How to Build a Cool Bird House

There are hundreds of ways to build a birdhouse, but to build a cool birdhouse requires only one unique element: an observation window. The window allows for intimate observation of the nest inside the birdhouse. You can watch as the parent birds build their nest, incubate their eggs, the eggs hatch out, and as the baby birds grow, you can watch as their parents feed and care for them. A few simple materials and everyday tools are all that are needed to build this type of birdhouse.

Things You'll Need

  • 1 window of your home
  • Pencil
  • 1 sheet of plywood, 4 feet by 8 feet and 3/8 inch
  • Skill saw
  • 1 drinking glass, 4 inches in diameter
  • Measuring tape
  • Jigsaw
  • 1 tube of wood adhesive
  • 2 threaded eye-hook screws
  • 1 lightweight chain 3 to 5 feet in length
  • 1 tube of adhesive silicone
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Instructions

    • 1

      Choose a window of your home that you would like to use as the observation window into the birdhouse.

    • 2

      Draw five square outlines on the sheet of plywood (12 inches by 12 inches). Cut them out using a skill saw.

    • 3

      Take a drinking cup with a 4-inch diameter and place it on one of the 12-inch by 12-inch boards right in the center of the board. Use a pencil to draw a circle around the bottom of the cup.

    • 4

      Remove the cup and use a jigsaw to cut out the circle.

    • 5

      Glue all five boards together in the form of a box. Place the board with the hole in it flat-side down on a table. Line the edge of this board with a 3/8-inch bead of wood adhesive all the way around the edge of the board. Glue the other four boards to this bottom board forming a square box. Let it dry following the drying time instructions on the wood adhesive label.

    • 6

      Place the dry birdhouse up on end so that the round hole of the birdhouse is facing you. Screw a threaded eye hook into the top of the birdhouse. Screw a second eye hook into the window frame or eve above the window you'll be using for observation. Attach a lightweight chain to both hooks connecting the birdhouse to the house. Allow the birdhouse to hang against the window with the round hole facing out and the open side of the birdhouse against the window. Adjust the chain accordingly in relationship to where you want it to hang on the window.

    • 7

      Paint or decorate the birdhouse. Use the silicone to adhere the birdhouse to the window by first running a 3/8-inch bead of silicone around the perimeter of the back side of the birdhouse. Squish the birdhouse against the window hanging from the chain. Hold the birdhouse against the window until the silicone sets up a little. Once the birdhouse feels attached, run another bead of silicone all the way around the birdhouse where the backside of the birdhouse and the window meet. Wipe off any excess silicone.