mine was in use within 24 hours! I made the HUGE flicker house and mounted it high up on a tree (heavy!), but it's still unoccupied. I made two of their "carolina wren" boxes, mounting them to my barn and shed. The one on the barn was occupied just this past weekend. How fun! I made two platforms from another book but neither has seen any action yet and a bat house from another book, as well. No action there yet, either. The measured layouts are pretty good. I did find one mistake, so be sure to think about it while you're going, instead of following blindly. Also, be sure to adjust as needed if you're not using the same thickness stock. I used rough sawn cedar and white oak, so I had to make a number of adjustments. There's a lot of practical information in the book, and the plans are based on this data. Other books tend to give you plans for houses that look like real people houses and have no scientific research backing their designs, sizes, hole sizes, etc. For the x box design I found that they made the pole mount as quick and simple as possible, which might make sense if you're installing twenty of these in a hurry, but for a homeowner I didn't like the design for two reasons. First, it was has single mounting point at the top. Once the house is set down onto the pole it flops down. Secondly the house turns in the wind! For me, I wanted the hole facing one direction that made sense for the location. Because of these issues I modified the design, adding a second mounting block to the back of the house where the pole passed through, thus preventing the house from flopping and tilting. next, I drilled a small hole through the bottom block and through the first side of the pole. This let me install a screw that anchors the house in one direction, preventing it from spinning. I you make the second mounting block be sure to do it on a drill press because it's almost impossible to make the two holes perfectly parallel in 180 degrees of plane. If they're off even a little the house will be crooked and look awful. I made three attempts at this with a hand drill before realizing the solution. Another modification that I made was to cut shallow grooves along the top roof edges so rain won't hug the surface, running under the roof, towards the house. For more information, this is the same process used on home window sills. As a final comment I loved the inner and outer (top) roofs idea. This allows for a weatherproof roof and more freedom for the top roof. For mine I used rough sawn boards on the top roof, complete with bark and fun shape variation from the log. In fact, one even had the base of a limb embedded in it, which makes for a natural-looking perching surface.

This book is concise, informative and helpful for new and experienced birders. In addition to bird house plans it provides information on range, habitat, diet, nesting site preferences and historical information about good folks who have dedicated their time, talent and resources to increasing bird populations. There is much helpful nest safety information for bird house landlords who decide to add nesting sites in their yards. I learned a lot and enjoyed the book. Now to make a trip to the lumber yard!

Great book! I love the information about the birds as well as the clear, east-to-follow plans! Beautiful photos! I’ve built two so far, more to come! All of these plans are very easy to build with a few basic tools. I wish there were plans for some more intricate houses, but it’s full of great, fun stuff that make it accessible to anyone interested in birdhouses for specific birds.

This new book is very well presented and composed. The articles are very well researched and I appreciate the sincere effort to explain the responsibilities one assumes by providing a nesting cavity for breeding birds. These aren't meant to be "garden" or lawn decor but truly nesting cavities to aid and assist birds to safely build nests and raise their young. The authors and editors consulted with several outstanding and experienced birders. But, they also interviewed several others that simply wanted to make nesting cavities or nestboxes better, safer from predators and competitors, as well as protective from rain and wind. A good nestbox is also not just attractive to birds to nest, but safe and convenient to monitor by their landlords. Nestbox mounting is critical and the Audubon Birdhouse Book addresses this very important responsibility very well. I have sent several copies of this book to friends and I feel this book will be a joy for many readers. The pictures are fabulous. tc

I value this book! Thorough directions & dimensions for a variety of nesting houses. I got right to it & am building , but it is a great read even if one isn't ready to start cutting up wood .

Basic Principles in bird house building, which one may otherwise skip or ignore while focusing more on aesthetics in bird house building only.

This is more than just a book of plans with cutting lists, this book tells how to place the boxes in locations to attract the species you want to help. It also has valuable information on how to observe and monitor the birds using the nesting boxes.

Given as a gift at Christmas to a bird lover who said he had been making birdhouses since he was a child! He now admits there is always something more to learn. He is now making his third house for flickers.

A great book for learning about birds. My kids and I have already made a few bird houses from the plans inside.

The bluebird house is simple to build and one of the most practical I’ve seen. And the bluebirds used it the first year.